Newspapers stand the test of time

News has constantly been spread throughout the course of history.

In Renaissance Europe, handwritten letters were distributed through merchants for information on anything ranging from wars to the economy. In the late 1400s in Germany, small pamphlets included news pieces and were published and distributed to the community.

It wasn’t until 1690 that the first printed newspaper was released in America; unfortunately, it was illegal.

“Publick Occurrences” was printed and distributed in the city of Boston. However, it was published without authority and therefore was immediately suppressed; the papers were destroyed and the publisher was arrested. The only known copy to be found was discovered in 1845 in the British Library.

It wasn’t until 1704 that the first legal newspaper, the Boston News-Letter, was published by postmaster John Campbell.

The headline of the paper was only fitting for what had happened just 14 years prior: “Printed with Authority.” While the News-Letter had low circulation and nearly shut down, it ultimately held its own.

Publishers in Philadelphia and New York followed suit and began printing their own newspapers in the 1720s. When the Revolutionary War started there was about two dozen newspapers in circulation, and at the end of the war in 1783 there were 43 newspapers in print.

The ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 guaranteed freedom of the press. The growth of the newspaper was explosive; by 1814 every state was involved and there were 346 newspapers in circulation throughout America.

One the biggest moments in the history of newspaper was the penny press in the 1830s.

Before the penny press, newspapers were considered something that only people in “high class” living situations bought and read. As the namesake suggests, the Penny Press enabled publishers to print newspapers for just one cent. Now every member of the community could be involved with the newspaper.

The affordability of printed news greatly increased demand from the public. During the Industrial Revolution, the newspaper industry began to grow rapidly. 11,314 different newspapers were recorded in the 1880 Census.

As society evolves, newspapers have followed suit.

The internet can be considered a modern-day version of the penny press. The technology has made news easier to access than ever before. Many publications, local and national, have also tailored their online content to meet specific audiences.

The Globe is one college periodical that uses both formats to cover the news.

The student-run newspaper at Salt Lake Community College report on stories of interest to students and members of the SLCC community. Articles are published in print every Wednesday and posted online.

Media and journalism students work at the Globe to develop the basic skills they need to continue their education. While the main contributors are SLCC journalism students, anyone can apply for staff positions to gain journalism experience.

The Globe is one of thousands of newspapers throughout the U.S. and the world. Nearly every city and every school has its own paper. The industry has stood the test of time and shows no signs of slowing down.