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- This
column by John Cosway is a mix of 50 years of media memories
and 15 years of buying and selling experiences via live and online
auctions, flea markets, antique stores and markets etc.
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- Cosway's Corner -
Caesar started spreading the news in 59AD
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- News gathering a social tradition since
the days of Julius Caesar
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- By John Cosway
The Wayback Times newspaper you hold in your hands is a link
to a news gathering tradition that historians say began during
the Roman reign of Julius Caesar in 59 AD.
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- Caesar started spreading the news - gladiator contests, marriages,
births, deaths, executions etc. - by having the news, hand written
on scrolls made of animal skin, posted daily in high traffic
public areas. It was called Acta Diurna (Daily Events) and it
was free.
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- By the 16th century, hand written "newssheets"
containing news of the day were being read by town criers for
the benefit of the masses assembled in public squares, which
was also a free news gathering service.
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- Apparently, news gathering for profit didn't register until
1563 when the Venetian republic decided to test the commercial
value of news. They charged a small admission for public readings
of the news, focusing on the war with Turkey.
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- The giant leap to full use of printing presses for newspapers
across Europe and North America occurred during the 16th century
and newspaper owners, publishers, news gatherers and readers
have never looked back.
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- Numerous "firsts" pepper the newspaper publishing
progress chart:
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- - The Boston News-Letter was the first continuously published
newspaper in the United States, first published on April 24,
1704. It was a half-sheet weekly printed on both sides of a single
page. The editor was John Campbell, a Boston bookseller
and postmaster.
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- - The first editorial cartoon published in the United States
was in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754 by the multi-talented
Benjamin Franklin. He was also the Gazette's publisher,
editor and a frequent contributor of commentary.
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- - Nova Scotia was still a British colony in 1752 but reputable
sources, including the federal government's archives, say the
Halifax Gazette became "Canada's" first newspaper on
March 13, 1752.
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- Critics say to be factual, the "Canada's first newspaper"
honour should go to the Quebec Gazette, first published June
21, 1764, which after a few morphings is now the Chronicle-Telegraph
and calling itself "North America's oldest newspaper."
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- (For those who accept the Halifax Gazette as the first newspaper
in "Canada," only one issue of that first newspaper
printed by John Bushell is known to exist. It can be found
in the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston. Electronic
copies are widely available.)
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- - While Canada's first newspaper is in dispute, Ontario's
title definitely goes to the Upper Canada Gazette, which made
its debut on April 18, 1793. It was a weekly newspaper published
in Niagara, then capital of Ontario.
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- (The Upper Canada Gazette was moved to Toronto when that
city became Ontario's capital. Internet sources say the first
Toronto issue was published on Oct. 4, 1798, and after a hectic
four decades as a government paper, it folded in 1849.)
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- Newspaper tools of the trade have changed drastically in
the centuries since Caesar's animal skin scrolls, but nothing
has been more drastic than the arrival of desktop computers for
the home and office in the late 1980s.
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- In just under two decades, computers have made numerous newspaper
tools obsolete. Gone are teletype and linotype machines, typewriters,
paper spikes, composing rooms, the need for carbon paper, traditional
newsroom rims, pneumatic tubes etc.
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- This age of digital photography has also eliminated the need
for darkrooms, film cameras and a wide variety of accessories,
including film developing chemicals, flash bulbs etc.
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- While numerous tools of the trade are gone, collectors have
not forgot them. EBay and other online sites provide access to
newspaper memorabilia guaranteed to satisfy the needs of collectors.
Here are a few collectibles:
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- Printing trays: Before computers, newspapers across
North America included composing rooms, where words and numbers
typed in the editorial and advertising departments were assembled
by hand by typesetters from trays made of wood. The individual
lead letters and numbers were sorted and separated by dividers
in the tray. The transition from "hot lead" linotype
machines to offset printing to computers eliminated the need
for banks of printing trays, but the trays have found new life
as wall-hanging knick-knack holders. They are being refinished
and sold in antique stores and markets for $40 and up.
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- First and last editions: Collectors who concentrate
on the last editions of newspapers being closed have been hard
pressed in the last few years to keep up with their goal. Dozens
of daily and weekly newspapers across North America have gone
out of business in recent years, adding to the challenge of owning
last editions.
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- Coin pouches: While not confined to use by newspaper
carriers, cloth coin pouches tied around the waist were considered
a carrier's tool of the trade for decades. Newspaper carriers
would wear them on collection days. The Toronto Star and the
Telegram provided coin pouches with the newspaper's name on the
front. The pouches held a large amount of coins and were deep
enough to prevent spillage while riding a bicycle. When many
of the city dailies became morning papers and adults all but
took over deliveries, payment by cheque or credit card eliminated
the need for pouches.
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- Honour boxes: There was a time in Ontario newspaper
sales when all of the corner boxes operated on the honour system.
No door to open. Just pick up a paper and drop your coins into
a lock box. There were thefts, but overall the honour system
got the job done for decades. Eventually, honour boxes were phased
out and replaced with coin-operated pull-handle boxes. Occasionally,
you can find early honour boxes in relatively good condition
at auctions, flea markets and antiques outlets for $50 and up.
Editor Sandy is waiting for this story, so we'll wrap it up with
a bit of trivia. Do you know where the word "news"
originated? While it is commonly believed it is an acronym for
"north, east, west and south," Oxford Dictionary says,
"The original sense of news was 'new things,' which is now
obsolete.
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- "Since the 15th century, it has been used to mean 'tidings,
the report of recent events, new occurrences as a subject or
report or talk.' The adjective new goes back to Old English."
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- So happy reading while newspapers of all shapes and sizes
keep spreading the news.
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- Other articles by John Cosway
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