 Harold Innis 's analysis of the effects of communications on the rise and fall of empires led him to warn <unk> that Western civilization was now facing its own profound crisis . The development of powerful communications media such as mass @-@ circulation newspapers had shifted the balance decisively in favour of space and power , over time , continuity and knowledge . The balance required for cultural survival had been upset by what Innis saw as " mechanized " communications media used to transmit information quickly over long distances . These media had contributed to an obsession with " present @-@ mindedness " <unk> out concerns about past or future . Innis wrote , 
