I.

Introduction

Newspaper, publication usually issued on a daily or weekly basis, the main function of which is to report news. Many newspapers also furnish special information to readers, such as weather reports, television schedules, and listings of stock prices. They provide commentary on politics, economics, and arts and culture, and sometimes include entertainment features, such as comics and crossword puzzles. In nearly all cases and in varying degrees, newspapers depend on commercial advertising for their income.

Newspaper publishers estimate that nearly six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a newspaper every day, and seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. By the time they see a newspaper, most people have already learned about breaking news stories on television or radio. Readers rely on newspapers to provide detailed background information and analysis, which television and radio newscasts rarely offer. Newspapers not only inform readers that an event happened but also help readers understand what led up to the event and how it will affect the world around them.

The staff of a large newspaper works under the constant pressure of deadlines to bring news to readers as quickly as human energy and technological devices permit. Reporters, photographers, artists, and editors compile articles and graphics—sometimes in just a few hours. Page designers assemble articles, photos, illustrations, advertisements, and eye-catching headlines into page layouts, then rush their work to the printer. Printing technicians may work through the night operating printing presses that can churn out more than 60,000 copies per hour.

Newspapers trace their roots to handwritten news sheets posted daily in the public marketplaces of ancient Rome. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty (ad 618-907). These newspapers were printed from carved wood blocks. Precursors to modern papers first appeared in Venice, Italy, in the middle of the 14th century. Newspapers as known today, complete with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and commentary, emerged in Britain in the mid-18th century.