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The Licensing Act
An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Books and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses -
Profits from advertising
The first newspaper advertisement, an announcement seeking a buyer for an Oyster Bay, Long Island, estate, is published in the Boston News-Letter. Benjamin Franklin begins publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette in Philadelphia, which includes pages of "new advertisements.” -
Tax on Newspapers
The first bill in parliament advocating a tax on newspapers was proposed in 1711. The duty eventually imposed in 1712 was a halfpenny on papers of half a sheet or less and a penny on newspapers that ranged from half a sheet to a single sheet in size. -
Reduction of the Stamp Tax
In the House of Commons, John Roebuck led the campaign against taxes on newspapers. In 1836 the campaigners had their first success when the 4d. tax on newspapers was reduced to 1d. The same year Parliament agreed to remove the tax on pamphlets. The campaigned continued and in 1849 a group of publishers led by Henry Hetherington formed the Newspaper Stamp Abolition Committee. However, it was not until 1855 that the newspaper stamp duty was finally abolished. -
‘Golden Age’ of Newspaper Publication US
From the arrival of the penny papers in the 1830s to the coming of radio news around 1930, the American newspaper celebrated its Golden Age and years of greatest influence on society. -
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‘Golden Age’ of Newspaper Publication
The 1940s to 1980s were a golden age for newspaper owners to make money and journalists to make news. -
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Decline in Newspaper Circulation
There has been a gradual decline in the success and circulation of Newspapers since the 1950s, which has then accelerated in the 21at century due to modern technologies. -
The Press Council
The Press Council was a British voluntary press organisation founded under threat of statutory regulation as the General Council in 1953, with a non-binding regulatory framework. Through most of its history the Council was funded by newspaper proprietors, with the stated aim of maintaining high standards of ethics in journalism. -
Phone Hacking Scandal
The News International phone-hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now-defunct News of the World and other British newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories.