Print Journalism
In the 1830's their were numerous advances in printing and paper making. This was because Johannes Gutenburg invented the printing press. This led to the growth of newspapers. It was not until 1843 that Richard M. Hoe invented the steam powered rotary printing press. This printing press was often called the Penny Press. This was because it made it possible to produce and sell newspapers for only a penny. This meant that for only a penny information about the rest of the country could be spread to anyone! This was a great new way to spread information to large groups of people. Now nearly anyone could have a greater understanding of the rest of the country. Even these Penny Presses only circulated to a small quantity of people. In 1890 the first circulation of over a million copies of a newspaper occurred! This meant that the population had greatly increased. Not only that but the amount of literate Americans were increasing. More people now could and did read things like newspapers.
These early newspapers were great ways to spread information, but not all of the information was great. The first amendment of the United States Constitution states that anyone has the right to express themselves freely. Because of this amendment, anyone could print whatever they wanted into newspapers with very little to no restriction. This was a period that often featured opinionated articles and was an era of many cases of Yellow Journalism. Yellow Journalism is a type of literature that features little to no legitimate well-researched news. These newspapers were made strictly to make money and not to actually spread news to the world.
Not all news in these early newspapers were inaccurate. Some newspapers were reliable to give accurate reports on what is happening in the country. When the Civil War was taking place, newspapers were very important. People relied on newspapers too relay information about the war and the places effected in a timely manor. The Civil War effected many peoples lives. The citizens of the United States deserved to have an accurate display of events. It could inform the people where a battle was about to take place and give them the ability to avoid or flee the area. Early newspapers much like today sometimes featured political views and opinions. These articles gave even the common man a chance to have a say in politics. Everyone from farmers to business owners now had the ability to understand things about the country.
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