Newspaper

    Today, we learned about the beginnings of newspapers. This was a fascinating lecture, because I have to say I'd never thought about something as common as a newspaper. The 500-year tradition of newspaper happens to be one of its advantages. Older generations are the ones sustaining the print industry now. Also, as Mr. Miller discussed, newspapers are portable, low-tech news sources. It does not require a battery or wifi to catch the daily headlines. Newspapers are nonlinear, meaning that you do not have to read them start to finish. The wider range of content and low prices also are appealing to a large audience. As long as we are literate (thanks to the mass production of books), we will be able to use newspapers. 

     However, newspapers did not always exist. In 59 B.C.E., the first known newspaper was published. It was Roman, and best summarized as published propaganda. These broadsheets posted on church walls advanced to printed sheets passed out in the masses, thanks to the invention of the metal moveable type press. I found it particularly interesting how the freedoms of speech and press really evolved from the court case of John Peter Zenger. Just imagine a nation that didn't value the truth over everything else. Newspapers provided a public platform for political groups to express their ideas on social issues. Eventually, during the Yellow Journalism era, populist newspapers were cheap and widespread. This revolutionized news and journalism in a way that is still evident today.