Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-12-24
THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.
JournnIism From she Days OF the Ro-
man Empire Until the Present

S0urnMIlsm From She Days of the RO-
man Empire Until the Present
Time.
Careful research has failed of ascer-
tanning when and where the first news
paper appeared. There is also an inter-
esting query as to the fate of its projec-
tor. The ActG Disrnd of the ancien4
Romans reported the proceedings Of the
senate and did some news reporting in
its way. IT existed before the time Of
julius Cesar and was prohibited by
Augustus. Gus was an astute politician,
and, not being able to use the Diurna, he
suppressed it. The news items Of the
ancient Roman newspaper did not differ
much from those Of to-day, and it would
appear that the reportoriaI style has de-
scended unchanged from the noblest
Roman Of them all, a sixty-dollars- a-week
reporter, probably, to the modern mem
bers of the fourth estate. Imagine
reporter in toga philandering round
for news. The following togaed items
were reported by Petronius, B. O. 15O:
On the 25th of july thirty boys and forty
girls We're born at Tramalchi's estate at
Cuma. AT the same time slave was put to
death for uttering disrespectful words
against bis lord. Tne same day fire broke
OUT IN Pompey's gardens, which began in the
night IN the stewards apartment
Gashmu, embalmed like fly in amber
in Nehemiah vi, g. was sort of re-
porter around Jersaleum. He made up
canards to damage the other party. Ven,
ice is sometimes said to be the birth
place of the newspaper. The Venetian
government, in the year 1868, during
war with the Turks, issued written
sheets giving information of the events
OF the war. These were read in public
places to groups Of auditors, each one Of
the group paying coin called gazetta;
hence the name of gazette as applied to
newspapers. The government eventu-
ally gave their announcements in regu-
lar manner once month. Thirty vol
umes of these manuscript newspapers
still exist in the libraries of Florence. 1t
is not true that the first Venetian news
paper was an instrument of the inouisi-
tion with which to torture men. The
use of newspapers for torture is of later
origin.
The English Aercurie appeared in 1888
ard was published occasionally as mat
ters Of event to took place. 1t was fol-
lowed by THE Certain Neees Of this Pres
ent Heeki in 1862. About this time Bur-
ton wrote:
Il any read nowadays it is a aplay-booE, or
The first semi-weekly was published
in England in 1865. In 1850 the print.
ing Of newspapers was prohibited in
England. 1t is supposed that there was
Stead around at this time. There was.
a. any rae, the profigate Charles II. and
the odious CaJaI. The censorship of the
press was abolished in England in 1895.
and thereafter newspapers multipl ed.
The titles of the early English news
papers were quaint and curious. There
was Tie Dutch Spy, The Scots Doce, The
Parliament Kate, The Secret O,oz, Nsws
from Hell, Nss0s from the World in The
Moon, The laughing Aercury and Tile
Weekly Discorerer Stripped Naked. At
this period newspapers had become the
rage in portions Of Europe, and rival
armies carried a printer along, much to
the disgust of the printer. 1t should
have been noted that parliamentary
speeches were attempted to be reported
in 1862.
In 1909 London had sixteen news
papers outside OF weeklies, one daily.
twelve tri-weeklies, and three semi
weeklies.
There was no stock companies then,
and every proprietor owned his news
paper.
1t is definitely known that the first
successful effort to establish newspaper
IN the colonies was made in 1904. On
the gath of April of that year appeared
the Boston NesOs- Letter, which continued
to be published weekly until the revolu-
tionary war.
The first newspaper war was inaugur-
ated in 1719-the Neaos- Letter takinp
ofense at the Introductory advertise
ments of the Boston Gasette, which an
peared Dec. 21, 1919. The rival editors
did not commence their attacks upon
each other in the polite language of o
Western brother. who said: nThe dis
tinguished consideration in which we
hold the three-ply jackass who edits our
noxious contemporary yet they flung
around in pretty lively sort Of way.
The third newspaper in the United
States was published at Philadelphia in
1719, and the fourth at Boston in 1871.
The latter, the NeD England Courant,
was edited by James Franklin. Before
tie end of a year Franklin was in jail for
attacks upon the government, but the
paper was continued by Ben Franklin
bis brother. Ben and he were out then,
and it is generally conceded that the
Franklins were out and out Mugwumps.
The first paper in the State OF New
York, the Gasette, appeared at New
York city in 1725. From 1856 to 1855
eight newspapers were started in the
State, all published at New York city
The first newspaper outside Of the city
appeared at Albany in 1872.
Of the dailies now published in New
York city only half dozen have heen in