The Evolution of American Newspapers

“Oral news systems must have arrived early in the development of language, some tens or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. … And the dissemination of news accomplishes some of the basic purposes of language: informing others, entertaining others, protecting the tribe.”

MITCHELL STEPHENS, A HISTORY OF NEWS, 1988

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The idea of news is as old as language itself. The earliest news was passed along orally from family to family, from tribe to tribe, by community leaders and oral historians. The earliest known written news account, or news sheet, Acta Diurna (Latin for “daily events”), was developed by Julius Caesar and posted in public spaces and on buildings in Rome in 59 BCE. Even in its oral and early written stages, news informed people on the state of their relations with neighboring tribes and towns. The development of the printing press in the fifteenth century greatly accelerated a society’s ability to send and receive information. Throughout history, news has satisfied our need to know things we cannot experience personally. Newspapers today continue to document daily life and bear witness to both ordinary and extraordinary events.