News

===Government proclamations===
[[File:Fotothek df tg 0007253 Ständebuch ^ Beruf ^ Ausrufer.jpg|thumb|Woodcut by [[Tommaso Garzoni]] depicting a town crier with a trumpet]]

Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins and [[edicts]] were circulated at times in some centralized empires.<ref>[http://mashable.com/follow/topics/news/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519215200/http://mashable.com/follow/topics/news/|date=19 May 2011}}</ref> The first documented use of an organized [[courier]] service for the diffusion of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers for the diffusion of their decrees in the territory of the State (2400 BC).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bleumer |first=Gerrit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KCdvPCBHCjwC&pg=PA2 |title=Electronic Postage Systems: Technology, Security, Economics |year=2007 |isbn=9780387446066 |page=2|publisher=Springer }}</ref> [[Julius Caesar]] regularly publicized his heroic deeds in Gaul, and upon becoming dictator of Rome began publishing government announcements called ''[[Acta Diurna]]''. These were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places.<ref name="Allan, 2004 p. 9">Allan, ''News Culture'' (2004), p. 9.</ref><ref>Straubhaar and LaRose, ''Communications Media in the Information Society'' (1997), p. 390.</ref> In medieval England, parliamentary declarations were delivered to [[Reeve (England)|sheriffs]] for public display and reading at the market.<ref>Lim, "Take Writing" (2006), p. 5.</ref>

Specially sanctioned messengers have been recognized in [[Culture of Vietnam|Vietnamese culture]], among the [[Khasi people]] in India, and in the [[Meskwaki|Fox]] and [[Ho-Chunk|Winnebago]] cultures of the American midwest. The [[Zulu Kingdom]] used runners to quickly disseminate news. In West Africa, news can be spread by [[griot]]s. In most cases, the official spreaders of news have been closely aligned with holders of political power.<ref>Stephens, ''History of News'' (1988), p. 27–30.</ref>

[[Town criers]] were a common means of conveying information to citydwellers. In thirteenth-century Florence, criers known as {{lang|it|banditori}} arrived in the market regularly, to announce political news, to convoke public meetings, and to call the populace to arms. In 1307 and 1322–1325, laws were established governing their appointment, conduct, and salary. These laws stipulated how many times a {{lang|it|banditoro}} was to repeat a proclamation (forty) and where in the city they were to read them.<ref>Milner, "Fanno bandire" (2013), pp. 110–112.</ref> Different declarations sometimes came with additional protocols; announcements regarding the plague were also to be read at the city gates.<ref>Milner, "Fanno bandire" (2013), p. 120.</ref> These proclamations all used a standard format, beginning with an ''[[Exordium (rhetoric)|exordium]]''—"The worshipful and most esteemed gentlemen of the Eight of Ward and Security of the city of Florence make it known, notify, and expressly command, to whosoever, of whatever status, rank, quality and condition"—and continuing with a statement (''narratio''), a request made upon the listeners (''petitio''), and the penalty to be exacted from those who would not comply (''peroratio'').<ref>Milner, "Fanno bandire" (2013), p. 121.</ref> In addition to major declarations, ''bandi'' (announcements) might concern petty crimes, requests for information, and notices about missing slaves.<ref>Milner, "Fanno bandire" (2013), pp. 122–123.</ref> [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] was captured by the Medicis in 1513, following a bando calling for his immediate surrender.<ref>Milner, "Fanno bandire" (2013), p. 124.</ref> Some town criers could be paid to include advertising along with news.<ref>Straubhaar and LaRose, ''Communications Media in the Information Society'' (1997), p. 366. "Another ancient form of advertising was the town crier, who told the citizenry about the 'good deal' to be found 'just around the corner'. Unlike the signs, which contained only information regarding the merchant, the criers also informed the citizens of the news of the day. Because the crier, or his agent, was compensated for his assistance in getting the advertising message out in the context of the news, there are interesting parallels with the newspaper of today (Applegate, 1993; Roche, 1993; Schramm, 1988)."</ref>

Under the [[Ottoman Empire]], official messages were regularly distributed at mosques, by traveling holy men, and by secular criers. These criers were sent to read official announcements in marketplaces, highways, and other well-traveled places, sometimes issuing commands and penalties for disobedience.<ref>Ayalon, ''The Press in the Arab Middle East: A History'' (1995), p. 4.</ref>