newspaper: Early Newspapers

The earliest recorded effort to inform the public of the news was the Roman Acta diurna, instituted by Julius Caesar and posted daily in public places. In China the first newspaper appeared in Beijing in the 8th cent. In several German cities manuscript newssheets were issued in the 15th cent. The invention and spread of the printing press (1430–50) was the major factor in the early development of the newspaper. The Venetian government posted the Notizie scritte in 1556, for which readers paid a small coin, the (gazetta).

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Consolidation of Newspaper Publishing and Other Developments
• The United States
• Asia
• The Continent
• England
• Early Newspapers
• Bibliography

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