A History of News

Praise for previous editions:". . . thorough, scrupulous, and witty. . . A History of News is in all respects first-rate, and original, work."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post". . . as a critical historian, his analysis is not only astute, but often elegant and even downright poignant . . . a book indispensable for its lucid demonstration that the news, while promising enlightenment, also promotes confusion."--Mark Crispin Miller, New York Times Book Review"Stephens has produced a study of the concept of 'news' from prehistoric times to our own, and the book succeeds as a thoroughly accessible work about the history, anthropology, economics, psychology, and practical techniques of journalism."--Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times"Stephens . . . has given us an insightful and very different look at our communication past. . . . We do not have another communication history like this. . . . Perhaps we should make our students dive deeper. Perhaps we should ourselves. This book does."--Donald Lewis Shaw, Journalism QuarterlyPraise for previous editions:". . . thorough, scrupulous, and witty. . . A History of News is in all respects first-rate, and original, work."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post". . . as a critical historian, his analysis is not only astute, but often elegant and even downright poignant . . . a book indispensable for its lucid demonstration that the news, while promising enlightenment, also promotes confusion."--Mark Crispin Miller, New York Times Book Review"Stephens has produced a study of the concept of 'news' from prehistoric times to our own, and the book succeeds as a thoroughly accessible work about the history, anthropology, economics, psychology, and practical techniques of journalism."--Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times"Stephens . . . has given us an insightful and very different look at our communication past. . . . We do not have another communication history like this. . . . Perhaps we should make our students dive deeper. Perhaps we should ourselves. This book does."--Donald Lewis Shaw, Journalism Quarterly

• A Chronology Introduction PART I: SPOKEN NEWS 1. Why News?--The Thursty Desyer that All Our Kynde Hath to Know The Need for News--A Social Sense The Urge to Tell 2. News in Preliterate Societies--In the Ordinary Way "Human Wireless Telegraphy" The Amplification of News--Messengers, Criers and Minstrels Newsworthiness The Edge of the World 3. The Survival of Spoken News--Publishing the Whisper of the Day Coffeehouses and Nouvellistes The Decline of Spoken News PART II: WRITTEN NEWS 4. News and Literacy--The First Story that Comes to Hand The Demands of News News and History 5. News and Empire--The Thought Stream of the Group Mind News of Rome News Through China News Across Europe "Cosmopolitan Commerce" PART III: PRINTED NEWS 6. Controlling the News--The Undeceiving of the People News Management and Manipulation--The Newsbook Press Controls A Fear of Controversy Chauvinism--The News Ballad 7. Human Interests (Faits Divers)--Such a Deal of Wonder Published Gossip News of Crime Sensationalism Moralizing The Supernatural "Popular" Journalism 8. The Logic of News (Faits Isolés)--People Biting Dogs The Extraordinary The Conventional The Unexpected PART IV: NEWSPAPERS 9. The First Newspapers--Expecting the News News in Venice--The Gazette News from Amersterdam--The Coranto An Editor in London 10. The Power of the Periodical--Domesticating News Home News--The Breadth of the Newspaper News of Science--The Authority of the Newspaper News of Business--The Speed of the Newspaper 11. News and Revolution--A Junction of All the People The American Revolution The French Revolution A Free Press 12. Mass Circulation--For All The Penny Press and Newspaper Ownership Other Voices The New Journalism and Consolidation Tabloids and Corporations PART V: REPORTING 13. Before Reporting--No Data by Which We Can Correctly Reason The Haze The Print Shop 14. The Development of Reporting--The Journalistic Method Enterprise Observation Investigation--The World Asked to Explain Itself The Veneration of the Fact Objectivity Controlling the News--Still PART VI: ELECTRONIC NEWS 15. New Technologies--Improved Means to an Unimproved End Radio--An Electronic Meeting Place Television--The Distant Newsmonger 16. The Information Explosion--A Surfeit of Data Publicity The Weight of the Present--News, Rumors and Ideas The Future of News Endnotes Bibliography Credits Index