Brief History of Journalism and Newspapers

First printed newspaper 700-800 A.D. First printed newspaper Beijing, China

Invention of movable type 1550 Invention of movable type is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual letters or punctuation) usually on the medium of paper which was first invented in ancient China.

1600-1700 1690 Newsletters Literary Magazine The Netherlands England Germany Literary Magazine France 1690 Publick Occurrences was the first multi page newspaper published in the Americas. Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick Boston, MA First edition suppressed and its editor, Benjamin Harris, was imprisoned

1700 Politicians began to realize the potential of newspapers in shaping public opinion 1704 Boston News-Letter -first successful newspaper -John Campbell 1735 John Peter Zenger -acquitted on charges of criminal libel based on articles critical of the colonial authorities of New York

Libel 1. A written, printed, or pictorial statement that damages a person by defaming his character or reputation, damaging him in his occupation, or exposing him to public ridicule Slander 1. The utterance of defamatory statements injurious to the reputation or well-being of a person (can be written)

1798 – Alien & Sedition Acts Naturalization Act: Allowed citizenship for those who were born on the land and were free and of good character Alien Act Deport “dangerous” aliens during peacetime Alien Enemies Act Deport aliens of enemies A series of laws known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote.

Sedition Act Declared that any treasonable activity, including the publication of “any false, scandalous and malicious writing,” was a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment. By virtue of this legislation twenty-five men, most of them editors of Republican newspapers, were arrested and their newspapers were forced to shut down. -Once in office in 1800, Republican President Thomas Jefferson pardoned all those convicted under the Sedition Act, while Congress restored all fines paid with interest. (Alien & Sedition Acts expire)

1800 More newspapers Large numbers of people can read New machinery Joseph Pulitzer Edward Wyllis Scripps William Randolph Hearst Pulitzer and Hearst faced off in a newspaper war and were apart of the yellow journalism era, which means the use of crude exaggeration just to sell newspapers. Edward Scripps created the first chain of newspapers.

1883 1890 WIRE SERVICES -Reuters -Associated Press -United Press (later United Press International) 1890 Saturday Evening Post Reader’s Digest Collier’s Life Look 2,000,000+ Wire services are in place to distribute news to people electronically. (by telegraph during this era)

1900 Newsreel & Radio 1908 First school of journalism established at the University of Missouri 1910 Approximately 2,202 daily newspapers in existence in the U.S.

1912 Graduate school of journalism created at Columbia University 1920s Newsreels in the United States alone reached about 40 million people a week in about 18,000 theaters Radio begins broadcasting current events 1941 World War II First reports on war were through radio

1950 Television

1960 1970 1972-73 1997 Civil rights demonstrations Vietnam TV instrumental in turning public opinion against the war 1972-73 Watergate The Washington Post 1997 806 televisions for every 1,000 households

1999 2000-Today 1,500 daily newspapers in the U.S. CNN reaches 77+ million households in U.S. and Canada, and international broadcasts are relayed to 212 countries Major trend now affecting newspapers is their incorporation into newspaper chains— Ownership of a number of newspapers by a single company. Satellites enable live viewing all over the world Wire-service copy can be automatically set Internet -everyone has a site: newspapers, periodicals, radio, TV, BLOGS -Advantage: up to date info. on a variety of subjects -Disadvantage: release stories/info. too early & have to retract (opinion) -Facebook, Twitter, smart phones, tablets, and other social media enter the equation.

Activity Time With a partner, choose one of the items listed below and research it more. Write down facts and details that were not in this slide show. Get ready to teach the class more about what you learned. First Printed Newspaper Columbia University Journalism John Peter Zenger Television Slander Alien and Sedition Acts Libel Civil Rights Movement Movable Type 20th Century Journalism Radio