Asian Art

History of newspaper publishing

A newspaper is a periodical publication that covers a range of topics, provides up-to-date information, and is reasonably accessible to the general public. It is a European invention, although an early precursor dates to at least 713 CE in Imperial China. The oldest direct handwritten news sheets circulated widely in Venice as early as 1566. These weekly news sheets contained information on wars and politics in Italy and in Europe generally. The first printed newspapers were published weekly in Germany from 1605. Typically, they were censored by governments, especially in France, and reported mostly foreign news and current prices. After the English government relaxed censorship in 1695, newspapers flourished in London and a few other cities, including Boston and Philadelphia. By the 1830s, high-speed presses could print thousands of papers cheaply, allowing low daily costs.

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See also

• ▸Cash coins in traditional Chinese medicine
• ▸Basilica of St. Vitus, Mönchengladbach
• ▸Depictions of nudity

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