JOURNALISM - the collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related

commentary and feature materials through such print and electronic media as
newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, social networking and
social media sites, and e-mail as well as through radio, motion pictures, and television.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/journalism)

Early forms of journalism

●​ Ancient Rome: Acta Diurna, handwritten news sheets posted in public places to inform
citizens about political and social events.
The acta diurna, which translates to 'daily acts' in Latin, was an early form of a public
record that served as a precursor to modern newspapers.

Copies of Acta DiurnaOffsite Link ("Daily Events", or the "Daily Public Record"), were
carved on stone or metal and presented in message boards in public places like the
Roman ForumOffsite Link beginning about 130 BCE. They were also called simply Acta
or Diurna or sometimes Acta Popidi or Acta Publica. These are thought to be the first
daily gazettes.

The first form of a newspaper was created in Rome more than two millenniums ago, in
59 BC (World Association of Newspapers [WAN], 2004).
It was titled Acta Diurna and began under the reign of Julius Caesar, who believed it
was important to inform his citizens of events that would occur, politics, and his military.
Acta Diurna was not printed for each Roman citizen, but it was put up in public places for
many people to read (WAN, 2004).
(https://mason.gmu.edu/~cgiannou/backgr.html#:~:text=It%20was%20titled%20Acta%20
Diurna,read%20(WAN%2C%202004).)

The acta diurna, which translates to 'daily acts' in Latin, was an early form of a
public record that served as a precursor to modern newspapers. Originating in
ancient Rome around 59 B.C., it consisted of a daily account of important events,
government announcements, and public happenings, making it an essential tool
for information dissemination in the Roman society. This practice laid the
groundwork for later developments in journalism by establishing the importance
of recording and sharing news with the public.
(https://library.fiveable.me/key-terms/introduction-journalism/acta-diurna)

A first and only newspaper of the ancient world was founded by Julius Caesar in
59 BCE. It was called Acta Diurna – “Events of the Day” and, unfortunately, no
copy has been preserved so far, and we do not know the amount of its circulation.
(https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/acta-diurna-roman-newspaper/#:~:
text=A%20first%20and%20only%20newspaper,Julius%20Caesar%20in%2059%20BCE.)
 ●​ Middle Ages: Town criers announced news and events in public squares, while ballads
and songs spread news and stories across towns and villages

​ “Town crier”, so a person verbally announcing various information (i.e. public notices),
was present not only in the Middle Ages. In ancient Rome such a person was called as praeco
(plural praecones).

Roman “shouters” announced the news mainly during nundinae, that is, on the eight1 day of the
week, when people working in the field came to the city to sell and buy products. It was a kind of
weekend for the Romans. At that time, the capital was visited by many citizens, who at the time
mostly also voted. Praecones thanks to that were able to give the news to a larger group of
people.

Praecones announced city, public and court events, auctions, holidays and games. Possibly
people who gave the news used a hand (as it was shown in the series “Rome”) to underline the
words.
(https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/roman-town-crier/)

Town criers were called town criers because they made public announcements in towns and
villages. They were also known as bellmen.

Why were they important?

Town criers were a vital source of information for communities, especially when most people
couldn't read.
They announced news, laws, and proclamations.
They were protected by law, and harming them was considered treason.

**What did they do?

They would ring a bell to get people's attention.
They would read proclamations, often at the door of an inn.
They would nail the proclamation to the inn's doorpost.
They would announce births, deaths, victories, and plague.
They would announce market days and adverts.
They would announce unwelcome news, such as tax increases.

Where did the tradition originate?

The Spartan Runners in the early Greek Empire were the first town criers.
The role became more important during the Roman Conquest.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts two bellmen in 1066, which is the earliest known depiction of town
criers in British history.
oyez, oyez, oyez!”

This is the call or cry of the town crier, now usually only heard at ceremonials, fetes and local
events. It would however have been a common cry on the streets of medieval England.

‘Oyez’ (pronounced ‘oh yay’) comes from the French ouïr (‘to listen’) and means “Hear ye”. The
town crier would begin his cry with these words, accompanied by the ringing of a large hand bell
to attract attention. It was the job of the crier or bellman to inform the townspeople of the latest
news, proclamations, bylaws and any other important information, as at this time most folk were
illiterate and could not read.

The cry would then end with the words, ‘God save the King’ or ‘God save the Queen’.
(https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Town-Crier/)

Town criers are the news reporters that we have now.

"Historically town criers – or Bellmen as they were sometimes called – were the original
newsmen. The first town criers were the Spartan Runners in the early Greek Empire and as the
Roman Conquest.

Town Criers and Bellmen were largely phased out in the early 20th Century – mainly
because of the growth of local newspapers and literacy rates.

The invention of the printing press (1440s) by Johannes Gutenberg

Most of us tend to take printed materials for granted, but imagine life today if the printing press
had never been invented. We would not have books, magazines or newspapers. Posters, flyers,
pamphlets and mailers would not exist. The printing press allows us to share large amounts of
information quickly and in huge numbers.

In fact, the printing press is so significant that it has come to be known as one of the most
important inventions of our time. It drastically changed the way society evolved.

