A History of Newspaper Publishing and Printing

Today's newspapers have come a long way from their origin, an achievement most commonly credited to the ancient Romans. Their Acta Diurna was first published in 59 B.C.E. Though no copies have survived the ravages of time, it's believed to have included many topics found in modern newspapers, such as important assemblies, events, deaths, and even gossip.

Many centuries later, the newspaper continued to prove its value to society with the establishment of avisi, or gazettes, in 1566 in Venice, Italy. These publications placed a heavy emphasis on military and political events, but like the Acta Diurna, they were limited in circulation because they had to be hand-written.

However, as technology and society evolved throughout the course of human history, so, too, did print media. With the arrival of the printing press, newspapers finally gained the ability to become widely circulated.

The Birth of the Printing Press

As is so often the case, a technological leap forward was responsible for changing the publishing industry. That leap was the invention of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. Invented in 1440, Gutenberg's printing press used a movable-type system that made it simple to publish exact copies of original works in a quality never before seen. The printing press was able to publish close to 4,000 pages each day, a thousand times faster than pages could be written by hand. This new and streamlined publishing method caused the cost of printed works to drop significantly and made them far more accessible to the public. The reach of newspapers and other published materials increased exponentially over the coming decades, and the groundwork was laid for the medium as it is known today.

European Roots

Though the printing press was first invented in 1440, it wouldn't be incorporated into any weekly newspaper's production until more than a century later, in 1609. The reluctance to use the printing press may have come in part from fears that publishers could be prosecuted for the contents of their publications. Despite these concerns, however, German-printed publications such as Lucas Schulte's Aviso Relations Over Zeitung and Johann Carolus's Relations: Aller Furnemmen were met with resounding success throughout much of Central Europe. As a result, several other weekly newspapers began showing up across the continent.

In 1621, the first English newspaper, Corante, was printed, bringing weekly news of developments across Europe to readers. A mere two decades later, nearly every country in Europe had at least one newspaper. The European newspapers published during this time generally came in two formats: the Dutch style, a two-to-four-page publication packed with as much news as would fit, and the German style, a pamphlet that had from eight to 24 pages. Over time, most newspapers shifted to the German style.

Government Control and Freedom of the Press

The European newspapers of these early years were largely subject to government regulation and often lacked critical coverage of local news. But when civil war erupted in 1641, many readers began scouring the papers for news of these events. In response to this need for local information, a new weekly paper, The Heads of Severall Proceedings in This Present Parliament, began publishing in November 1641. This development sparked debate about freedom of the press, which exploded in 1644 with the publication of John Milton's Areopagitica.

In Areopagitica, Milton mainly criticized Parliament for its practice of banning books but also touched upon the regulation of newspapers. He likened these practices to the act of killing reason itself, and this argument had a profound impact on the publishing industry in England. Newspapers were finally released from government oversight, and freedom of the press was born.

Publishers rejoiced at their newly acquired freedom and started printing newspapers more frequently. Biweekly papers became common, and advertisements as well as market reports began showing up in every issue. As a result, journalists became far more active contributors to society and the economy. Business owners, investors, and others with vested interests in commerce began paying very close attention to the articles published in the papers. It wasn't long until publishers made note of the increased attention and profit potential and started publishing daily papers, the first of which was the German Einkommende Zeitung in 1650. England's Daily Courant became the first English-language daily newspaper in 1702.

Colonial American Newspapers

The first printed news in the American colonies appeared on Sept. 25, 1690, in the form of Benjamin Harris's Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick. Prior to his arrival in the colonies, Harris had been an English newspaper editor who had to leave after publishing an article regarding an alleged Catholic plot against the country. In keeping with his controversial approach to journalism, his new paper published several articles that caused it to end after only a single issue.

It wasn't until more than a decade later that the next American newspaper was created, The Boston News-Letter. The Boston Gazette as well as the American Weekly Mercury went into circulation 15 years after that. Fearing the fate that met Harris's paper, these newspapers shied away from writing about controversial political topics. It wasn't until 1721 when James Franklin ran an article in the New England Courant criticizing smallpox inoculations, that politics finally found a home in American papers. However, Franklin was imprisoned the following year when the paper condemned the government's failure to keep the people safe from pirates.

Franklin was undeterred and went on to get in trouble with the authorities again for publishing an article mocking religion. In response, a court ruled that he would no longer be allowed to publish any paper unless it was first approved by the government. Rather than be bound by this ruling, Franklin chose to turn his paper over to his younger brother: Benjamin Franklin.

The Trial of John Peter Zenger

James Franklin was far from the only publisher in the colonies to find himself in trouble with authorities due to the content of his newspaper. John Peter Zenger created The New York Weekly Journal in 1733 and almost immediately started printing articles criticizing William Cosby, the colonial governor of the time. Zenger lambasted Cosby for replacing New York Supreme Court members who wouldn't obey him, and Cosby responded by having Zenger arrested. Cosby attempted to justify the arrest by claiming that the paper's reporting was divisive, false, and even seditious.

