Invention of the Printing Press

The printing press is one of the most important inventions of all time. Its
development would destroy the hegemonic control of information in Europe and
change the course of history forever. The quick, cheap and easy distribution of
information would ultimately lead to the Protestant Reformation (more on this
later), the Renaissance, the Scientific Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution.

A printing press is any form of technology that applies pressure between an

inked surface and a print medium (like paper or cloth). In this sense, it is a
means of transferring ink from an inked surface and the medium. It was an
enormous improvement on previous methodologies, like transcribing by hand
using a 'pen' and ink or brushing and rubbing repeatedly to achieve ink transfer.

Around the late 1430s, a German man named Johann Gutenberg was quite
desperate to find a way to make money. At the time, there was a trend in
attaching small mirrors to one’s hat or clothes in order to soak up healing powers
when visiting holy places or icons. The mirrors themselves were not significant,
but Gutenberg quietly noted how lucrative it was to create mass amounts of a
cheap product.
During the 1300s to 1400s, people had developed a very basic form of printing.
It involved letters or images cut on blocks of wood. The block would be dipped in
ink and then stamped onto paper. Gutenberg already had previous experience
working at a mint, and he realized that if he could use cut blocks within a
machine, he could make the printing process a lot faster. Even better, he would
be able to reproduce texts in great numbers.

Instead of using wood blocks, Gutenberg used metal instead. This became known
as a "movable type machine," since the metal block letters could be moved
around to create new words and sentences. With this machine, Gutenberg made
the very first printed book, which was naturally a reproduction of the Bible.
Today the Gutenberg Bible is an incredibly valuable, treasured item for its
historical legacy. When someone mentions the printing press most will
instinctively think of Johannes Guttenberg and his revolution 15th Century
(1440 AD) technology. Whilst his invention was revolutionary in its own right it
wasn't in fact, the first printing press to be developed. Not by a long shot.

In fact, the history of the printing press stretches back to the 3rd Century (the

technique of woodblock printing but on textiles) with its adaptation for printing
text in wide use during the Tang Dynasty of China (6th-10th Century
AD). Despite this fact, Guttenberg rightfully deserves his place in history for
producing a machine that allowed for the mass-production of books for the first
time in history. 
Before his invention books were transcribed by hand or 'printed' using wooden
blocks. Both were a painstakingly slow and laborious process that effectively
meant access to the printed word was limited to those who could afford
their high price tags.

Life before the printing press

Before the printing press was invented, any writings and drawings had to be
completed painstakingly by hand. Several different materials were used to
transcribe books: clay and papyrus, wax, and parchment. It wasn’t just anyone
who was allowed to do this; such work was usually reserved for scribes who lived
and worked in monasteries.

https://visual.ly/community/infographic/history/printing-history-timeline
Evolution of Newspapers

Newspapers began circulating in the 17th century. The first real newspaper in

England was printed in 1665. The first successful daily newspaper in Britain was
printed in 1702. The first American newspaper was printed in 1690. It was called
Public Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic. The first newspaper in Canada
was the Halifax Gazette in 1752. The first daily American newspaper was
published in 1784.

In Britain the first Sunday newspaper was the British Gazette and Sunday Monitor
published in 1780. In 1785 the Daily Universal Register was first published. In
1788 it was renamed The Times. In 1814 The Times was printed with a steam-
powered press for the first time. In 1848 The Times used a rotary printing press
with the printing face wrapped around a cylinder for the first time.

Meanwhile the Observer was founded in 1791. The Daily Telegraph was first
published in 1855. The Manchester Guardian was founded in 1821. It changed its
name to The Guardian in 1959. The Sunday Times was first published in 1822.
The Financial Times began in 1888. Meanwhile The News Of The World was
published in 1843. Meanwhile the first Australian newspaper was published in
1803. It was called the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser.

Newspapers became far more common in the late 19th century. In the 18th
century and the early 19th century stamp duty was charged on newspapers,
which made them expensive. However in 1855 stamp duty on newspapers was
abolished and they became cheaper and more common. In the mid-19th century
newspaper reporters began to use the telegraph as a means to get news to their
newspapers quickly. Then in 1880 The New York Graphic became the first
newspaper to print a photo. In Britain the first tabloid newspaper was the Daily
Graphic published in 1890. In 1891 it became the first British newspaper to print
a photo.

