Comm455/History of Journalism

The “Acta” as the first newsbook?

Posted by: donaldomahony | September 30, 2009 | No Comment |

The “Acta” was the official text of ancient Rome. It was first written in 131 B.C. and it was carved into stone or metal. For the most part, the “Acta” was a public document. However, it was sometimes restricted by the government.

In 59 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered the posting of the “Acta” in public places so that citizens could be more easily informed on what was going on around town. One could say that the “Acta” is one of the earliest predecessors of the newsbook.

Julius Caesar

In Rome, there were two types of this early news publication. One of them was the “Acta Diurna”. It was also known as the “Acta Populi” and it including everything from court news and emperor decrees to the announcement of marriages, births and deaths.

The “Acta Diurna” was posted in a public place on a day-to-day basis and taken down after being posted for a reasonable amount of time. After they were taken down, they were stored with other documents so that they could be used for research purposes.

The other type of “Acta” was the “Acta Senatus”. This text recorded the hearings and decisions of the Roman Senate. Originally, these documents were published only occasionally. A young senator was usually given the responsibility of recording the sessions of the Senate.

A session of the Roman Senate

Along with the “Acta Diurna”, Caesar made the “Acta Senatus” public in an attempt to please the citizens. However, when Augustus took control of Rome, he made it forbidden to publish the “Acta Senatus”. Instead, the documents were stored in government archives and one needed special permission in order to view them.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: acta, ancient, augustus, caesar, newsbook, o'mahony, public, rome

Greek contributions to journalism

Posted by: lindsayberreth | September 29, 2009 | No Comment |

The Greeks contributed many things to journalism including the addition of vowels to the alphabet and the first known Western history in 443 B.C.

“The final step in the development of writing was the adoption of an alphabet,” according to our textbook on page 47. The Greek addition of vowels came by about 750 B.C. The original alphabet was created by the Canaanites in about 1500 B.C. The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters. Because Greek is an Indo-European language, differences in vowels make for differences in meaning. The vowels added to the language were A (alpha), E (epsilon), I (iota), O (omicron) and Y (upsilon).

Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew, have a lot of consonantal sounds. The Greek alphabet became the first alphabet to use both consonants and vowels. The Roman alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet and the Scandinavian Runic alphabet are all directly related to the Greek alphabet. The word alphabet actually comes from two Greek letters; Alpha and Beta.

The Greeks originally wrote every second line from left to right, but around 500 B.C., the practice changed to the way it is today.

The Greeks also contributed what is generally thought of as the first Western history in 443 B.C. Writer Herodotus wrote about the wars between Greece and Persia in his best known work, “Histories”. Cicero called him the Father of History. “Histories” included information about the rise of Persia and the friction between it and Greece. Most of the historical accounts that Herodotus wrote about happened in his lifetime. He wrote about battles and even talked to his elders to find out more information.

Herodotus also wrote about countries he visited in his travels, including Egypt. He wrote about the differences in culture and lifestyles. He claimed he only wrote down what was reported to him, and some of it has been considered inaccurate. He was known as one of the first people to collect his information systematically, just like today’s modern journalists.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: Greek alphabet, Greek contributions, Herodotus, Lindsay Berreth, vowels

Madame Doublet provides center of news and information

Posted by: dianafriedman | September 29, 2009 | No Comment |

In 1735 France provided unlikely centers of information exchange. Salons were places to discuss news and information, especially in the salon of Madame Doublet. The news that passed through this particular salon was used to write Louis Petit de Bachaumont’s Mémoires secret.

This publication brought literary life of the eighteenth century to light. It discussed topics such as the war against the Jesuits, opposition between the French parliament and the King, Shakespeare and the affair of the diamond necklace. In a time of censorship and control, this salon was a way for public opinion to still be heard.

In Madame Doublet’s salon, a journal was kept recording the news that was spread in the salon. Much of the news was gossip and scandal, and the journal was therefore suppressed by the censors. In many cases, the public opinion included negative views of the monarchy.

With strict policies on discussion of the monarchy, a place in which censors had trouble positioning themselves would seem to be detrimental. Though it may have been, salons continued until into the 20th century.

