In this article, we will explore the key milestones in the evolution of journalism and how journalists have adapted to these changes to stay relevant in the digital age.
Here are ten key facts about the evolution of journalism:
- Early Beginnings: The earliest forms of journalism can be traced back to ancient Rome, where daily handwritten news sheets called “Acta Diurna” were circulated in public places.
- Printing Press Revolution: The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century revolutionized journalism. It enabled the mass production of newspapers, making news accessible to a broader audience.
- First Newspapers: The first regularly published newspapers appeared in the early 17th century in Europe. Notable examples include “Relation” in Strasbourg (1605) and “The London Gazette” (1665).
- Colonial Press: In the American colonies, the first newspaper, “Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick,” was published in Boston in 1690. It was quickly shut down by the government, highlighting early struggles for press freedom.
- Penny Press: The 1830s saw the rise of the “penny press” in the United States, exemplified by newspapers like “The New York Sun.” These papers were sold for one cent, making news affordable for the general public and significantly expanding readership.
- Yellow Journalism: In the late 19th century, sensationalist journalism, known as “yellow journalism,” became prominent. Publishers like Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst used eye-catching headlines and exaggerated stories to attract readers.
- Photojournalism: The introduction of photography in the mid-19th century transformed journalism. Iconic moments, like the American Civil War and later conflicts, were documented visually, adding a powerful dimension to news reporting.
- Broadcast Journalism: The 20th century brought the advent of radio and television, changing how news was delivered. The first radio news program was broadcast in 1920, and TV news became popular after World War II, offering real-time reporting.
- Digital Revolution: The rise of the internet in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has fundamentally changed journalism. Online news platforms, social media, and citizen journalism have diversified how news is produced and consumed.
- Challenges and Innovations: Today, journalism faces challenges like misinformation, declining print revenues, and the need for sustainable business models. However, innovations such as data journalism, multimedia storytelling, and artificial intelligence are shaping the future of the field.
Evolution of Journalism
If you will, try to imagine your prehistoric ancestors emerging from their caves and reaching out to their environment Archeologists, who refer to this era as the Raniapithecus Age, tell us that cave people possessed the basic senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Different from creatures of the 20lh century, their brains and cultural nervous system began slowly to evolve and later generations gradually acquired the basic tools of communication.
They began to distinguish between pleasurable and unpleasant experiences More refined perception and a more sophisticated brain and central nervous system developed simultaneously and aided in satisfying basic needs, light to see, air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, sleep to strengthen, and shelter to protect them from the environment.
By about 300,000 B C , their nervous systems and brains, as well as their genetic features, began to resemble those of present day man Two hundred thousand years later embryonic ‘language began to develop, replacing a communication based mainly on touch Regardless of whether this language developed through learning or instinct, genetic evaluation had now been joined by language evolution. By about 7000 B.C, Homo sapiens had evolved genetically to their present form, and the ability to communicate had gained another medium: pictographic.
These wall etching, inside caves and temples remain vivid picture message that depict the life and religious beliefs of these first humans. Then these etchings became highly stylized, and the first symbols of language came into existence. Primitive alphabets, sometimes consisting of more than 600 characters, marked the beginning of recorded history.
Man was now able record socio-cultural events, attitudes, values and habits and trace the development of the moral codes. Many of these techniques continued into modern cultures, such as those of North American Indians who .recorded famous battles, songs and the lives of chiefs for posterity, cultures learned about and studied other cultures. Historical perspective developed so that, when planning our futures, we could examine our past
As civilization continued to expand interpersonal communication was used cross-culturally. Relay runners would carry messages to distant places but this system of purveying information was still very slow, and mostly determined by how fast a messenger could run or ride. In some cases the messages took months and even years to reach their destination
Even in the ancient and early medieval times, bulletins, news pamphlets and other propaganda material, used to be pasted on the walls. Sometimes, royals’ proclamations or edicts were also pasted on the walls or inscribed on the stones. The kings in ancient time used to get written reports from their departments and their spies or agents, writer’s of newsletter also sent news to the persons who were residing far away from the capital of a country. The newsletter thus is quite an early institution.
Undoubtedly, the history of journalism is closely linked to the development of the printing press. The credit for the invention of the art of printing goes to the Chinese. It is said that the Chinese were the first to use movable types for printing press Even paper was first of all manufactured in China. The first book was printed by a Chinese in 868 A.D. The Chinese Court Gazette is said to be the oldest newspaper published at Peking.
The knowledge of the art of printing spread to the west from China The Chinese had developed the movable types between the 9th and 11th century In the 15,h century Johannes Gutenberg, a gold smith of Mainz developed a moveable type.
In the middle of the 16th century the morning newspapei took shape in Europe. In the year 1609, two newssheets namely “Aviso” from Germany and “Relations” from Strasbourg started coming out regularly.
BY 1621, the English printers started their own newssheets In 1621, a single newssheet called Coranto was published in English In 1665 the Oxford Gazette, made its first appearance.
In 1550, the Jesuits brought the first printing press to India In the beginning only religious books were published in Portuguese, Tamil and Malayalam. In the sub continent news writing in the shape of newsletters had become quite prevalent during the Mughal period although the manuscript reports were also copied some times for wider use.
The first attempt to start a newspaper in Calcutta was made by one William Bolts. But in reality, Junies Augustus Hickey started the first newspaper, the Bengal Gazette. His newspaper consisted of two sheets only East India Company started the next newspaper named as the “India Gazette”. The first Urdu newspaper of the subcontinent was Janie- i-Jahan Numa, which came out in 1822 from Calcutta Details of further papers up till now will be discusses in later pages.
Journalists have embraced these changes and adapted to new ways of storytelling to stay relevant in the digital age. While the future of journalism may be uncertain, one thing is clear: journalism will continue to evolve and innovate to meet the needs of a constantly changing world.