Evolution In India - Press in India: Newspapers in Bengal, Bombay and

Madras
The evolution of newspaper in India is tangled with the political and economic
history of the country. It has its own significance and supremacy in the history of
world press.
The advent of globalization and modernization gave birth to the need of printing
press. With the invasion of westernization in the country, billions of residents
showcased their hunger for information. This was because India was growing
tremendously in all ways and it was becoming difficult for people to reach out to
all possible happenings in the country. Newspapers quenched people's hunger
by giving more and more over the period of time.
The first newspaper in India was introduced by Hickey in Kolkata by the name of
'Calcutta General Advertise'. Established in January 1780 it was also known as
Hickey's Bengal Gazette. This was followed by the establishment of another
newspaper 'Bombay Herald' in Mumbai in the year 1789. Thereafter, 'Bombay
Courier' was introduced that was later merged with 'The Times of India' in 1861.
The first newspaper in Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali that
was followed by 'Bengal Gazette' in Bengal and 'Bombay Samachar' in Mumbai.
Later on in 1854, the first Hindi newspaper 'Samachar Sudha Varshan' was
established. The circulation of Samachar Sudha brought a breakthrough in the
Indian media industry. After this newspaper became widely popular amongst
Indians, many more newspapers had been released in almost all Indian
languages. Every religion has its specific language and all prefer to gather
information from their own language newspapers. This makes it ways and
convenient for them and also help them to instil their language skills in their
children.
Soon other newspapers also came into print including the Bengal Journal, the
Oriental Magazine, the Indian Gazette, Statesmen, Madras Mail, and the Madras
Courier. 'The Hindu' was introduced in Madras as a competitor to Madras Mail.
This newspaper became the voice of India during its establishment as it helped
people to imbibe patriotism, love, and humanity. All the information distributed
amongst the people of India through the newspaper became a significant tool for
freedom struggle. Even today The Hindu is a daily newspaper being published in
almost all the states of the country.
The newspapers collect all their news and information from four news agencies
in India. These agencies are Press Trust of India (PTI), United News of India (UNI),
Samachar Bharti, and Hindustan Samachar. Some of the leading publications in
India today are The Telegraph, The Statesmen, The Times of India, The Hindu,
The Economic Times, and Indian Express.
Modern India is updated by the information by a number of agencies. Presently
India has four major news agencies – Press Trust of India, United News of India,
Samachar Bharati and Hindusthan Samachar.  Role of newspaper is to be
interpreted very cautiously as it is the lifeline of our nation as well as the society.
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/history-of-the-newspapers-of-india-
media-essay.php

In the 20th century newspapers became still more common. The Daily Mail was
first published in 1896, The Daily Express was first published in 1900 and the
Daily Mirror began publication in 1903. In 1964 The Daily Herald became The
Sun and The Daily Star was founded in 1978. Meanwhile, The Sunday Telegraph
was founded in 1961 and in 1962 The Sunday Times became the first newspaper
to publish a Sunday color supplement. The Mail on Sunday began in 1982. The
Independent was first published in 1986. Also in 1986, Today became the first
color newspaper in Britain.

By the beginning of the 20th century Fleet Street was the center of the British
newspaper industry. However, in the 1980s newspaper owners moved away from
Fleet Street. At that time computer technology replaced the old labor intensive
methods of printing. The Press Complaints Commission was created in 1990.
Metro, a free newspaper for commuters was first published in Britain in 1999.
Then in 2010, an abbreviated version of the Independent called i was launched
However in 2011 The News Of The World ceased publication.

Penny Press
The Penny Press was the term used to describe the revolutionary business
tactic of producing newspapers which sold for one cent. The Penny Press is
generally considered to have started in 1833, when Benjamin Day founded The
Sun, a New York City newspaper.
Day, who had been working in the printing business, started a newspaper as a
way to salvage his business. He had nearly gone broke after losing much of his
business during a local financial panic caused by the cholera epidemic of 1832.

His idea of selling a newspaper for a penny seemed radical at a time when most
newspapers sold for six cents. And though Day merely saw it as a business
strategy to salvage his business, his analysis touched upon a class divide in
society. Newspapers that sold for six cents were simply beyond the reach of
many readers.

Day reasoned that many working class people were literate, but were not
newspaper customers simply because no one had published a newspaper
targeted to them. By launching The Sun, Day was taking a gamble. But it proved
successful.
Besides making the newspaper very affordable, Day instituted another
innovation, the newsboy. By hiring boys to hawk copies on street corners, The
Sun was both affordable and readily available. People wouldn’t even have to step
into a shop to buy it.
Influence of The Sun – Penny Press
Day did not have much of a background in journalism, and The Sun had fairly
loose journalistic standards. In 1834 it published the notorious “Moon Hoax,” in
which the newspaper claimed scientists had found life on the moon.
The story was outrageous and proven to be utterly false. But instead of the
ridiculous stunt discrediting The Sun, the reading public found it entertaining.
The Sun became even more popular.
The success of The Sun encouraged James Gordon Bennett, who had serious
journalistic experience, to found The Herald, another newspaper priced at one
cent. Bennett was quickly successful and before long he could charge two cents
for a single copy of his paper.
Subsequent newspapers, including the New York Tribune of Horace Greeley and
the New York Times of Henry J. Raymond, also began publication as penny
papers. But by the time of the Civil War, the standard price of a New York City
newspaper was two cents.
By marketing a newspaper to the widest possible public, Benjamin Day
inadvertently kicked off a very competitive era in American journalism. As new
immigrants came to America, the penny press provided very economical reading
material. And the case could be made that by coming up with a scheme to save
his failing printing business, Benjamin Day had a lasting impact on American
society.
PRB act and Vernacular Press act
The Press and Registration of Books Act 1867 is a result of many previous
draconian laws being repealed and or being merged into one. It has been in
existence for 151 years! In many ways it has outlived its utility. But its existence
continues to plague Indian academic publishing. The biggest sufferer has been
Indian Journal publishing.