The French Revolution began in 1789 and changed the world of France. Though many of those who gathered in salons were the elite themselves, with as much free speech that flew in the salons, it is interesting to think that some may have served as meeting places for those longing to revolt. Either way, there is no doubt that these locations served as a mecca for those who wanted to spread the news.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: French Salons, Friedman

The Printing Press

Posted by: gpaulsen | September 28, 2009 | No Comment |

Johannes Gutenberg Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg gets the majority of the credit for inventing the printing press.

The German goldsmith built the first printing press in 1440 . It should also be noted, however, that the Chinese played a vital role in the development of this ground-breaking machine.

Almost 300 years before Gutenberg put the finishing touches on his printing press, a Chinese artisan used moveable type to print. One of the most revolutionary developments in the history of journalism, this invention wasn’t as big of a success as it should have been at the time.

A Chinese artisan named Pi Sheng, not the more-revered Gutenberg, is credited with being the first person to have ever used moveable type to print. Unfortunately for Sheng, the immensity of the Chinese alphabet made his system impracticable.

Gutenberg knew how successful moveable type could be, though. He began working on the printing press in 1436. His assistants, Andreas Dritzehn and Andreas Heilmann, are far less heralded, but both were pivotal in Gutenberg’s project. The former had knowledge in gem-cutting. The latter, an owner of a paper-mill, had a unique expertise.

It took time before the full power of the printing press was felt throughout European society because a lack of literacy limited the readership of printed news. According to our text book, by 1688 only 40% of adult males in England could read. Renaissance rulers took advantage of the opportunity to publish their news more widely.

The development of the printing press coincides directly with the initiation of the “Information Age.” The telegraph and radio also fueled the information age, but they didn’t play as big a role as the printing press did.

As Mitchell Stephens’ textbook states: “No invention changed the amount of information available to humankind as radically as that nonelectric, hand-operated machine that arrived in Europe in the 15th century: the printing press.”

under: Uncategorized
Tags: gutenberg, Information Age, Literacy., paulsen, printing press

Germany’s contributions to journalism

Posted by: kylebeaton | September 28, 2009 | No Comment |

Germany has long had a hand in journalism, including it being involved with the very creation of the printing press. While not all of its contributions have been beneficial to the field, one cannot argue that, without Germany’s involvement, journalism would be a very different beast today (if it would be around at all).

Print Command

Johann Gutenberg, a name known to many journalists and history buffs, came from and invented his printing press in Germany. Before his revolutionary invention, written news had to be copied by hand. This caused problems for the news itself, as copying by hand could easily add errors in addition to any errors already present in the story.

Gutenberg’s printing press removed the former human error, while leaving the latter. On top of keeping some errors from plaguing news stories, his printing press also allowed for documents to be copied at a faster rate than being copied by hand. A boon for a budding journalism industry.

One of the press’s first achievements was its use in distributing news on Christopher Columbus’ voyage to America. The printing press allowed the news to circulate within months of his return.

Control of the Press

Germany, like much of Europe at some time or another, wrested control of the press. In 1521, the Edict of Worms was passed, which enforced censorship upon the printers. Printers had to get the OK from either the church or someone of authority in the government. This control allowed Germany to control what was and wasn’t published, ensuring that only articles that favored the government and church would be allowed.

Blazing a Trail – The First Newspapers

There is some evidence that there were newspapers of a sort created in Germany as far back as the 15th century.
It wouldn’t be until Gutenberg’s printing press, however, that newspapers would begin to truly come into fashion.

In the early 17th century, newspapers began to spawn like rabbits. A collection of German newsbooks were found to have been published in Strasbourg in 1609. Newspapers than began to pop up in many countries, including England, Germany, and Belgium.

Germany – The Mother of Journalism

Though many other countries had their hand in the development of journalism, Germany easily had one of the greatest contributions thanks to Gutenberg. Without his invention, one can only imagine where the field would be now.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: Beaton, Kyle, Kyle Beaton, KyleBeaton

Hitler’s diary — or not?

Posted by: rosswilkers | September 27, 2009 | No Comment |

Few historical figures have impacted the world like Adolf Hitler did. In 1983, Gerd Heidemann, German journalist announced that he discovered the lost diaries of Adolf Hitler. He sold the publication rights to West German magazine Stern for 10 million German marks (estimated $6 million USD).

