Introduction

Have you ever wondered how newspapers started?  In this report you will learn about how journalism began.  A definition of journalism is “the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photography, and broadcasting news as a business.”  Without newspapers, the world would be very different.  Nobody would know anything about what’s happening in other parts of the state, country, or even the world.  In the following paragraphs, you will find out everything you’ve ever wanted to know about journalism.


History of Journalism

The Acta Diurna, which means daily events, was the first newspaper to be published.  It was written in Rome and covered elections, public appointments, government edicts, treaties, trials, executions, military news, births, marriages, and deaths.  In the middle ages, the only newspapers were for people who could read.  Those that could read had the privilege to read manuscript newsletters that contained political and commercial information.  In 1456, Johannes Gutenburg wrote the first newspapers in Europe, using the printing press that he invented.  These were mainly commercial bulletins.  The first newspapers that weren’t just commercial bulletins appeared in the 17th century.  These newspapers appeared in Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Poland.  

 
American Journalism

Journalism has appeared many times in the history of America.   Thomas Jefferson has played a role in the developing of American Journalism.  He once said, “ Were it left for me to decide, whether we should have we should have government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”  Stephen Day was the first printer in the Britain Colonies.  It came from Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1638.  Benjamin Harris’s Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic was the first newspaper in America.  Unfortunately, the governor of Massachusetts suppressed it after the first issue.  In 1662, a law made printing without a license illegal.

The Boston Newsletter was the first regular newspaper in the colonies.  It was first written in 1704 and was published by the government.  However the Boston Newsletter was found reporting late news, so it was taken away.  The Boston Gazette replaced the Boston Newsletter.  In 1721, James Franklin began independent journalism with the New England Courant.  The right to criticize the government in newspapers was first brought up in the Zenger Trial in 1735, after a man writing newspapers criticized the government.  Although during the American Revolution, newspapers weren’t afraid to freely show their opinions about the government and public issues.  Finally the journalists split off into two groups.  The John Adams Federalists or the Jeffersonian Republicans.  Today the government has a large group of journalists working for them.


Jobs

There are many jobs in print journalism.  Journalists, sometimes known as reporters, are some of the main news gatherers.  Journalists can also write articles.  The editor of a newspaper is basically the boss.  The editor decides which articles go into the newspaper and which articles don’t.  The editor can also write articles.  The editor also sets up the format for the newspaper.  Photojournalists are the reason newspapers have pictures.  Photojournalists go out and take photographs of important events or big news stories.


Fields

There are many fields of writing in journalism.  There is Advocacy Journalism, which is factual journalism without opinions.  Alternative Journalism covers general news and sometimes celebrity news.  Business Journalism, Citizen Journalism, Fashion Journalism, Investigative Journalism, Liturgy Journalism, Photo Journalism, Science Journalism, Sports Journalism, and Video Game Journalism are all types of journalism.  Journalists write about all of these although some newspapers do not have all of these fields.  Smaller newspapers for towns or cities alone do not cover all of these fields.  However a big national newspaper would most likely cover all of these fields and topics.

Conclusion

In this report you have learned about the history and main components of journalism.  As I said in the introductory paragraph, journalism spreads news.  Journalism is however, slowly disappearing and being overtaken by the internet.  In twenty-five years or so, printed journalism may no longer be around.  Think about it.  You need to buy newspapers, but news on the Internet is free.  Make the most of newspapers while they are still being printed.


 

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