Newspapers through the Ages
Mark Dziak
1Today, people have more options than ever when it comes to finding news and other information. Recently, the Internet has allowed people to find news using computers. Before that, television brought news—in words, pictures, and videos—right into many people’s homes. Even earlier, radios allowed information to pass very quickly through the country. Yet an even older way of sharing news, the newspaper, is still very popular today all around the world. Newspapers have been around in some form or another since ancient times.
2Ancient Romans created documents that might be considered early kinds of newspapers. These documents were called Acta Diurna, or Public Records of the Day. These large pieces of metal or stone had important news carved into them. They were posted in public areas where people could gather to read and discuss them. Historians believe this idea came during the time of the powerful ruler Julius Caesar.
3In ancient China, people found their own ways to keep informed. Instead of carving the news on giant slabs of rock, Chinese writers made tipao, or “palace bulletins,” written on sheets made of silk. Each sheet was handwritten and contained important information about the government. Leaders would read the sheets to stay informed of the emperor’s decisions. Much later, companies began making similar newssheets in the city of Beijing. These sheets might discuss the government, economy, or other topics.
4In the 1500s, Europeans also were making their news portable. In Italy, government leaders hired writers to create monthly newsletters that told of happenings in Italy. These were similar to today’s newspapers except that they were still entirely written and created by hand. Despite the hard work that went into them, they did not cost much. People could buy them for a single coin, called a gazetta. The word gazetta has carried over into English as gazette, which now means a kind of newspaper.
5Truly modern newspapers were not created, however, until after the invention of movable type. Movable type was a system of printing that involved special type pieces. These were metal or ceramic “stampers” with the image of a letter or number. A press operator would arrange these type pieces to form words and sentences on a larger block. By coating the block with ink and pressing blank pages to it, the operator could make many copies of the words.
6Movable type was likely invented in Asia about a thousand years ago. However, Johannes Gutenberg made the earliest printing press, as we know it today, around 1450. These presses used movable type to create many pages of news faster and more easily than any other process. The information spread this way helped people discover new ideas about the world. It helped usher in the era of thought and learning known as the Renaissance.
7Newspapers have changed over the years, but they still follow the same basic rules. The point of a newspaper is to provide people with facts, opinions, and other information that might be useful in their lives. From ancient times until today, keeping up with the news is important to people all over the world.
Question
What can the reader infer the author means when he says that newspapers were not truly modern until after the invention of movable type?
Responses
A To be truly modern, newspapers must cost more than a simple gazetta and have a sizable subscription base.To be truly modern, newspapers must cost more than a simple gazetta and have a sizable subscription base.
B To be truly modern, newspapers needed to be strictly about news and not contain opinions or advertisements.To be truly modern, newspapers needed to be strictly about news and not contain opinions or advertisements.
C A modern newspaper is printed many more times than previous newspapers--and still is relatively cheap to buy.A modern newspaper is printed many more times than previous newspapers--and still is relatively cheap to buy.
D Modern newspapers have editorial staff and hires an army of reporters to investigate every case of legal wrong-doing.Modern newspapers have editorial staff and hires an army of reporters to investigate every case of legal wrong-doing.