Inspiration and invention of the printing press

Around the late 1430s, a German man named Johann Gutenberg was quite desperate to find a
way to make money. At the time, there was a trend in attaching small mirrors to one’s hat or
clothes in order to soak up healing powers when visiting holy places or icons. The mirrors
themselves were not significant, but Gutenberg quietly noted how lucrative it was to create
mass amounts of a cheap product.

During the 1300s to 1400s, people had developed a very basic form of printing. It involved
letters or images cut on blocks of wood. The block would be dipped in ink and then stamped
onto paper.
Gutenberg already had previous experience working at a mint, and he realized that if he could
use cut blocks within a machine, he could make the printing process a lot faster. Even better, he
would be able to reproduce texts in great numbers.

resources image
Gutenburg printing press, movable type
Instead of using wood blocks, Gutenberg used metal instead. This became known as a
"movable type machine," since the metal block letters could be moved around to create new
words and sentences.

With this machine, Gutenberg made the very first printed book, which was naturally a
reproduction of the Bible. Today the Gutenberg Bible is an incredibly valuable, treasured item for
its historical legacy.
(https://www.psprint.com/resources/printing-press/?srsltid=AfmBOoruQQEv1Gb40My_dssgOsb
Pgvd-hHNl63ejZZ15OOpuTwiWjSSR)

JOHANN GUTENBERG
Movable Type Printing Press
Consumer Devices
The printing press, invented by German goldsmith Johann Gutenberg in 1448, has been called
one of the most important inventions in the history of humankind. For the first time, the device
made it possible for the common man, woman, and child to have access to books, which meant
that they would have the unprecedented ability to accumulate knowledge.

Before the invention of the printing press, the majority of books were written and copied by
hand. Block printing was becoming more popular, which involved carving each page of a text
into a block of wood and pressing each block onto paper. Because these processes were so
labor-intensive, books were very expensive, and only the rich could afford them.

Believed to have been born in Mainz, Germany, in approximately 1399, Gutenberg, nee Johann
Gensfleisch later adopted his family’s settling place as his last name. He was trained as a
goldsmith, gem cutter, and metallurgist. For some time he lived in Strasbourg, most likely in the
late 1430s to early 1440s. By then, he had been losing money in his business and began
looking for a way to make money to pay off his debts.

He started working on a device that would make it possible to print texts using movable blocks
of letters and graphics. These blocks, used with paper, ink, and a press, would make it possible
to print books much faster and more cheaply than ever before. He used metals that he was
familiar with – lead, antimony, and tin – to cast 290 blocks of letters and symbols, and he
created a linseed- and soot-based ink of the consistency he believed to be ideal for printing on
handmade paper. He adapted a wine press that allowed him to slide paper in and out of it and to
squeeze water from the paper after printing.
He tested his moveable type machine by printing a Latin book on speech-making in 1450. When
this endeavor was successful, he embarked on his most famous project, the printing of "The
Gutenberg Bibles."

The bibles, printed in Latin, gained fame as the first books ever printed in Europe and the first
bibles printed in history. Two hundred copies were made, each complete with beautiful
illustrations and vibrant colors. Part of Gutenberg’s genius was his technique for creating blocks
to represent the calligraphy done in handmade volumes, so that the richness of the original texts
could be preserved. Characters and illustrations were later hand-illuminated. Today, only 22 of
the original Gutenberg bibles are known to be in existence.

Gutenberg’s business partner Johann Fust eventually gained ownership of the printing business
and completed the printing of the bibles. This was the result of a deal made between the two
men, necessitated by debts that Gutenberg owed to Fust.

Gutenberg died in approximately 1468 in Mainz. It should be noted that others in history claim to
have come up with the idea of movable type earlier than Gutenberg did, including a Dutchman
and a Chinese inventor. A system similar to his is said to have also been used in the 12th
century in Korea. But for whatever reason, Gutenberg’s endeavor was the first to be successful,
and his printing press had a revolutionary impact on history and the entire world.

The printing press and all that it brought to the masses helped to inspire a religious revolution,
as families were, for the first time, able to possess a Bible for their own interpretation. In fact, the
Protestant Revolution wouldn’t have been possible without the availability of the printing press.
It also factored into the progress of science, general education, and is said to have been key in
moving the world out of the Medieval era into the Early Modern period.
(https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/johann-gutenberg)

https://opentext.wsu.edu/com101/chapter/4-2-history-of-newspapers/

PENNY PRESS
“In the real world the Sun starts the Day but in the world of journalism Day started the
Sun”, that’s the mnemonic I use so that my students don’t forget an important phase in
the history of media.
(https://archanarsingh.wordpress.com/2022/05/11/penny-press-to-penny-pricing-the-business-of
-media/)

penny press refers to a type of newspaper that emerged in the 1830s in the United States,
characterized by its affordable price of one cent and its focus on sensational news,
human-interest stories, and entertainment.
(penny press refers to a type of newspaper that emerged in the 1830s in the United States,
characterized by its affordable price of one cent and its focus on sensational news,
human-interest stories, and entertainment.
(https://library.fiveable.me/key-terms/mass-media-society/penny-press)

https://www.proquest.com/docview/205151843?sourcetype=Trade%20Journals

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-massmedia/chapter/4-2-history-of-newspapers/

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7124.html