Key Post Blog #6: EOTO Com Tech Timeline
EOTO Com Tech Timeline: Advancement of Newspapers
Throughout the years the way that we receive information has changed tremendously. In this blog post, I will be outlining the timeline of the newspaper and capturing information such as how it started and how it has transformed throughout the years.
59 BCE
This is when Scholars say the first "newspaper" was written by the Romans
1566
Venice, Italy. They started their first newspapers called avicis. They focused on a lot of political and military issues.
The absence of the printing-press was one of the issues in relation to why there are no copies of these first recorded newspapers today. It was not until the printing-press was invented that newspapers started to take off.
1440
The printing-press was invented and it changed the way newspapers were printed and dispersed throughout countries. Instead of only being able to release 100 papers in a day, they were able to times their creation of newspapers by 1,000. Making it 4,000 papers made per day.
1609
This was a time in which newspapers were controlled by the Government. There were a couple newspapers, Relations: Aller Furnemmen, printed by Johann Carlous and Avid Relations over Zeitung that did not name the cities in which they were written for fear of government persecution. Even then, they were still in German language so they could pin-point where they were from.
These papers were still a success and this is what led to newspapers being distributed all over Central Europe.
1641
A newspaper was printed in almost every country in Europe as publication spread to Europe as publication spread to France, Italy and Spain.
1650
The worlds oldest surviving paper was printed! Einkommende Zeitung followed by a paper in 1702 called The Daily Courant.
These two papers paved the way for the way our newspapers are printed now. They used headlines and illustrations along with the stories told. This turned papers into vital fixtures in the everyday lives of citizens.
1690
Newspapers did not come to the American colonies until 1690. A man by the name of Benjamin Harris printed Public Occurrences, Both FORREIGN and DOMESTICK. One of his first writings were about how "The Christianized Indians in some parts of Plymouth, have newly appointed day of thanksgiving to God for his Mercy." Although they were not the same as his other controversial papers, the paper still folded after just one issue.
1721
It was around this time that politics started to reenter into American Papers. A man by the name of James Franklin published a story where he criticized the smallpox vaccine in The New England Courant.
1733
This was a big turning point when it came to the issue of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. In 1733 John Peter Zeneger founded The New York Weekly Journal. It was in this journal that he criticized the new colonial governor William Cosby. In 1734, Cosby filed a law suit against Zeneger because of his, "Scandalous, false and seditious reflections". A man by the name of Andrew Hamilton defended Zeneger and compelled the jury to consider the truth whether or not what was printed was fact.
This trial resulted in two significant movements towards the march of freedom of the press:
1. The trial demonstrated to the papers that they could potentially print honest criticism of the government without fear of retribution.
2. The British became afraid that an American jury would never convict an American journalist.
At the end of this case, there was more freedom of the press, which also made for different journals to be printed containing political matter. Papers started to become a battle between the British and the colonists. Throughout the war more papers were printed, and there became two different political parties because of opposing viewpoints. The Republicans and the Federalists.
1833
The Penny Press was invented! This was another leap for newspapers in their transformation to becoming something that every individual had access to. The Sun was printed on the Penny Press. The Penny Press printed papers on small, letter-sized pages and they sold for just a penny. This was during the Industrial Revolution and the man that invented it, Benjamin Day, wanted to change the way news was printed to make it for the mainstream consumer.
1844
The Telegraph changed the way that news was spread more than before. Individuals were now able to get information from across the globe in an up-to-date fashion. The Associated Press was also invented. It was made up of the 5 biggest papers in circulation at the time:
1. The New York Sun
2. The Journal of Commerce
3. The Courier and Enquirer
4. The New York Herald
5. The Express
This led to the development of wire services between major cities. It allowed for more reliable reporting and allowed for upper, middle and the lower class to receive information.
1896
Comics become an important part of newspapers. Hearst’s New York Journal published R. F. Outcault’s the Yellow Kid. Not only was this comic made to attract immigrant readers who would have not picked up the English newspaper, but it also created a new term in journalism called Stunt Journalism. Stunt Journalism was the idea of publishing and talking about stories that would have normally been ignored. Nellie Bly started this journalism by writing about her experience at the New York City Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell Island.
1922
Finally, in 1922, Hearst and Pulitzer were the biggest names in the newspaper industry. They both made huge contributions to the journalism industry and helped change it to where it is today.
Although newspapers are not the biggest medium when it comes to receiving information, they did pave the way for Freedom of Speech when it came to Freedom of The Press. Since newspapers used to be run but the Government, individuals were not able to write about their opinions when it came to politics or war. The Heads of Several Proceedings in This Present Parliament was also another paper that fueled the discussion of Freedom of the Press.
Finally, after this journal and the journal Areopagitica by John Milton in 1644, England made the decision to free newspapers from Government Control and people began to understand the power behind freedom of the press.
In 1791, The United States of America adopted the First Amendment Right in the Bill of Rights. This gave individuals the freedom to write about whatever they wanted. But, in 1798 they made the Sedition Act which told individuals that they could write about anything they wanted unless it covered topics that were, "writing, printing, uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States”. Individuals could be fined or imprisoned for violating the Sedition Act.
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