The advent of the printing press gave rise to one of the most influential media platforms created by humanity. The newspaper can be considered to be one of the most vital and powerful means of expression of the news and views of men and circumstances. With the growth of literacy, and the development of the means of communication, they have played an important and vast role in modern society. The newspaper has allowed us to disseminate information, educate the public on regional and international issues, allow for the grievances of the public to be aired and form the public opinion.
While the act of news sharing has origins dating back to ancient Rome and the acta diurna; which were reportedly published by prior to 59 BC (as early as 131 BC), the true revolution of the news medium was brought about by Johannes Gutenberg and his movable type printing press which was named the Gutenberg Press.
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Developed in the 1400’s, the Gutenberg press was considered the first true printing press with movable parts, and each letter being cast in molten iron; despite the Koreans crudely casting individual letters in metal more than a century before Gutenberg press. The first successful test of this press came in the form of 200 printed bibles called Gutenberg’s bible.
The first weekly newspaper was published in Germany by Johann Carolus in 1604. Called Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, the publication satisfied the tenets Edwin Emery suggested of a “true” newspaper:
Accessibility by the public
Published at a regular interval (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Information is current
Covers a variety of topics (politics, events, entertainment, sports, etc.
Despite meeting the requirements for a newspaper, there is some debate as to whether The Relation qualifies as the world’s first newspaper. It is interesting to note however that the World Association of Newspapers considers The Relation the first true newspaper.
The first English newspaper was published in 1665 in Oxford, England. Known as the Oxford Gazette the particular publication was under the authority of King Charles II and was published twice weekly with it’s content controlled and screened by the crown, the newspaper moved to London in 1666 and was renamed the London Gazette.
Like its European counterparts, the Americas also had their own form of newspaper. The first true American newspaper wasn’t introduced until 1690, when Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick was published in Boston. The publisher, Benjamin Harris, was arrested for including political criticisms and his newspaper was suppressed – all known copies were destroyed.
In 1704, postmaster John Campbell published the Boston News-Letter, and it became the first successful newspaper in America, due to its ties to the post office the paper was mailed without postal charges. Unlike Harris, Campbell did not engage in political discussion to avoid upsetting colonial authority. This publication instead was said to have featured European politics, shipping reports, and advertising instead. However the paper had little financial success due to a lack of interest in its content.
The New England Courant was the first newspaper to introduce the concept of the press being a watchdog in the interest of the public. Published by James Franklin in 1721, the paper departed from tradition as it was not published by authority and had no connection to the post office. As a consequence though is has been stated that James Franklin, who was jailed after criticizing the colonial government for failing to protect citizens from pirates in the New England Courant in 1722.
At first, newspapers were only available to wealthy Americans, those who were literate and could afford to pay for subscriptions in advance. The subscriptions typically cost what a general laborer would make in an entire week of work, so most could not afford them. That all changed in the 1830s, when advances in printing and papermaking made it possible to sell newspapers for one cent per copy. Increased literacy as well as technological advancements such as the telegraph – which made it possible to quickly share news over great distances – and the rotary press contributed to newspaper growth. The “Penny Press” made newspapers affordable to the entire public and spurred an explosion of newspaper publishing across the United States.
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Jamar.Knight 