by G.K. Dickey

Created on: May 28, 2008   Last Updated: March 15, 2010

In today's frenetic rush to inform and be informed, a brief history of the news media clearly charts its evolution to be ever-expanding at an increasingly brisk pace as innovation drives lightning-like technological advances.

From posted stone bulletins, to town criers, to the printed page; from the wireways to the airwaves, and to the ethereal Internet and its countless devices, the public's unquenchable thirst for information demands that news travels fast.

The best way to tell the story of this historical weave is through the notable names attached to the notable leaps forward.

(Keep in mind that the following references are limited to the mechanical maturation of the news media. Similar outlines could follow the moral, ethical, legal and content evolution as well.)

During Julius Caesar's Roman Republic (circa 131 BC), "Daily Public Records" first appeared. They were carved on stone or metal, and placed on message boards in such venues as the Forum in Rome. These "publications" were known as Acta Diurna, Acta Popidi or Acta Publica. The public notices ranged from legal proceedings to marriage and birth announcements.

Johannes Gutenberg, a German printer, was the first European to use movable type in 1439 and is credited with being the inventor of the mechanical printing press with his publication of the Gutenberg Bible. His printing technology is heralded as a key factor in the European Renaissance.

Even with this advancement, because many people could not read or write, other ways were used to "get the word out." In 1607, Medieval English bellman George Tunnal read a public notice "forbidding the tipping of rubbish in the river." Tunnal and fellow town criers were the primary communicators of news in their time and because the news was sometimes bad (such as tax increases), the messengers of ill-tidings were protected by the ruling monarch. Bells, gongs and drums were often used to gain attention to an upcoming announcement.

Benjamin Harris was the creator of the first multi-page newspaper published in the Americas. The first edition of "Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick" was published September 25, 1690. It was intended to be a monthly publication but no second edition was ever printed as the paper was shut down by the government on Sept. 29, 1690, due to "sundry doubtful and uncertain reports."

German-born John Peter Zenger owned "The New York Weekly Journal" and became the first newsman in America to be jailed.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>