Blogg #4- The History of the News Paper

    

The concept of sharing news has been around for a while now, In 202 B.C. the Chinese people, distributed government bulletins and reports from the palace, intended for bureaucrats. In ancient Rome, the Acta Ciurna was the first concept of the “NewsPaper” sharing critical information for the public. The “gazettes” in Venice Italy, were very popular and shared politics and governmental issues. 

However, none of these were mass-produced, until after the printing press was invented in 1440. The technology strengthened the speed at which we were able to communicate with each other. During this time, there were limited options to learn about news, this new technology revolutionized that process. The current concept of the newspaper as we know it now was created in 1605 by Johan Carolus. He called it “Account of All Distinguished and Commemorable News” and it was first published in Strasbourg. Carolus paper was the first mass-produced, easly accessible, reoccurring public newspaper. This concept continued to catch on in other countries spreading around Europe. 

 This early structure of the Newspaper, however, was monitored or controlled by the government and rarely focused on current events. As time went on and the ideas surrounding freedom of the press came about, more newspapers had the power to share current events, and products in the market, and later politics would come back but from the people's perspective, not the government's. 

Now, once Europe expanded its territories, this concept continued to the United States. The first successful attempt at a newspaper in the United States was by John Campbell in Boston, publishing what was called “The Boston News Letter” Others had tried beforehand but chosen too political topics, and no other issues were continued. This publication was focused more on the happenings in England and tall tale stories of pirates. This would continue for years, however during this time the process was quite strenuous, and large volumes could not be produced. The papers were expensive and not for the common people. As the country started to form its government, these papers became essential to political information and lobbying.

One of the defining moments for the newspaper in politics was with the case Crown v. Zenger. It started with an article in The Weekly Journals that criticized Governor Cosby, After a long legal battle the court ruled Zenger not guilty. This case raised the need for the freedom of the press and the ability to criticize the government without fear of retribution. Most importantly, in 1791 the First Amendment was passed and granted the freedom of the press for citizens of the United States. Printing eventually developed with better and faster technology that allowed for better access by the people. 

 The history of the newspaper is complex and continues to grow and develop, however, its impact is profound and has been a major part of history. It has educated the people on current issues and important topics. It allows for a more informed community, willing to participate in the happenings of our society. It builds an environment that allows us to share our opinions and the facts of life. Most importantly it changed the way we communicated with others. While we don’t know where the newspaper will continue to go in this digital age, we can all recognize the influence this had on our country and history.