News

===Early news networks===
The spread of news has always been linked to the communications networks in place to disseminate it. Thus, political, religious, and commercial interests have historically controlled, expanded, and monitored communications channels by which news could spread. Postal services have long been closely entwined with the maintenance of political power in a large area.<ref name=Fang14>Fang, ''History of Mass Communication'' (1997), pp. 14–15.</ref><ref name=Stephens27>Stephens, ''History of News'' (1988), p. 27. "Whoever controlled the messengers could select which anecdotes and information would be favored by this treatment. Therefore, whoever controlled the messengers gained not only a conduit to the members of a society—the ability to inform them of new regulations—but gained a measure of power over the selection of news the members of a society received—the power, for example to ensure that they received news of triumphs but not necessarily of debacles. Messengers were controlled, for the most part, by kings, chiefs, headmen. They were rarely channels of dissent."</ref>

One of the imperial communication channels, called the "[[Royal Road]]" traversed the [[Assyrian Empire]] and served as a key source of its power.<ref>Kessler, "Royal Roads" (1995), p. 129. "The ability of the Assyrian court to challenge a huge and permanent stream of information seems to have been one of the essential factors for the long maintenance of Assyrian domination, over the vast areas in the Near East."</ref> The Roman Empire maintained a vast network of roads, known as ''[[cursus publicus]]'', for similar purposes.<ref>Pettegree, ''The Invention of News'' (2014), pp. 19–20.</ref>

Visible chains of long-distance signaling, known as [[optical telegraph]]y, have also been used throughout history to convey limited types of information. These can have ranged from smoke and fire signals to advanced systems using semaphore codes and telescopes.<ref>Stephens, ''History of News'' (1988), pp. 24–25.</ref><ref name=Bakker13 /> The latter form of optical telegraph came into use in Japan, Britain, France, and Germany from the 1790s through the 1850s.<ref>Starr, ''Creation of the Media'' (2004), pp. 156–157.</ref><ref name=Distelrath45 />

====Asia====
[[File:KaiYuanZaBaoRemake.jpg|thumb|Reproduction of Kaiyuan Za Bao court newspaper from the Tang dynasty]]
The world's first written news may have originated in [[Spring and Autumn period|eighth century BCE China]], where reports gathered by officials were eventually compiled as the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]''. The annals, whose compilation is attributed to [[Confucius]], were available to a sizeable reading public and dealt with common news themes—though they straddle the line between news and history.<ref>Zhang, ''Origins of the Modern Chinese Press'' (2007), p. 13.</ref> The [[Han dynasty]] is credited with developing one of the most effective imperial surveillance and communications networks in the ancient world.<ref>Smith,''The Newspaper: An International History'' (1979), p. 14. "The Chinese civilization was one of the earliest to have found it convenient to set up a systematic news-collection network across a large land mass. During the Han dynasty (206BC–AD219) the imperial court arranged to be supplied with information on the events of the Empire by means of a postal empire similar to the princely message systems of the European Middle Ages, when the postmasters of the Holy Roman Empire were required to write summaries of events taking place within their regions and transmit them along specified routes."</ref> Government-produced news sheets, called [[tipao]], circulated among court officials during the late Han dynasty (second and third centuries AD). Between 713 and 734, the ''[[Kaiyuan Za Bao]]'' ("Bulletin of the Court") of the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by government officials.<ref name=Smith14 /> The court created a Bureau of Official Reports (''Jin Zhouyuan'') to centralize news distribution for the court.<ref>Zhang, ''Origins of the Modern Chinese Press'' (2007), p. 14. "However, it was in the Tang dynasty that a specific bureau—the Bureau of Official Reports (''Jin Zhouyuan'')—was created to accommodate the local representatives. During this time, there were many rising powerful dukes, princes or governor-generals in charge of the large territories, equal in size to a modern province in China. These dukes or princes would naturally provide for their own news service at the capital Chang'an, which handled all official documents submitted by these representatives and transmitted imperial edicts in return. Recent archaeological research has uncovered such official reports from the Tang dynasty. Two archive documents of that period, originally found in Dunhuang have been regarded by Chinese scholars as the earliest forms of newspaper in the world (Fang 1997 53–8)"</ref> Newsletters called ''ch'ao pao'' continued to be produced and gained wider public circulation in the following centuries.<ref name=Smith14a>Smith,''The Newspaper: An International History'' (1979), p. 14. "At a later stage of its development, during the Sung period (960–1278), the ''ti pao'' was made to circulate among the purely intellectual groups, and during the Ming (1367–1644) was seen by a wider circle of society."</ref> In 1582 there was the first reference to privately published newssheets in Beijing, during the late [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name="brook xxi">[[Timothy Brook (historian)|Brook, Timothy]]. (1998). ''[[The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China]]''. Berkeley: [[University of California Press]]. {{ISBN|0-520-22154-0}} p. xxi.</ref><ref>Stephens, ''History of News'' (1988), pp. 68–69.</ref>

Japan had effective communications and postal delivery networks at several points in its history, first in 646 with the [[Taika Reform]] and again during the [[Kamakura period]] from 1183 to 1333. The system depended on ''[[hikyaku]]'', runners, and regularly spaced relay stations. By this method, news could travel between Kyoto and Kamakura in 5–7 days. Special horse-mounted messengers could move information at the speed of 170 kilometers per day.<ref name=Distelrath45>Distelrath, "Development of the Information and Communication Systems in Germany and Japan" (2000), pp. 45–46 .</ref><ref>Alice Gordenker, "Postal Symbol"; ''Japan Times'', 21 May 2013.</ref> The Japanese shogunates were less tolerant than the Chinese government of news circulation.<ref name=Smith14>Smith,''The Newspaper: An International History'' (1979), p. 14–15.</ref> The postal system established during the [[Edo period]] was even more effective, with average speeds of 125–150&nbsp;km/day and express speed of 200&nbsp;km/day. This system was initially used only by the government, taking private communications only at exorbitant prices. Private services emerged and in 1668 established their own ''[[Kabunakama|nakama]]'' (guild). They became even faster, and created an effective optical telegraphy system using flags by day and lanterns and mirrors by night.<ref name=Distelrath45 />

====Europe====
In Europe, during the Middle Ages, elites relied on runners to transmit news over long distances. At 33 kilometres per day, a runner would take two months to bring a message across the [[Hanseatic League]] from Bruges to Riga.<ref>Distelrath, "Development of the Information and Communication Systems in Germany and Japan" (2000), p. 44.</ref><ref>Lampe & Ploeckl, "Spanning the Globe" (2014), 247.</ref> In the [[Early modern Europe|early modern period]], increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. The driving force of this new development was the commercial advantage provided by up-to-date news.<ref name=Pettegree3 /><ref>McCusker & Gravesteijn, ''Beginnings of Commercial and Financial Journalism'' (1991), p. 21. "Business thrives on the most recent news. The merchants of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, no less than those of today, required the 'freshest advices' in order to conduct their affairs profitably."</ref>

In 1556, the government of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] first published the monthly ''Notizie scritte'', which cost one [[gazette|gazetta]].<ref name="WAN timeline">[http://www.wan-press.org/article2822.html Wan-Press.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111093302/http://www.wan-press.org/article2822.html |date=11 January 2012 }}, A Newspaper Timeline, [[World Association of Newspapers]]</ref> These [[avviso|avvisi]] were handwritten newsletters and used to convey political, military, and economic news quickly and efficiently to Italian cities (1500–1700)—sharing some characteristics of newspapers though usually not considered true newspapers.<ref>Infelise, Mario. "Roman Avvisi: Information and Politics in the Seventeenth Century." in ''Court and Politics in Papal Rome, 1492–1700''(Cambridge University Press, 2002) pp. 212, 214, 216–217</ref> ''Avvisi'' were sold by subscription under the auspices of military, religious, and banking authorities. Sponsorship flavored the contents of each series, which were circulated under many different names. Subscribers included clerics, diplomatic staff, and noble families. By the last quarter of the seventeenth century, long passages from ''avvisi'' were finding their way into published monthlies such as the {{Lang|fr|[[Mercure de France]]}} and, in northern Italy, ''Pallade veneta''.<ref>Selfridge-Field, Eleanor. ''Pallade Veneta: Writings on Music and Society, 1650–1750''. Venice: Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi, 1985. Chs. 1 2, 3.</ref><ref>Selfridge-Field, Eleanor. ''Song and Season: Science, Culture, and Theatrical Time''. (Stanford UP, 2007). Chs. 10, 11.</ref><ref>Pettegree, ''The Invention of News'' (2014), p. 5.</ref>

