Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-12-17
THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.
History of Journalism From the Days
of the Roman Empire Until the
Present Time.
New York Star.


Careful research has fai'ed of as
certaining when and where the Rrst
newspaper appeared. There is also an
Interesting query as TO the fate of It's
protector The Acta Diurna of the
ancient Romans reported the proceed
ipgs Of the Senate and did some news
reporting IN lis way. 1t existed before
the time of Julius Cesar and was
prohibited by Augustus. Gus was an
austute politician, and, not being able
TO use the Dlurna, he suppressed It,
The news items of the ancient Be-
man newspaper did not differ much
from those Of to-day, and 1t would APP
pear that the reportorial style has
descended unchanged from the noblest
Roman Of them all, a sixGy-dollar-a-
week reporter, probably, TO the mod
ern meDb ers of the fourth estate
Imagine reporter in toga philan-
dering round for news. The follow
ing togaed items were reported by
Peronius, B. @. $50:
On the 25th day of July, thirty boys and forty
girls were born at Tramalchi's estate at Cuma.
At the same time a slave was put to death for
uttering disrespectful words against his lord The
same day a fire broke out in Pompey's gardens,
which began in the night in the Stewards
apartment.
Gushmu, embalmed like a fly in
amber, in Nehemiah vi, 6. was sort
of a reporter around Jerusalem. He
made up canards to damage the other
party. Venice IS sometimes said to be
the birthplace of the newspaper. The
Venetian government, in the year
1868 during war with the Turks,
issued written sheets giving informa-
ton Of the events of the war. These
were read IN public places TO groups
paying a coin called gazetta; hence
the name gazette as applied to news
papers. The government eventually
gave their announcements one a month.
Thirty volumes of these manuscript
newspapers still exist in the libraries
of Florence. It is not true that the
first Venetian newspaper was an in
strument Of the Inquisition with
which to torture men. The use of
newspapers for torture is of latter
origin.
The English Mercurie appeared in
1888, and was published occasionally
as matters of event took place. 1t was
folio we'd by The Certain News of this
Present Week in 1922
About this time Burton wrote:
If any read now a-days it is a play-book or
pamphlet Of news
The first seni-weekly was published
in England in 1865. In 1880 the print
ing of newspapers was prohibited in
England. It is supposed there was a
Stead around at this time. There was
at any rate, the profigate Charles IL,
and the odious Cabal The censor
ship Of the press was abolished in
1895, and thereafter newspapers null
| tiplied.
The titles of the early English news
papers were quaint and curious.
There was The Dutch Spy. The Scots
Dove, The Parliament Kite, The Sc
cret Owl, News From He'll, News
From the World in the Moon, The
Laughing Mercury, and the Weekly
| Discoverer.
At this period newspapers had be
come the rage in Europe, and rival
armies carried a printer along, much
to the disgust of the printer,
It should have been noted that par
liamentary 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. One of these must have
been called The World, for it was
such a kind of paper that Addison
satisfied in hissprojected sheet that
was to contain such remarkable occur
rences as follows:
| Letters from Brompton advises that Widow
Blight had received several visits from John Mil
dew which affords great matter of speculation in
| those parts
| Letters from Paddington bring little more than
that VIM. Squeak, the hog-gelder passed through
| that place on the 9Th inst.
There was no stock companies then
and every proprietor owned his own
newspaper.
1t is as hard to determine the first
newspapers published in the United
States as in the world. It is claimed
| by certain authorities that in 1890 an
attempt was made by an adventurous
printer to start a newspaper some
where in the United States. He was
Immediately sat upon by the authori-
IL
is recorded. It is also said that one
copy of the paper is still in existence.
the whole story has the odor Of the
ancient chestnut.
It is definitely known that the first
successful effort to establish a news
paper in the celonies was made la II
Oh, On the Oath Of April of that year
appeared the Boston Newsletter,
which continued TO be published
weekly until the revolutionary war.
The first newspaper war inaugural
ed in 1719-the Newsletter taking
| ofense at the Introductory advertis-
ment of the Boston Gazette. which
appeared Dec. 81, 1910. The rival
editors did not commence their at
tacks upon each other in the polite
language of a western brother, who
said: "The distinguished considera
ton in which we hold the three-ply
jackass who edits our noxious CON
tempory;;" yet they flung around in a
pretty lively sort of way.