Newspapers
All the great cities in the world now have newspapers. But newspapers, as we know them
today, are not that old. The very first newspapers began long after the invention of printing.
They started in Europe in the 1600s, and were usually only a couple of pages long. For a
long time, newspapers were not very common. Governments didn't want public discussion
of their policies and decisions. Often they closed down papers, or taxed them heavily. The
"Stamp Tax" on newspapers and pamphlets was one of the causes of the American
Revolution.
Newspapers began to grow in size when they discovered advertising as a source of income.
Nowadays, advertising is the main revenue source for most newspapers. As newspapers
became more widely circulated, they could ask for more money for their advertisements. By
the late eighteenth century, newspapers were in common use in Europe.
The 1800s and early 1900s was the golden age of newspapers. Improvements in
transportation, communication and printing processes made it easier to collect news from
near and far and to publish papers more quickly and more cheaply. The Weekly Dispatch
and the Times, both of London, England, were leading newspapers through much of the
1800s. The Times was one of the first papers to include illustrations. It was the first
newspaper to use a steam engine to turn the presses. When the tax on newspapers was
reduced in 1836, the Times was able to increase its size considerably. In 1840, it began to
use the telegraph to collect news stories. In 1855 the tax on newspapers was finally lifted.
The Times made its greatest reputation during the Crimean War between Britain and
Russia. British armies, fighting in Russia's Crimean Peninsula, were not only unsuccessful in
the war, but were suffering severely from illnesses. The Times sent out the world's first war
correspondent, William Howard Russell, in 1854. His reports from the battle lines had a
powerful effect on the British public. A War Fund was organized to help the soldiers.
Russell forced the government to accept the offer of Florence Nightingale to organize nurses
to travel to Crimea. A photographer, Roger Fenton, sent back photos from the war, which
were published in the Times.
Meanwhile in America, a more popular approach to newspapers had developed. The
newspaper had spread west with the pioneers, and nearly every little settlement had its own
paper. American newspapers were cheaper and livelier than British ones. They were aimed
at the average person, rather than the governing class. Examples of the new style of editing
and publishing were Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Hearst, especially,
employed sensational and emotional writing, which aimed at stirring up the public to action.
Hearst is sometimes accused of starting the Spanish-American War of 1898 with his over-
heated editorials. Nonetheless, his methods were successful in raising circulation and were
widely imitated.
The modern newspaper contains more than hard news. In fact, news may be a fairly small
part of it. Advertisements, gossip, show business, photos of celebrities, sports, stock market
prices, horoscopes, comic strips, weather reports and much more are found in its pages. The
modern newspaper is a total entertainment package. A question for the future is whether
electronic newspapers will replace paper newspapers.
MULTIPLE CHOICES
1. What did the government do to reduce the popularity of newspapers?
A. They limited printing papers
B. They imposed heavy taxes on newsstands
C. They issued a policy of banning deforestation
2. What is considered the primary source of funds for most newspapers?
A. pamphlets
B. advertising
C. Stamp
D. newspapers
LISTEN AND FILL IN BLANKS
The Times made its greatest reputation during the Crimean War between Britain and
Russia. British armies, fighting in Russia's Crimean Peninsula, were not only unsuccessful
in the war, but were suffering severely from ______________. The Times sent out the
world's first war correspondent, William Howard Russell, in 1854. His reports from the
battle lines had a powerful effect on the British public. A War Fund was organized to help
the ______________. Russell forced the government to accept the offer of Florence
Nightingale to organize nurses to travel to Crimea. A photographer, Roger Fenton, sent
back photos from the ______________, which were published in the Times.
