FREE ESSAY ON HISTORY OF THE NEWSPAPER

HISTORY OF THE NEWSPAPER

History of the Newspaper
Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. So
wrote Thomas Jefferson to a friend in January 1787. The concept of the newspaper that the
founding father of the American Declaration of Independence, so obdurately spoke of, had
rested on a foundation that has lasted six hundred years. The modern newspaper, in
comparison to that which had been forged from the pamphlets distributed by churches
across the United States during the Renaissance, acted under a notion that still exists
today. This notion is that the newspaper was the easiest method to educate the masses on
issues that needed to be addressed, while making the deliberation of such announcements
far easier to comprehend. There has been a great debate on the nature of these
announcements. Thomas Jefferson, who was an active participator in such debates, was not
the first to distinguish the difference between freely gathered news and news which was
managed. Managed news had always acted in favour of those releasing the news to the
public, serving as a propaganda machine. By having freely gathered news, which is a
constitutional right, Thomas Jefferson had given Americans the right to freely collect
information and make intelligent decisions based on the information they had collected.
Though the concept of the newspaper saw harsh opposition during its infant stages of
development, it has slowly become an integrated part of modern society. The newspaper
acts as a watch dog on democracy making sure that the government is run in a fair and
just manner; while at the same time informing citizens when its not allowing them to
intelligently debate on what to do. Without the modern newspaper, not only would
democracy falter, the loss of an information medium would be devastating to Canada
The concept of the newspaper was founded during the 1400's in the form of privately
circulating letters and pamphlets. These papers contained wild stories and tales, but
were passed on as legitimate "news". The invention of the printing press allowed the
average citizen the opportunity to read the news first hand. Though forms of daily news
were available as far back as 59 B.C, when the Acta Diruna (Daily Events) was published
by Julius Caesar and placed in prominent places, the average citizen either did not take
the time to read it or did not have the opportunity to do so. The same approach had been
made by the Chinese during the 6th to 20th Century. 
Though, the newspaper took on many forms since the birth of its fundamental concept, the
modern newspaper did not come into existence until the invention of the printing press.
Richard March Hoe, the inventor of the first factory printing press built the foundation
for a cultural revolution. The printing press allowed for the mass production of modern
newspapers, which created an easily accessible medium of communication to the general
public. The sole combination of the printing press and the modern newspaper caused the
literacy rates to drastically increase during the industrial revolution. 
Unfortunately, as soon as the first true newspaper was printed, and along with the
emerging of domestic affairs came censorship. Thomas Archer, the original king of
publishing was imprisoned and all foreign affairs soon too followed in the list of
censored news. The "news" was left as nothing more then a collection of scrap paper with
words on them, as the truth that journalists saw was censored.
The concept of censorship had begun to develop in the Americas. When the first amendment
was introduced, the world finally fully understood the importance of the freedom of
speech and freedom of the press. The First Amendment, forbids Congress from enacting laws
that would regulate speech or press before publication or punish after publication. At
various times, many states passed laws in contradiction to the freedoms guaranteed in the
1st Amendment. This was a very important concept, as it allowed the citizens of the
United States to be, in theory, fully aware of the events that have occurred that may
impact society in some way. It gave citizens of the state the right to make educated
judgments on how various situations should be handled. Public officials and all official
acts, including the existence of government itself, may be openly criticized and attacked
by speech or publication, provided only that the words used are not of such a nature and
are not used in such circumstances as to create a clear and present danger that they will
bring about the substantive evils that Congress [or the state] has a right to prevent"
This prevents a person publishing an article within a newspaper to incite a group to
become rebellious for any reason. Similar statutes were passed within Canada, allowing
the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedom to mimic certain
sections of the United States. 
The concept of the "freedom of the press" within Canada has always been upheld by
publishers and journalists of various Canadian newspapers. The publishers of such
newspapers not only act as an economic asset but as the moral and democratic watch dogs
for Canada. Newspapers such as "The Toronto Star" have profoundly impacted the way
Canadians perceive how the government is running as well as their current status. The
power of the press is immense, as they are the true representatives of democracy; making
sure that the truth is always accessible.