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First Newspaper
The first newspapers didn't look like the huge papers you see today. Often they were only one sheet long, and containted little of what we would think of as news. The first attempt, Publick Occurrences, was publised in Boston in 1690 by Benjamin Harris. After only one issue, the British colonial authorities suprressed the paper becasue they didn't lie what Harris printed. -
Boston News-Letter
In 1704, the colonies had their first contnuosly published newspaper: the Boston News-Letter, started by John Campbell in 1704, and had the governments approval. Pioneers started moving from the South to the West and more and more papers started to pop up, many being closely supervised by the British government, and carried the "by authority" tag. -
John Peter Zenger
Zenger Trial
The Zenger case, and other instances of press suppression, fanned the flames of freedom that were beginning to burn in the colonies. Generally the papers allied themselves with the patriots, because they were angry with the Stamp Act, which put a tax on their products. This era was known as the era of partisan press. Newspapers today try to report political news objectively. -
First Student Newspaper
The first student newspaper, the Students Gazette, was founded at the Friends Latin School in Pennsylvania in 177. -
Pennsylvania Post
Soon following the Revolution, the newspaper industry grew rapidly, like the young nation. Hundreds of newspapers opened all over the nation. The first daily, the Pennsylvania Post, was found in 1783. Papers were published by printers who had to set the type by hand, one letter at a time, and print them on clumsy presses. -
Constitution Signed
Bill of RightsWhen the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, the framers did not spend much time on the freedom of the press. But the Bill of Right—the first 10 amendments to the constitution—addressed the issue. The First Amendment stated, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press” guaranteeing a free press. -
New York Sun
Early newspapers really weren’t news. They were filled with opinions in the form of essays, letters, and editorials, with the addition of advertisements here and there. In 1833, Benjamin Day founded the New York Sun, which was full of news and sold for only a penny, earning the name the “penny press”. -
New York Times Founded
1851, the New York Times, was founded by Henry Raymond. From its start, it set a standard for fairness and accuracy in reporting. Adolph Ochs bought the paper in 1896, and gave it the motto “All the News’s That’s Fit to Print” which reflects the paper’s long-standing attitude to cover legitimate news in a tasteful way. -
First Use of the Telegraph
In 1861, newswriting and coverage changed as Civil War reporters made use of the telegraph to transmit their stories. To insure that the outcome of the battle made it into the story, in the case that the telegraph broke down, reporters adopted a more concise writing format. Reporters started to use the inverted-pyramid format for writing: giving the most important facts in the first few sentences. -
Newspapers lure US into conflict
Beginning in 1895, the World and Journal tried to lure the United States into the conflict of Cuba trying to seek independence from Spain. One famous story that comes from this time period when Hearst told an artist for the Journal “Please remain. You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war,” when the artist told him there was no war and he was headed home. -
Big Headlines Cause Problems
In 1898 the U.S.S. Maine blew up in the Havana harbor, and the Journal, featured a huge illustration and a headline that read: “DESTRUCTION OF THE WAR SHIP MAINE WAS THE WORK OF THE ENEMY.” Congress demanded that Spain leave the island, the war resulted. While no one can say that the press is totally to blame for the Spanish-American War, yellow journalism definitely contributed to the atmosphere. -
African-American Newspaper founded
1905 The Chicago Defender, one of the nation’s largest and most influential African-American newspapers, was found by Robert S. Abbott. The paper took the lead in encouraging African-Americans to move north in hopes of better jobs. In 1956 the Defender became a daily newspaper. -
Radio becomes Possible
1906, an improvement to the vacuum tube by Dr. Lee De Forest, made the new medium of radio possible. Though no one person is solely responsible for the invention of the radio De Forest’s vacuum tube was the key to the breakthrough. De Forest made the first newscast in 1916, when he broadcast presidential election returns over a limited area. -
Daily Shows Begin
In 1920 regular daily shows started in Detroit. That same year, KDKA in Pittsburgh broadcast the Harding-Cox presidential election returns, which was considered a milestone in radio journalism. -
NBC founded
1926 National Broadcast Company (NBC) was founded. -
Radio Act
1927 the Radio Act, broadened what the powers of the Department of Commerce (which was given the power to assign wavelengths to license applicants in 1912) and created the Federal Radio Commission. They have jurisdiction—though not censorship power—over radio and television. -
First Televison Newscast
1940s the first television newscast took place. TV drastically changed radio and newspaper, by taking the entertainment role away from radio, and claimed the breaking-news scene that newspaper once controlled. -
Internet becomes Popular
1990s the Internet came into popular use, when commercial services made access available to anyone with a computer and modem. The Internet changed the way that news was presented and read. There is no shortage of space on the long, allowing reporters to add even more information to stories. Stories no longer had to be linear, since with a click of a button readers could be on the web, searching for more information themselves.
