Of the three traditional forms of media, press, cinema and radio. It is the press which has the longest history. The earliest form of newspapers can be traced back to classical Rome from about 131 BC. The Acta Diurna, which can be translated as ‘Daily Public Records’ were posters made out of stone or metal and were carved with the daily news and put up on public notice boards. They detailed social and political events. In addition to this, newsletters were also produced in the late Middle Ages. These are examples of the very first ways in which knowledge and information was spread to the masses, (Baker, 2009). Much later, the Chinese developed the printing process in the 11th century as well as the invention of paper. The later development of printing is attributed to Johannes Gutenburg in 1455. He invented the printing press that had moveable wooden or metal letters.His process allowed for mass printing, producing multiple copies of the same thing which was available at a relatively cheap price. The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world dramatically. Literacy levels rose and as the price of printed materials dropped, knowledge was now more freely available to the masses. The Bible was the first book to be published using Gutenberg’s press. The technique however did not reach Scotland until 1508, (Briggs & Burke, 2009). The origins of the British Press can be linked back to the 17th century, with the first titled newspaper appearing in London in 1621 entitled the ‘Corante’. It wasn’t until much later in 1702 that the first regular daily newspaper was launched, called The Daily Courant. The paper consisted of a single page with two columns. Initially Scotland’s news was transported from London from papers such as these, hence the content was not always relevant and often out of date.
The first Scottish newspapers were published in the mid‐17th century; the earliest surviving Scottish newspaper is the Mercurius Caledonius which was published in 1661 in Leith, Edinburgh. It dealt with relevant Scottish affairs. However, this paper did not last long as it was suppressed by the Scottish Privy Council. This was a body that advised the King on social, political and economic matters. It was not until this body was abolished in 1708 that newspapers were allowed to circulate information more freely without as many restrictions, (Reid, 2006) More newspaper titles were produced in Scotland, and they began to carry local news as well as news from London and abroad. Advertisements were introduced, in the first instance, mainly for patent medicines and notices of entertainments. Titles that appeared at this time included The Scotsman and The Inverness Courier. One of the newspapers launched at that time that is still around today is the Aberdeen Press and Journal (1748). These publications were infrequent and not available on a daily basis, they reported heavily on material from London papers. Because of slow transport at the time, news released in London papers did not reach Scotland for several days and so was always out of date. The papers were short in length, normally 4 pages or so and the type of news they reported was generally about serious political matters. Newspapers at that time made revenue from the selling price of the paper and relied heavily on advertising, and had circulation numbers that were in the hundreds, (Douglas, 2009). Governments recognized at an early stage that newspapers were a potential source of revenue and, in consequence, a newspaper stamp tax was imposed on all weekly newspapers in 1712. The cover price was not cheap for the time and the stamp duty did not help, it became known as ‘the taxes on knowledge.’ These taxes became unjustifiable and was a barrier to the growth of cheap papers. So, in 1855 stamp duty was abolished, this meant that newspapers were cheaper, and so available to more people. Also several titles were available on a daily basis and more content was put in them. This leads us on to the development of the Scottish press, (Baker, 2009).
Baker, A. (2009) The Newspaper World Essays on Press History and Work Past and Present. Read Books; Warwickshire.
Reid, H. (2006) Deadline: The Story of the Scottish Press. Saint Andrew Press; St. Andrews.
Douglas, F. (2009) Scottish Newspapers, Language and Identity (Film, Media, and Cultural Studies). Edinburgh University Press; Edinburgh.
Briggs, A & Burke, P. (2009) Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet. Polity Press; Cambridge.
The History of the Scottish Press
Of the three traditional forms of media, press, cinema and radio. It is the press which has the longest history.
The earliest form of newspapers can be traced back to classical Rome from about 131 BC. The Acta Diurna, which can be translated as ‘Daily Public Records’ were posters made out of stone or metal and were carved with the daily news and put up on public notice boards. They detailed social and political events. In addition to this, newsletters were also produced in the late Middle Ages. These are examples of the very first ways in which knowledge and information was spread to the masses, (Baker, 2009).
Much later, the Chinese developed the printing process in the 11th century as well as the invention of paper.
The later development of printing is attributed to Johannes Gutenburg in 1455. He invented the printing press that had moveable wooden or metal letters. His process allowed for mass printing, producing multiple copies of the same thing which was available at a relatively cheap price. The printing press was the world's first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world dramatically. Literacy levels rose and as the price of printed materials dropped, knowledge was now more freely available to the masses. The Bible was the first book to be published using Gutenberg’s press. The technique however did not reach Scotland until 1508, (Briggs & Burke, 2009).
The origins of the British Press can be linked back to the 17th century, with the first titled newspaper appearing in London in 1621 entitled the ‘Corante’. It wasn’t until much later in 1702 that the first regular daily newspaper was launched, called The Daily Courant. The paper consisted of a single page with two columns.
Initially Scotland’s news was transported from London from papers such as these, hence the content was not always relevant and often out of date.
The first Scottish newspapers were published in the mid‐17th century; the earliest surviving Scottish newspaper is the Mercurius Caledonius which was published in 1661 in Leith, Edinburgh. It dealt with relevant Scottish affairs. However, this paper did not last long as it was suppressed by the Scottish Privy Council. This was a body that advised the King on social, political and economic matters. It was not until this body was abolished in 1708 that newspapers were allowed to circulate information more freely without as many restrictions, (Reid, 2006)
More newspaper titles were produced in Scotland, and they began to carry local news as well as news from London and abroad. Advertisements were introduced, in the first instance, mainly for patent medicines and notices of entertainments.
Titles that appeared at this time included The Scotsman and The Inverness Courier. One of the newspapers launched at that time that is still around today is the Aberdeen Press and Journal (1748). These publications were infrequent and not available on a daily basis, they reported heavily on material from London papers. Because of slow transport at the time, news released in London papers did not reach Scotland for several days and so was always out of date. The papers were short in length, normally 4 pages or so and the type of news they reported was generally about serious political matters. Newspapers at that time made revenue from the selling price of the paper and relied heavily on advertising, and had circulation numbers that were in the hundreds, (Douglas, 2009).
Governments recognized at an early stage that newspapers were a potential source of revenue and, in consequence, a newspaper stamp tax was imposed on all weekly newspapers in 1712. The cover price was not cheap for the time and the stamp duty did not help, it became known as ‘the taxes on knowledge.’ These taxes became unjustifiable and was a barrier to the growth of cheap papers. So, in 1855 stamp duty was abolished, this meant that newspapers were cheaper, and so available to more people. Also several titles were available on a daily basis and more content was put in them. This leads us on to the development of the Scottish press, (Baker, 2009).
Baker, A. (2009) The Newspaper World Essays on Press History and Work Past and Present. Read Books; Warwickshire.
Reid, H. (2006) Deadline: The Story of the Scottish Press. Saint Andrew Press; St. Andrews.
Douglas, F. (2009) Scottish Newspapers, Language and Identity (Film, Media, and Cultural Studies). Edinburgh University Press; Edinburgh.
Briggs, A & Burke, P. (2009) Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet. Polity Press; Cambridge.