"Hitler's Diaries Discovered" -- from Wikimedia

Prior to publication, Heidemann claimed to have received the diaries from a “Dr. Fischer.” Stern announced the start of publication on April 25. However, the magazine did not subject the diaries to scientific tests. The publishing company, Gruner + Jahr, feared the possibility of leaks.

Newsweek bought the publication rights for the United States and historian Gerhard Weinberg determined the diaries were real The Sunday Times (London), bought the publishing rights for Britain after the discovery. Historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who also director of the newspaper, looked at the diaries and also gave his approval.

Almost immediately after publication, questions were raised about the authenticity of the diaries. Two weeks after the announcement, Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives), determined that the diaries were forged because they were written on modern paper with modern ink. Julius Grant, a British forensic scientist and intelligence officer, confirmed that the diaries were fakes.

The editors of Stern, The Sunday Times and Newsweek all resigned. Stern has never fully re-gained its standing in the German public. “Dr. Fischer” was discovered to be illustrator Konrad Jujau and he, along with Heidemann, were later sentenced to four years in prison each for forgery and embezzlement. In 2002, Heidemann was revealed to have been a double agent for East Germany.

This event serves as a major lesson for journalists and media outlets. The magazine was desparate to have a major story and the excitement prevented them from checking to see whether the story was actually there. Now instead of being a core piece of German media, Stern is a laughingstock. It was not worth the trouble in the end.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: credibility, Heidemann, Hitler, hoax, Wilkers

The News Slowly Spreads

Posted by: yasinjama | September 21, 2009 | No Comment |

Before the era of the Internet, Radio, and Television; Newspapers were the only way to receive news, regardless on how late it was reported. During the pre-20th century era, newspapers were becoming of age.

Newspapers like the New York Times, Freedom Journal, and the Pennsylvania Evening Post were formed between 1783 through 1827. Even some tabloid newspapers were formed as well. At one point, the United States circulated more newspapers then any country in the world.

As usual, reporting on wars were newspapers best friend. Whenever it was the Boston Tea, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War; newspapers were were quick to report on what happen in the battlefields. They also know that war news will always draw in more reader everyday.

Despite it’s circulation, newspapers were often slow on reporting major stories, such as obituaries on presidents, writers, celebrities , and war veterans. An example would be 1616 when William Shakespeare died, but newspapers did not report his death for several months.

Christopher Columbus dies in 1494, but no obituary or report of his death until two months later. King William III dies on March 8th of 1702, but American newspapers didn’t issue the story until May 17th.

So newspapers were slow on reporting deaths of famous figure, and did not reported until several months later.

Can you imagine that happening today? When Ted Kennedy died, people knew the news in seconds thanks to twitter, the internet, and television. When JFK was assassinated, people learn the news within minutes on old black & white televisions and car radios.

Now, I know its unfair to judge newspapers to their accountability. They have limited technology before the 20th century, and the printing press was still booming

But if you want an era when news was slowing spreading, just look at the time periods between the beginning phases of word of mouth and the end of the 19th century.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: Circulation, Jama, Velocity

Women and Muckraking: what started it all

Posted by: Alex Howard | September 21, 2009 | No Comment |

When people think of muckraking, what comes to mind is that term coined by President Teddy Roosevelt. This term has to do with an individual who “rakes the muck” or exposes corruption going on to the public. There were many muckrakers, the majority of them male until reporter Nellie Bly introduced herself to the muckraking industry.

Early on in her career, Bly was a reporter for theatre and arts but ultimately made little money and was not too good at it. She somehow got to the offices of Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper, the New York World, and found an assignment that was difficult to accept but could not be turned down.

Bly had to act as if she were insane and check into Blackwell’s Island Asylum and expose the conditions of the hospital. There were reports that the hospital had poor conditions and that there was abuse and neglect of patients.

It was not too easy because Bly had to practice being deranged and then had many stops before she arrived at the hospital. She went to a boardinghouse where people thought she was crazy because she refused to go to bed and was afraid of everyone else. The police were then called, who summoned her and thought she had amnesia.

Everyone thought she was insane: doctors, lawyers and the police. She even caught media attention from the New York Post. She was then sentenced to the asylum and experienced the worst right away. The food was impossible to eat and even the water was undrinkable. Nothing was sterile and everything was unbearable. The nurses were abusive and rats crawled around the hospital.

