The late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century were major times for journalistic development. The world of journalism really began to take off and become known as what it is today. Freedom of press was an important concept which was invented during this time. The Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, England specifically played a major role in the bringing about of freedom of press. Freedom of press was the idea that newspapers, magazines, or any publications would be allowed to print any statement that was true without punishment from the government (Dictionary.com). The Peterloo Massacre caused The Times newspaper in London to change their ways of automatically supporting the government. This event brought about news articles and opinion pieces which called out the English government; this type of betrayal against the government in printed publications was unheard of. Papers around the country, continent, and even other continents took notice. Newspapers in the United States of America began to publish articles which spoke more freely and even challenged their own government (“July 4, 1918”). Eventually an amendment was added to their constitution which guaranteed freedom of press. These occurrences changed the way journalism is thought of today. Before this time period, journalism was thought of as a profession or activity in which authors wrote what the government wanted the general public to know (Oxford Dictionaries Online). Today journalism is thought of as an activity or profession of writing for newspapers or magazines or of broadcasting news on radio or television (Oxford Dictionaries Online). This change is all due to the Times paper in London. Whereas other newspapers refrained from commenting on the Peterloo Massacre, The Times of London actually called out the English government for the shooting of innocent civilians; in doing so, The Times ushered in the era of modern journalism.
Newspapers before the eighteenth century could not be qualified as newspapers today. The modern definition of a newspaper is a publication containing news and comment on current events combined with features, opinion pieces, and advertisements that usually appear daily or weekly on multiple sheets of folded large pieces of paper. In the seventeenth century and earlier newspapers were more like magazines or pamphelets (“April 7, 1689”). Most newspapers were only one or two pages long, and they were on normal size sheets of paper. Pamphelets were more popular than large newspapers since the information in pamphelets was normally very similar to the information in the newspapers. The authors of papers in these times were also not thought of as journalists or the press. The term press came into existence around the 1700s. According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, the press means journalists or newspapers viewed collectively. But the press still was not like it is today. The press did not really consist of reporters and journalists; it was more like a group of authors who wanted to inform the people. Newspapers were still a social outlet for the most part. The press before the eighteenth century had more freedom to write creatively, therefore; writers could be more easily coined as authors since the write was not necessarily straightforward.
Many journalists in the seventeenth century and earlier did not write about small news events. Newspaper articles were mostly about social gatherings and events going on in the local areas of the newspapers. Small news events were not interesting to most people of the time because the people who read mostly belonged to the upper class. The upper class did not care as much about crime and other news worthy events; they cared about this week and next week’s social outings. Despite this, major events normally made it into the newspapers. For example, the Lisbon Earthquake in Portugal, which occurred in 1755, had many articles written about it all across Europe. Special issues of papers were even put out to discuss the news aspect and lifestyle of the earthquake. Most major news events did not have articles written about it more than once or twice but this earthquake demonstrated how a few events or happenings could change centuries of built up ideas (add citation). This happening was about sixty years before the Peterloo Massacre but it was a foreshadowing of how the journalistic world was about to change.
Another difference between newspapers back then was that there were very few daily newspapers. The few papers that were daily newspapers had many advertisements in them to fill space and keep the papers running. The Times of London was one of these few daily newspapers, however, it was known as The Daily Registeroriginally (October 27, 1819). Daily newspapers became more abundant after the invention of the steam-powered printing machine. The steam-powered printing machine is a printing press which uses steam power to print text or pictures from type or plates (Oxford Dictionaries Online). This invention quadrupled the amount of papers which could be printed in one day. Before the invention of the steam-powered printing machine, newspapers had to use the Gutenberg printing press. The Gutenberg printing press was a machine that pressed inked set type or etched plates onto papers or textiles that were fed through it (Dictionary.com). This invention was created in the mid-fifteenth century. It revolutionized printing of the time but the steam-powered printing machine really furthered the development of journalism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Regardless of these developments, the majority of newspapers in the eighteenth century were controlled by government. The Times, itself had made a deal with the government to print government-approved stories. The first editor of The Times, John Walter, was the man who brokered the deal. “He [John Walter] was able to negotiate a secret deal where he was paid £300 a year to publish stories favorable to the government” (“The Times”). Once, John Walter printed something unfavorable about the Prince of Wales and he was fined £50 and sentenced to two years in Newgate Prison. This was one of the last times Walter wrote something that went against the government. An article ran under the time of Walter’s editorship which was entitled “Parliamentary Intelligence.” The article discussed the House of Lords and what actions they were taking to help better London. It was an article strictly put in the paper to show that The Times was listening to the English government. It says, “Several Private Bills were also read a second time” (“May 13, 1805). In the context of the article, this statement was made to gather support for the House of Lords by making it seem as if this parliamentary branch was really working to better England.
References
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