Newspaper Compton's by Britannica
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
newspaper Compton's by Britannica Newspapers are publications usually issued daily, weekly, or at other regular times that provide news, views, features, and other information of public interest and that often carry advertising. Although newspapers traditionally have been produced as print publications (generally they are printed on coarse, low-cost paper known as newsprint), the newspaper concept today is changing rapidly. While there are still more than 11,000 daily newspapers in the world—including more than 1,400 paid-for dailies in the United States— many of those newspapers are also published online, and there are a growing number of “newspapers” that appear online exclusively. According to the newspaper industry journal Editor & Publisher, the total paid circulation for daily print newspapers in the United States declined by more than 22 percent between 1988 and 2008. In stark contrast, the number of unique visitors to U.S. online newspaper sites grew markedly in the early 21st century, from around 40 million visitors per month in 2004 to some 70 million per month by 2009. These trends were acknowledged by the Newspaper Association of America, the largest organization of U.S. newspaper publishers, which emphasized to its members that “continual change is necessary to meet the evolving needs of readers and advertisers,” and were a clear indication to many that—though the days of print newspapers may be numbered—the value of producing newspaper-like content will live on. Historical Background The idea of sharing news and information goes back centuries, well before there was anything resembling a modern-day newspaper. Until the invention of printing, the public had to be satisfied with whatever information it was given by official sources, or it had to make do with hearsay and rumor. The early evidence of an official means of spreading news dates from 59 BC in Rome, where a daily gazette known as the Acta diurna (“daily acts”) was published. Attributed to Julius Caesar, it contained coverage of social and political events: elections, public appointments, government edicts, treaties, trials and executions, military news, births, marriages, and deaths. The Acta diurna was written in manuscript and displayed in prominent places in Rome. A similar approach to publishing news was undertaken in China from the 6th to the 20th century. During the Middle Ages manuscript newsletters provided political and commercial information and were circulated among the few people who could read. There were also some newsbooks, or pamphlets—not really newspapers— detailing important events such as battles. Between 1590 and 1610 about 450 newsbooks were published in England. In the first two decades of the 17th century, more or less regular papers printed from movable type appeared in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The Dutch “corantos” (“currents of news”), which strung together items extracted from foreign journals, became the sources for English and French translations published in Amsterdam as early as 1620. The first English corantos appeared in London in 1621. Other countries also had rudimentary newspapers: Switzerland in 1610, Austria in 1620, Denmark in 1634, Sweden in 1645, and Poland in 1661. Broadsheets with social news were published in Japan in the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). No sooner did the first corantos begin carrying domestic and foreign news than censorship appeared. The first English publisher, Thomas Archer, was quickly imprisoned. Government management of news set in immediately. Domestic coverage was limited to trivialities. Serious political comment or coverage was forbidden. Foreign news was censored in favor of government policy. Censorship lasted even longer on the Continent, and it carried over to the American colonies. (See also censorship.) The first newspaper in British North America, Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick (1690), was immediately suppressed by the governor of Massachusetts. Official news was spread by means of proclamations and pamphlets or by newsletters and newspapers from London. The first regular newspaper in the colonies did not appear until April 1704, and it was published by authority of the government. It was the weekly Boston News-Letter, published by John Campbell, the postmaster. A competing newspapers was launched in 1719: the Boston Gazette, published by postmaster James Franklin, an older brother of Benjamin Franklin. Two years later James Franklin started his own New-England Courant. This was the beginning of independent journalism in the United States. Freedom of the press was advanced in a landmark case in 1735 when John Peter Zenger, a New York City newspaper publisher, was acquitted of libel on the defense that his political criticism was based on fact. Press freedom in the United States was further secured by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1791). Most of the press of the new republic proved fiercely partisan in the political struggles between the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans. Because the press espoused government policies, the government was very willing to use the press as a propaganda tool. At one time U.S. Pres. Andrew Jackson, who served as president from 1829 to 1837, had 60 full-time journalists on the White House payroll. The year 1827 marked the founding of Freedom's Journal, the first African American-run newspaper in the United States. Started by two free blacks, John B. Russwurm and Samuel E. Cornish, the newspaper lobbied persistently for an end to slavery. Émile de Girardin founded La Presse in France in 1836 and introduced new features, such as serial stories, to raise circulation and bring down the purchasing price of the paper. In the United States James Gordon Bennett, disgusted with newspaper partisanship, founded the New York Herald in 1835. With this newspaper modern American journalism began. Bennett led the way in rapid news gathering and efficient production methods. Horace Greeley founded the New York Tribune in 1841. Several other great American newspapers were founded in the decades before and after the Civil War. By 1850 there were about 400 dailies and far more weeklies. In 1880 there were about 850 dailies and, in 1900, more than 1,950. In the United States newspapers were the means by which millions of immigrants learned about the American way of life. Aware of this huge mass audience, newspapers added new features and used sensationalism to attract readers. Joseph Pulitzer turned the St. Louis Post-Dispatch into a crusading journal. William Randolph Hearst, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, bought the Morning Journal in New York City. Pulitzer had bought the New York World, and soon the two competed in a furious rivalry. They used scare headlines, many illustrations, Sunday supplements, and comic strips to attract readers. Their tactics gained the name yellow journalism, from a comic strip named “The Yellow Kid,” which played a part in the rivalry. The techniques of yellow journalism spread throughout the newspaper industry. To combat it, Adolph S. Ochs took over the New York Times in 1896 and reestablished it as a serious newspaper with its well-known slogan: “All the news that's fit to print.” This marked the comeback of the type of journalism inaugurated by James Gordon Bennett 60 years earlier. Evolution of the Newspaper Industry Early in the 20th century, the number of American papers reached a peak (more than 2,000 dailies and 14,000 weeklies). During the 1920s and '30s competition for circulation continued, and the wide use of syndicated columnists and ready-to-use features, comic strips, crossword puzzles, and other amusements developed. A dozen large chains later came to control more than half of the American dailies. The first American chain was organized by Edward W. Scripps in the 1890s. A pattern of consolidation and merger was seen worldwide, especially in the second half of the 20th century. By 2008 Japan had five of the world's 10 largest newspapers. Topping the global list was the national Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun, which printed more than 10 million copies per day. The Times of India, with a daily circulation of more than 3 million, was the largest English-language daily and ranked as the 6th largest in the world. By contrast, the largest newspaper in the United States, USA Today, had a daily circulation of about 2.3 million and ranked 13th internationally. In the face of the growing popularity of the Internet as a source of news and information, many newspapers—even some of the most prominent ones—have struggled to remain profitable. Nearly all the world's major newspapers began publishing online editions of their publications in the early 21st century. Although some newspaper publishers charge their readers for this access, many have made their Web editions available for free, based on the expectation that advertising revenue, combined with lower printing and distribution costs, will make up for lost subscription fees. A number of newspapers have reduced the frequency of their print editions, and some have discontinued print publication altogether. In 2009 the Detroit Free Press stopped offering daily home delivery to subscribers, choosing to limit home delivery of its print edition instead to three days a week. On March 18, 2009, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer began operating exclusively online, becoming the first major metropolitan daily newspaper in the United States to eliminate paper editions entirely. News Gathering The battle of Waterloo was fought in 1815 in Belgium. It took four days for the news to reach London, only 240 miles (386 kilometers) away, by mounted courier. After the laying of cables across the English Channel in 1851 and across the Atlantic Ocean in 1866, the time lag in the communicating of news was greatly reduced. Today news from around the globe is carried almost instantly by satellite transmissions and via the Internet. Reporters In the early days of journalism, news was put together by writers, agents, couriers, and other mostly anonymous individuals.