After ten days in the hospital, she was released and reported her experiences right away. Everything that was thought to be true was really true. Once people found out for sure what was really going on, a grand jury investigated the conditions in the hospital and had everything fixed. This brought her fame in the muckraking industry, and inspired her to write her book, Ten Days in a Mad-House.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: Blackwell’s Island Asylum, howard, Nellie Bly, New York World, President Teddy Roosevelt, Ten Days in a Mad-House

Did you hear?

Posted by: richardsiemieniak | September 18, 2009 | 1 Comment |

Before Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. Before newspapers, pamphlets and gazettes there was only one way to get the news.

Word-of-mouth.

For over 102,000 years word-of-mouth has been used to transfer the latest news from one person to the next across vast regions. Stories of Pheidippides and Israel Bissell show us how far people went to spread the news. Sometimes though, word-of-mouth produced unreliable news and was often delayed. It was often the only method for getting the news early on though.

Alistair Chisolm is Dorchester's Town Crier

Alistair Chisolm, the Town Crier of Dorchester in Boston, Massachusetts. BBC.

Town Criers were people who announced the news to all those who gathered and passed by. Found on the streets of major cities throughout Europe and The New World. They helped news by word-of-mouth dominate the middle ages in the 18th century as the best way to receive the news.

Even after the printing press was invented in Europe, circa 1450, the high illiteracy rate and fact that only the rich elite could afford and read the printed word left the majority of citizens favoring word-of-mouth which was often free.

Engraving of a London Coffeehouse, ca. 1740. Harpers.

Citizens who wanted the latest news helped to popularize English coffeehouses, meeting places and salons. People would gather and spread the day’s news. Over 500 such places sprang up in London in the 17th century.

The fall of word-of-mouth as the favored platform to receive news began in the 18th century with the population boom of London. With so many people it took too long and stories changed to frequently to make the spread of news by word-of-mouth effective.

The penny press and steam engine in the 19th century did further damage as it made the news cheap and affordable. These also gave news the ability to spread at higher rates helping everyone know the news at the same time.

Technology has certainly advanced the speed, ease, reliability at which news travels in today’s world. But news by word-of-mouth is far from dead. It is our natural instinct, as humans, to listen and spread the news through word-of-mouth.

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Tags: printing press, richardsiemieniak, town criers, word-of-mouth

Run, Pheidippides!

Posted by: RashadM | September 17, 2009 | No Comment |

Demosthenes, the Greek orator (and quote-machine), wrote in the First Philippic that Athenians were obsessed with news by word of mouth. “Thus we all go about framing our several tales,” he said.

Almost 150 years earlier, this obsession was on display for all to see. The courier/messenger Pheidippides ran from the Greek city Marathon to Athens, the Greek capital, to announce that the Athenian army had defeated Persia in their long-running war. After bounding 25 miles, Pheidippides collapsed and died from exhaustion. Earlier in the war, according to legend, he ran 150 miles to request help from the Spartan army before the Persian troops moved in on Marathon.

--- A statue of the Greek messenger Pheidippides. Photo used with permission of author, Wikipedia user Hammer of the Gods27. ---

While his first trip proved fruitless in the beginning – according to one account, the Spartans said they could not send help, citing tradition – his second trip spawned a legend.

After reaching Athens, he uttered the word “nenikikamen” (we have won) and died on the spot, according to one popular view. Others, citing the rejection by the Spartans, said that he was able to enlist the help of the Greek god Pan on his original trip to Sparta, greatly turning the tide of war in the Athenians’ favor.

Poet Robert Browning wrote his own account in his pre-1900 poem, “Pheidippides”:

So, when Persia was dust, all cried “To Akropolis!
Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due!
‘Athens is saved, thank Pan,’ go shout!” He flung down his shield,
Ran like fire once more: and the space ‘twixt the Fennel-field
And Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through,
Till in he broke: “Rejoice, we conquer!” Like wine thro’ clay,
Joy in his blood bursting his heart, he died, the bliss!

What isn’t debated is the legend that Pheidippides’ long distance run left behind. Many historians point to this occassion as being the origin of what we know today as the marathon.

One such competition, the Spartathlon, aims to retrace the exact steps of Pheidippides’ run from Athens to Sparta (the looooong one). This year’s Spartathlon runs on Sept. 25 and 26, and it is sponsored by the International Spartathlon Association.