[[File:Postkurse 1563.jpg|thumb|Some European postal routes in 1563]]
Postal services enabled merchants and monarchs to stay abreast of important information. For the [[Holy Roman Empire]], Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximillian I]] in 1490 authorized two brothers from the Italian Tasso family, Francesco and Janetto, to create a network of courier stations linked by riders. They began with a communications line between Innsbruck and Mechelen and grew from there.<ref name=LampePloeckl248>Lampe & Ploeckl, "Spanning the Globe" (2014), 248.</ref> In 1505 this network expanded to Spain, new governed by Maximilian's son [[Philip I of Castile|Philip]]. These riders could travel 180 kilometers in a day.<ref>Pettegree, ''The Invention of News'' (2014), pp. 17–18.</ref> This system became the [[Reichspost|Imperial Reichspost]], administered by Tasso descendants (subsequently known as [[Lamoral II Claudius Franz, Count of Thurn and Taxis|Thurn-und-Taxis]]), who in 1587 received exclusive operating rights from the Emperor.<ref name=LampePloeckl248 /> The [[La Poste (France)|French postal service]] and [[General Post Office|English postal service]] also began at this time, but did not become comprehensive until the early 1600s.<ref name=LampePloeckl248 /><ref>Starr, ''Creation of the Media'' (2004), pp. 30–31.</ref><ref>Fang, ''History of Mass Communication'' (1997), pp. 29–30.</ref> In 1620, the English system linked with Thurn-und-Taxis.<ref name=Bakker13>Bakker, "Trading Facts" (2011), p. 13.</ref>

These connections underpinned an extensive system of news circulation, with handwritten items bearing dates and places of origin. Centred in Germany, the network took in news from Russia, the Balkans, Italy, Britain, France, and the Netherlands.<ref>Smith,''The Newspaper: An International History'' (1979), pp. 18–19. "Since the late Middle Ages a formal network of correspondents and intelligence agents had come into being across the bulk of the European continent, busily sending news of military, diplomatic and ecclesiastical affairs along a series of prescribed routes. The information was handwritten and passed along carefully organized chains, each item being labeled with its place and date of origin."</ref> The German lawyer [[Christoph von Scheurl]] and the [[Fugger]] house of Augsburg were prominent hubs in this network.<ref name=Bakker11 /> Letters describing historically significant events could gain wide circulation as news reports. Indeed, personal correspondence sometimes acted only as a convenient channel through which news could flow across a larger network.<ref>Lim, "Take Writing" (2006), pp. 35–45.</ref> A common type of business communication was a simple listing of current prices, the circulation of which quickened the flow of international trade.<ref name=Bakker10>Bakker, "Trading Facts" (2011), pp. 10–11.</ref><ref>Kallionen, "Information, communication technology, and business" (2004), p. 22.</ref> Businesspeople also wanted to know about events related to shipping, the affairs of other businesses, and political developments.<ref name=Bakker10 /> Even after the advent of international newspapers, business owners still valued correspondence highly as a source of reliable news that would affect their enterprise.<ref>Kallionen, "Information, communication technology, and business" (2004), p. 21. "Although the businessmen obtained information from newspapers and other public sources, for instance, from the consuls stationed in foreign towns, they placed special value on the letters received directly from their foreign partners. This is precisely the key to the existence of a network relationship: the parties were dependent on the resources controlled by both parties, both goods and information, so by mutual co-operation both parties gained mutual benefits. Long-term, personal networks were particularly well suited for transmitting information that required high reliability.</ref> Handwritten newsletters, which could be produced quickly for a limited clientele, also continued into the 1600s.<ref name=Bakker11>Bakker, "Trading Facts" (2011), pp. 11–12.</ref>