The Rise and Fall of Newspapers

Brandon Freeman

Intro to Communications

10/19/05

F Block

The Rise and Fall of Newspapers

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspaper without a government. I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”(Thomas Jefferson, 1787). Newspapers today are said to be crucial in the democratic process and preventing complete corruption throughout our society. They provide the public with information and facts that help them form their own opinions that are necessary for them to speak on issues facing the world. The newspaper industry has had a long journey all the way from the first newspaper, Acta Diurna to their current battle with radio, television, and the internet. They have had a major impact, and helped shaped our very nation.

In 59 B.C Julius Caesar wanted to inform the public of Rome about important social and political happenings throughout the cities. The first newspaper Acta Diurna was created and put in the bath house to provide the people with such information as government scandals, military campaigns, and executions. The next great leap in the newspaper industry was the invention of the moveable metal type by Johann Gutenberg in 1447. This was the first version of the printing press and allowed the production of hundred to thousands of copies. This made it a lot easier as well as a lot more cost effective to print newspapers.

The first newspaper to appear in the US was published in Boston in 1690. The newspaper Publick Occurrences was published without authority and was quickly shut down, with all copies being destroyed and the publisher being arrested. Fourteen years later John Campbell produced the first successful newspaper called the Boston New-Letter. It was heavily controlled by the colonial government and had a limited circulation that caused the paper to almost be a complete failure. The idea was very slowly catching and a few other newspapers starting popping up such as the Pennsylvania Journal and Maryland Gazette. As the papers were starting to spring up and gather movement in 1765, the British Parliament was trying to pass the Stamp Act, which would place a tax on the American newspapers. The papers upset by this tax calling it the “Fatal Black-Act” printed essays and newsletters protesting it. As November 1st approached as the day that the act was to take effect, many of the papers stated that they were shutting down in hopes of one day coming back. As time went on the papers slowly and carefully started to spring back up with out the stamp. The act was repealed soon after, as it was impossible for the British to enforce. The newspapers played an essential role in the time leading up to the Revolution in providing articles written by revolutionary propagandists that helped shaped the publics opinion on America becoming independent. On the eve of the War there were two dozen newspapers in print.

As the new nation was starting the newspaper industry was playing an important role in help shaping it. Many more papers sprung up that represented all shades of the political opinion. In 1791 the newspapers industry took a giant leap as the ratification of the Bill of Rights took place. This allowed freedom of the press so the papers could begin to take on a critical role in national affairs, without worrying about getting in trouble for it. However this freedom was restricted only seven years later when President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to provide “any false, scandalous and malicious writing against the government.” This would limit the views of newspapers that might disagree with the government and was the first stage of government control of the Medias.

By 1801 there were 200 newspapers in the United States and the number was growing rapidly. The industry then received its next great innovation on the morning of September 3, 1833. A young printer by the name of Benjamin Day printed a paper on four letter-sized pages filled with human interest stories and police reports. This