History Of Journalism Essay Research Paper History

History Of Journalism Essay, Research Paper

History of Journalism

When you wake up in a bustling city like Toronto or a small rural town like Sarnia, what do you do. You probably pick up the latest copy of the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail or Toronto Sun from your doorsteps or closest newsstand. What do you listen to on the radio on the way to work. You listen to the news. What do you watch at 11:00 o’clock at night. You watch the news. News is everywhere. Some people even call it JOURNALISM!

From the days of EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT, to today’s around the clock news coverage on CNN, news has always been a part of our life. News agencies such as Reuters and Associated Press are some of the leading news agencies in the world. Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner are an example of rich and powerful newsmen. Journalism had to start somewhere, but where.

Historians believe that the first prototype or piece of news originated during the Roman Empire. It was called Acta Diurna. This news sheet was published daily in 59 BC and hung in prominent places. It recorded social and political events (The Encyclopedia Americana, 184). There is also evidence that the Chinese had a news sheet called Tching-Pao or news of the palace. This was during the T’ang dynasty. This report was handed out to government officials in various forms, and often under different names. It was discontinued in 1911 by the Ch’ing dynasty. The first printed newspaper was produced from wooden blocks in Beijing. This occurred around sometime between the 7th and 8th century AD (Gwinn, 627).

News during the 15th to 18th century was usually just a single sheet or a pamphlet describing one event. There were no advertisements or any comics, just news. News sheets and newspapers were difficult to produce and distribute. This changed with Johann Gutenberg’s 1450 invention of the printing press (The Encyclopedia Americana, 184). This invention revolutionized journalism. It also laid grounds for the current printing press we have today.

Back in what is now known as Europe, news sheets and newspapers were becoming increasingly popular. In 1457 the first printed news sheet appeared in Nuremberg, Germany. Letters announcing Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World were distributed in Spain 1493. The first magazine published was Mercurius Gallobegicus in 1593. It was printed and distributed in Cologne, Germany. The defeat of the Spanish Armanda was announced in 1588 with 800 leaflets (The Encyclopedia Americana, 184). In 1629, newspapers began to appear in cities like Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Amsterdam and Antwerp. Paris saw their first newspaper printed in 1631 (5) .

In England, journalism was starting to take root. Queen Elizabeth I began using the news as a means of imparting important information to her nobles. By 1622 the first continuous paper was the Weekly News. This paper ran from 1622 to 1641. It usually printed foreign news. It wasn’t until 1628 that clerks who listened to debates in the English Parliament were reporting domestic news. This started one of the greatest debates in the world. In 1630 King Charles I came to reign upon the English throne. During his time as king, he imposed restrictions on the press. With censorship in place, the press was no longer able to report freely. This opened the debate of Freedom of Speech. These restrictions continued throughout the civil war of the 1640’s. During the 1650’s a man named Oliver Cromwell came to power. He furthered these press restrictions. It was not until 1660 that press restrictions ceased under the power of King Charles II. The press was now allowed to speak freely, but it was not allowed to criticize the government. In 1702 the first daily newspaper, The Daily Courant was published in London. In 1712 a British stamp tax was imposed on all newspapers, and their publishers. This stamp tax made things a lot harder for publishers and their newspapers. It wasn’t until 1855 that this stamp tax was abolished. But Britain wasn’t the only place where journalism was flourishing (5).

In North America the British colonies were in an uproar. The American Revolution was brewing. Everybody was becoming part of it, even journalists.

Journalism in North America started at the end of the 17th century. It was 1690 when Benjamin Harris first published and edited his three-page newspaper Publick Occurrences; a Boston based newspaper (there was both a domestic and foreign issue). Benjamin Harris was suppressed and arrested after the first issue. Although only one issue was published it lay the building block for future colony newspapers. In 1704, John Campbell founded the Boston News-Letter; the first continuously printed American newspaper. The newspaper contained finance, foreign news, births, deaths and social events. The Massachusetts Bay Colony governor banned and censored the paper. In 1721 a man by the name of James Franklin founded the New England Courant in Boston. His staff includes his brother Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin later left the New England Courant, and went to start his own paper the Pennsylvanian Gazette. This newspaper soon failed, and he went on to start another newspaper that was called General Magazine, which also failed. Benjamin Franklin eventually went on to become a diplomat and a statesman. In New York newspapers were beginning to appear. The Gazette was founded in 17