All this came about just because someone deemed it important to spread the news.

under: Uncategorized
Tags: mulla, Storytelling

Chinese contributions to news (and the world)

Posted by: briancain | September 17, 2009 | No Comment |

The Chinese are credited with many inventions that helped change the world. Their “four great inventions” had enormous impacts throughout history. Two of those great inventions had direct impacts on the dissemination of news.

China’s first major contribution to news, however, was not an invention. It was the domestication of the horse circa 3500 B.C. Prior to the horse being domesticated, news traveled by word-of-mouth, a rather slow form of news travel across a rather large country. The taming of the horse helped add speed and distance to news travel.

"Walking the Horse" - Han Gan (chinapage.com)

The domestication of the horse and its effect on news travel wouldn’t be seen in the United Sates for more than 5,000 years. In 1860, the Pony Express began carrying mail across the western frontier. Although the Pony Express only stayed in business for about 18 months, due to the completion of the telegraph line, it left a lasting impression on the hearts of many Americans.

sample Pony Express poster (National Park Service / Pony Express Stables Museum)

The invention of paper , often attributed to Cai (T’sai) Lun in the year 105, had an enormous impact on the news industry, not to mention the world. Many people today still get their news from the paper. Although new technology and advertising concerns have helped to shrink the number of readers, paper still plays a large role in the news industry. News of this new invention wouldn’t reach Europe for another 1,000 years.

What might seem like a logical next step on the invention ladder after paper would be the printing press. Johann Gutenberg, who is famous for using the letter press in 1450, was a little behind the times — more than 800 years behind the times. The Chinese invented block-printing in 618 and used it to distribute its government newsletter, the “tipao”, across the country — by horse.

reproduction of Chinese movable type (library.thinkquest.org)

under: Uncategorized
Tags: block printing, Cai Lun, cain, Chinese inventions, four great inventions, horse domestication, Johann Gutenburg, letter press, news history, paper, Pony Express, printing press, telegraph, tipao, word-of-mouth

The first database and cuneiform

Posted by: michaelmorse | September 17, 2009 | No Comment |

The first database, in recorded history, or what we think of as a database, according to Mitchell Stevens, author of “The History of News,” was written on clay tablets (as seen below) in cuneiform (symbolic script) around 2500 B.C. in Mesopotamia (present day Syria). Recorded on these tablets were state documents, property ownership listings, agricultural data, school manuscripts, and literary accomplishments.

cuneiformtabletsm

At first glance, one would wonder why these clay tablets were so important in the history of news and journalism. After all, these clay tablets only contain legal and political records. Why should anyone care about these clay tablets since they were written so long ago? The truth is a lot of people will not care about them, but students of journalism and history should care about them because legal and political records were not the only things recorded on these tablets, but in fact, poltical corruption, according to Stevens, was mentioned in clay tablets (similar to the first database that was written in 2500 B.C.) were written during the 14th or 15th century B.C.

Yes, that is right, folks, political corruption was mentioned thousands of years ago and it was thanks to someone recording the details of the accusations against the political official on these tablets that we have this story. According to Stevens, the political official who was caught up in corruption and scandal was the mayor of a small town in Mesopotamia called Nuzu. The mayor was named Kushiharbe and the crimes he was accused of engaging in, centered around, thievery and extortion. One of the testimonials at Kushiharbe’s trial that Stevens provides in his book that came from the clay tablets against him was from a man named Ninuari who stated that, “Kushiharbe robbed me from my own storehouse. Two shekels of gold, one ox, and two rams I paid to Kushiharbe; then he restored to me (what he had stolen).”

Stevens also mentions that Kushiharbe got hit with another accusation on top of the accusations already against him; he was accused of having a relations with a married woman named Humerelli. Testimony accusing Kushiharbe of sleeping with the married woman and testimony defending him were also found in the clay tablets. Stevens notes that the person who recorded the testimonies accusing and defending Kushiharbe did it to provide an objective view of the case.

The fact that a poltical corruption case, which happened thousands of years ago, was recorded on clay tablets in cuneiform is pretty telling, especially since political corruption, is sadly commonplace in American politics (remember Governor Rod Blagojevich?). In the end, some people might not ever care about the first database or others like it, but people should remember that without record keeping, first being used on clay tablets, it would be difficult to obtain information for research or reporting.

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Tags: clay tablets, cuneiform, database, Michael Morse, records

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