Eight months after the arrest, Zenger was defended in court by Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, who persuaded the jury to evaluate whether or not they believed that what was printed in Zenger's paper was factual. The jury found Zenger not guilty. The verdict established that newspapers could honestly criticize government figures without fear of unjust consequences. This led to American papers publishing even more political content and even gave rise to the idea of American emancipation from England. As tensions escalated, newspapers were forced to pick a side; this ideological split lasted throughout the American Revolution and led to the birth of partisan papers.

Freedom of the Press in the Early United States

In 1791, the United States embraced the freedom of the press by adopting the First Amendment to the Constitution. Despite this, debates and discussions about the matter continued. In response to over-the-top partisan publications, Congress decided to enact the Sedition Act in 1798. This act made the writing and/or printing of false or malicious material or anti-government material a crime. However, this law was short-lived, as Thomas Jefferson allowed these provisions to lapse when he became president in 1800. Jefferson sought to disprove the idea that freedom of the press can't exist alongside an orderly government. Freedom of the press has continued ever since.

Newspapers as a Form of Mass Media

Although the printing press had reduced costs since it first came about in 1440, newspapers were still considered quite expensive to publish during the early 1800s. The publishing expenses were reflected in the price of the papers. The high cost of 6 cents per issue restricted purchases of newspapers to the wealthy. But innovation would soon change that, making newspapers more accessible to all.

The Penny Press

Benjamin Day changed the cost-restrictive nature of newspapers in 1833 when he created the New York Sun . His publication was printed on letter-sized paper, and it cost just a penny. He achieved this largely due to the Industrial Revolution and acquiring a steam-driven printing press. This new printing press could churn out around 18,000 copies an hour. The goal of his publication was simple, and it was displayed at the top of every issue: "The object of this paper is to lay before the public, at a price within the means of every one, all the news of the day, and at the same time offer an advantageous medium for advertisements."

With the lower cost of the Sun came a new, mainstream readership, and sales boomed. While the Courier and Enquirer sold 4,500 copies each day, the Sun sold 15,000. Day began publishing police reports and human-interest stories to appeal to this growing audience. Day also made more room in his newspaper for advertisements.

It wasn't long until other publishers took notice of the Sun's success and started replicating its format. The New York Morning Herald was another successful penny paper, published by James Gordon Bennett starting in 1835. The Herald's claim to fame was its promise of nonpartisan reporting and its use of foreign correspondents for broader global coverage. It was also the Herald that first sent a reporter to cover an active crime scene. Bennett also sent 63 reporters to accurately report on the Civil War.

Growth of Wire Services

The invention of the telegraph by Samuel Morse was another technological advancement that had a profound impact on the newspaper industry. The telegraph allowed newspapers to receive and publish information from all over the world faster than ever before. It was this invention that eventually led to the creation of The Associated Press in 1846. The AP started as a collaborative effort of five different New York papers, and it soon spread to other major cities, allowing all members to benefit from breaking news coverage of distant events.

Yellow Journalism

In the late 1800s, publisher Joseph Pulitzer realized the potential for the use of sensationalism in newspapers, creating what would come to be called yellow journalism. He began publishing stories with an increased focus on violence, sex, crime, and emotion to sell more copies of his paper, the New York World. The idea paid off, and its success laid the foundations for modern tabloids that employ similar methods of sensationalism today. The headlines used in Pulitzer's paper were shocking and eye-catching, but often limited an editor's ability to maintain objectivity.

Pulitzer wasn't the only publisher to increase the use of sensationalism, however. Pulitzer's top competitor, William Randolph Hearst, ran the New York Journal and started using many of the same tricks. This led to a fierce battle in which the two papers would often steal editors and reporters from one another while trying to out-sensationalize the other. In one notable example, both papers ran sensationalized accounts of the Spanish-American war that inaccurately reported on the war to increase the perceived brutality of the conflict.

Comics and Stunt Journalism

As the rivalry between competing papers increased, publishers continually looked for new ways to draw in readers. One such method was the creation of the comic strip. Heart published comic strips featuring a character called the Yellow Kid in 1896 to attract immigrant readers. The comics were a huge hit; soon, the character appeared on buttons, fans, and even packs of cigarettes.

Not being outdone by Hearst, Pulitzer responded by creating stunt journalism. Pulitzer hired Elizabeth Cochrane, who used the pen name Nellie Bly, to cover areas of life that other publishers were ignoring. Her first, and arguably most famous, article was a report on the New York City Lunatic Asylum. To gather the information she needed, Cochrane pretended to suffer from a form of insanity to be committed to the asylum. The gambit worked, and her article "Ten Days in a Madhouse" drew in a large readership. Cochrane continued using this style for future reporting and became known as the first stunt journalist. Though her style of reporting was criticized by many at the time, it's now often viewed as a major accomplishment for women in journalism.