Print Changed the Way We Get Our News

In John B. Thompson's piece "The Print Revolution" he explains how the development of print greatly changed and improved how people got their news and how quickly they got it. Prior to the development of printing, news of events both local and distant was only spread orally. It was spread very slowly and ineffectively. Printing not only improved general communications, but greatly affected the way the public got their news in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe. Most publications of the news started as periodicals in the late sixteenth century. By the early 1600's there were publications being printed that eventually lead to what is considered the modern day newspaper. Many cities in Germany by this time had various weekly journals published, "and there is some evidence to suggest that a weekly paper may have appeared somewhat earlier in Amsterdam." These publications of the news in Europe would eventually influence publications in other countries and languages. The start of early news publications due to the development of print is the reason we are able to receive most of our information and news nowadays in the form of newspapers and journals.