The Origin of Newspapers

The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the human experience going back some five centuries. In Renaissance Europe handwritten newsletters circulated privately among merchants, passing along information about everything from wars and economic conditions to social customs and "human interest" features. The first printed forerunners of the newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400's in the form of news pamphlets or broadsides, often highly sensationalized in content. Some of the most famous of these report the atrocities against Germans in Transylvania perpetrated by a sadistic Prince Vlad III Dracula also named Vlad Tepes, who became the Count Dracula of later folklore.

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were corantos, small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was The Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the 1640's and 1650's by a plethora of different titles in the similar newsbook format. The first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666. For a generation it was the only officially sanctioned newspaper, though many periodical titles were in print by the century's end.

In America the first newspaper appeared in Boston in 1690, entitled Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick. Published without authority, it was immediately suppressed, its publisher arrested, and all copies were destroyed. Indeed, it remained forgotten until 1845 when the only known surviving example was discovered in the British Library.

Unit 1

Part I. British Newspapers

Reading a daily or weekly newspaper is a good way to study British English and to learn about the UK's culture.

National Daily Papers

Probably in no other country are there such great differences between the various national daily newspapers – in the type of news they report and the way they report it. Daily newspapers are published on every day of the week except Sunday.

On the one hand, there are the quality newspapers: The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times. They are sometimes called the serious papers. Quality papers (also known as broadsheets, because the pages are usually larger) mainly cover serious news stories, both in the UK and internationally. These newspapers concern themselves, as far as possible, with the world of politics and business and with the arts and sport. They are written using formal English. Articles are often long, and the range of vocabulary is great.

On the other hand, there are the popular newspapers or tabloids, so-called because of their smaller size. The tabloids – the most widely-read of which are The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, the Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Daily Star – concentrate on more emotive reporting of stories often featuring sex, violence, the Royal Family, film and pop stars, and sport. They are written using casual English (the use of slang can make them difficult to understand for foreigners). Articles are often short and illustrated with pictures. It is often said that the popular Press aims to entertain its readers rather than inform them.

The tabloid Press is far more popular than the quality Press. Although some people disapprove of the tabloids and call them the “gutter” press, more people buy them. The Sun, for example, which is a tabloid, has the biggest circulation in Britain.

Sunday newspapers

In addition to the national daily newspapers there are national papers that are published on Sundays. Sunday papers contain many more sections than daily newspapers, including free magazines (colour supplements) or television guides. The Saturday edition of The Financial Times, for example, has more general articles than the weekday editions, which are mainly about business stories. Reading a Sunday paper, like having a big Sunday lunch, is an important tradition in many British households.

Local newspapers

Nearly every area in Britain has one or more local newspapers – in England alone there are around 90 daily papers and over 850 which are published once or twice a week. Local newspapers may contain useful information and advertisements, and are usually written in a simple style. They provide an important focus for the community, reporting local news and advertising local businesses and events.

Who owns the newspapers?

In some countries, newspapers are owned by the government or by political parties. This is not the case in Britain. Newspapers here are mostly owned by individuals or by publishing companies, and the editors of the papers are usually allowed considerable freedom of expression. This is not to say that newspapers are without political bias. Papers like The Daily Express and The Sun, for example, usually reflect Conservative opinions in their comment and reporting, while the Daily Mirror and The Guardian have a more left-wing bias.

Notes:

Bias – a tendency to support or oppose a particular person or thing in an unfair way by allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment:

The government has accused the media of bias.

Reporters must be impartial and not show political bias.

There was clear evidence of a strong bias against her.

There has always been a slight bias in favour / towards employing arts graduates in the company.

Left-wing – supporting the political groups that believe wealth and power should be shared between all parts of society

Right-wing – supporting political parties or people that have traditional opinions, and who believe in low taxes, private ownership of property and industry, and less help for the poor