Trying to avoid following in Harris’s footsteps, these early papers carefully eschewed political discussion to avoid offending colonial authorities. Fifteen years after that, The Boston Gazette began publication, followed immediately by the American Weekly Mercury in Philadelphia. The first article printed in his new colonial paper stated, “The Christianized Indians in some parts of Plimouth, have newly appointed a day of thanksgiving to God for his Mercy (Harris, 1690).” The other articles in Public Occurrences, however, were in line with Harris’s previously more controversial style, and the publication folded after just one issue.įourteen years passed before the next American newspaper, The Boston News-Letter, launched. Before fleeing to America for publishing an article about a purported Catholic plot against England, Harris had been a newspaper editor in England. Newspapers did not come to the American colonies until September 25, 1690, when Benjamin Harris printed Public Occurrences, Both FORREIGN and DOMESTICK. Such daily publications, which employed the relatively new format of headlines and the embellishment of illustrations, turned papers into vital fixtures in the everyday lives of citizens. In 1650, a German publisher began printing the world’s oldest surviving daily paper, Einkommende Zeitung, and an English publisher followed suit in 1702 with London’s Daily Courant. Once publishers noticed the growing popularity and profit potential of newspapers, they founded daily publications. This changed the role of journalists from simple observers to active players in commerce, as business owners and investors grew to rely on the papers to market their products and to help them predict business developments. With biweekly publications, papers had additional space to run advertisements and market reports. Papers took advantage of this newfound freedom and began publishing more frequently.
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In England, newspapers were freed from government control, and people began to understand the power of free press. Milton criticized the tight regulations on their content by stating, “Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye (Milton, 1644).” Despite Milton’s emphasis on texts rather than on newspapers, the treatise had a major effect on printing regulations. John Milton’s 1644 Areopagitica, which criticized the British Parliament’s role in regulating texts and helped pave the way for the freedom of the press.Īlthough the Areopagitica focused primarily on Parliament’s ban on certain books, it also addressed newspapers. However, the absence of printing-press technology greatly limited the circulation for both the Acta Diurna and the Venetian papers.
These avisi, or gazettes, were handwritten and focused on politics and military conflicts. In 1566, another ancestor of the modern newspaper appeared in Venice, Italy. Although no copies of this paper have survived, it is widely believed to have published chronicles of events, assemblies, births, deaths, and daily gossip. Scholars commonly credit the ancient Romans with publishing the first newspaper, Acta Diurna, or daily doings, in 59 BCE. Examining newspapers’ historical roots can help shed some light on how and why the newspaper has evolved into the multifaceted medium that it is today. Over the course of its long and complex history, the newspaper has undergone many transformations.
Define sensationalism and yellow journalism as they relate to the newspaper industry.Explain the effect of the penny press on modern journalism.Describe the historical roots of the modern newspaper industry.