The History of Newspapers by Williams, Zoe

Colonial News

zmw2_1 — 2025-09-30 03:08:51 UTC

During the early 18th century, this was when the colonial newspaper began to appear. It was a way to communicate news to the colonies about what was happening in Europe, which also included commercials and discussions of politics, especially during periods of increasing conflict between Britain and the American colonies. A challenge that this newspaper era faced was censorship. This was because it helped to fuel the opinions that people had about what the government was doing. They were met with legal issues, which then led to a discourse on the free press. Due to colonial newspapers it helped to define the First Amendment, as when the first case appeared around freedom of the press, the publisher Zenger was found not guilty.

https://fiveable.me/key-terms/apush/colonial-newspapers

https://www.history.com/articles/freedom-of-the-press#Origins-Of-Free-Press

Penny Press

zmw2_1 — 2025-09-30 03:12:35 UTC

In New York, on September 3, 1833, Penny Press was created by Benjamin Henry Day. On a mission to make newspapers more affordable to the working class, he launched the New York Sun. This made buying newspapers only one cent. Therefore, people did not need to have an ongoing subscription to receive news. At first, it did not focus on politics, but rather dramatic news, advertisements, and reports on things in the community. Until G. Bennett opened the New York Herald. A challenge that this newspaper era most likely faced was appealing to all citizens. To overcome this, they included politics, made it accessible, and news that all citizens would want to read about, leaning on the old structure of the newspaper. It would then not be about the price, but about the information.

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/birth-penny-press

Yellow Journalism

zmw2_1 — 2025-09-30 03:13:29 UTC

The Yellow Newspaper was a term originating from a conflict between Hearst and Pulitzer over “The Yellow Kid”. This era spanned from 1895 to 1898. It relayed news around sensationalism but failed to verify if the news was reputable or true. Yellow Journalism played an important role in shaping public sentiment. Essentially, the newspaper circulated rumors surrounding the explosion that occurred in Cuba. It highlighted anti-Spanish speech, which later was crucial to the Spanish-American War. A challenge this newspaper era faced was addressing credibility and not publishing false information. However, they most likely did not make any progress towards verifying news, as it gave them traction and money. It was their brand to give overlooked information and make it even more dramatic.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/yellow-journalism

Modern Journalism

zmw2_1 — 2025-09-30 03:14:26 UTC

In today's generation, everything is fast-paced and digitalized. Many do not use newspapers that are printed out, but those that come from websites. For example, the New York Times where you have to access their information with a subscription. They also give people options to play games to allow readers to be engaged. The challenges in this newspaper era are AI and misinformation. In this era, journalists cannot find trustworthy sources, and readers are sometimes given fake news. To combat this, many have stressed having media literacy and taking the time to research and make sure the news you intake is true. AI is also a challenge, as many fear that it will replace them.

https://www.cision.com/resources/articles/biggest-journalism-challenges-media/