A brief history of the act

The legacy begins with the Censorship of Press Act, 1799 which was imposed
by Lord Wellesley to gag the press ahead of a French invasion of India. This was
retracted in 1818 by Lord Hastings.

Acting governor-general John Adams enacted the Licensing Regulations

(ordinance), 1823. It had a draconian provision that no one could start or
continue to use a press without registration. Rammohan Roy’s, Mirat-ul-Akbar
had to cease publication thanks to this act.
Governor General Metcalfe abolished the obnoxious 1823 ordinance to replace it
with the Press Act of 1835. This act required a printer and for the first time a
publisher to give a precise account of the premises used for printing and
publication. This was also the first act that allowed a declaration of ‘cease to
function’ thus absolving one of any future wrong doing. Between 1835 and 1857,
Indian vernacular press saw rapid growth across India. The Licensing Act of 1857
brought newspapers, printed matter and all books under the purview of law. The
freedom of the press only grew worse with the uprising later that year.
The act and its fallout on book publishing
The current Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act 1867 was squarely aimed
at curbing what the British Government thought was the role of the press in the
“revolt of 1857”. But it was clever in its enactment because it only pertained to
presses in English. It was seen as being regulatory in nature because a more
stringent act, the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, was waiting in the wings.
Thankfully the VPA was annulled in 1882.
It is strange that since India got its freedom, the PRB of 1867 was never
abandoned by successive governments. It is evident that the act helped
governments control the press, regulate book publishing and inadvertently curb
the freedom of speech and expression. The act by itself appears to be fairly
liberal and clearly designed to ‘help preserve news’. This is what is apparent
from the introduction of the act which
“…To achieve this purpose a bill was introduced in the legislature for the
regulation of printing presses and newspapers for the preservation of copies of
books and periodicals containing news printed in the whole of India and for the
registration of such books and periodicals containing news.”. These words clearly
point to NEWS in any printed form and were designed to get access to every type
of writing that was targeting the government
The impact on Journal Publishing in India
The provisions for registering and publishing periodicals, however, has had a
direct and negative impact on Indian Higher Education publishing when one
examines the publishing of Academic Peer Reviewed Journals. These journals are
NOT defined as carrying NEWS or any sort of CURRENT AFFAIRS as envisioned
and enshrined in the PRB Act (along with its various amendments). And yet all
academic journals are subject to the same lengthy, bureaucratic process that is
needed to approve a weekly or even a fortnightly NEWS magazine. The law, the
lawmakers and the law enforcers don’t make any allowance for any distinction
between academic journals and magazines.

The Act, when applied to publishing an academic journal, follows the process
defined below:

1.Title approval by RNI (Registrar of Newspapers in India) – sometimes these are

benchmarked against non-academic publications.

2.The publisher, the editor and the printer of the journal are subject to multiple
levels of verification including police verification.
3.The police verification entails visiting the house of the publisher and the editor.
Here the following documents are required to be submitted:
a. Proof of Indian citizenship (non-Indians cannot be editors)
b. Address proof 

c. Certificate (almost akin to a character certificate) from at least 2 neighbours

who live within the same locality (sometimes even within a specified distance
from the house)

4.Printer has to be verified using an archaic form which lists the type of press he
uses for printing the journal. Residence verification of the printer too is required.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/press-and-registration-
of-books-act-1867-its-history-and-impact-118121200321_1.html

Vernacular press act of 1878

After the 1857 revolt relation between the British government and the Indians
turned bitter. Indians knew that the British people did not know their language,
so, they used this to their advantage and decided to communicate through
newspapers which were published in vernacular language. This way the British
would not understand what was written in the papers. Lord Lytton who was the
viceroy then was convinced that the vernacular press was critical of the
Government and strongly condemned these papers. The British Government
wanted to ‘better control’ the vernacular press and prevent and punish seditious
writings. So, Lytton passed the controversial Vernacular Press Act of 1878. The
whole purpose of the Act was to stop the growing opposition against Government
and to prevent the expression of criticism toward British policies.

Provisions of the Vernacular Press Act

 The Act provided that a vernacular paper should submit to police all the
proofs of the paper before publication. The police then determines what was
seditious news and not by the judiciary.
 This Act empowered the magistrate to force a printer and publisher of any
vernacular newspaper to enter into a bond with the Government undertaking
not to publish anything which might cause dissatisfaction against the
Government. The publisher also had to deposit security which could be
forfeited if it violated the regulations. In case of repeated offence, the press
premises and equipment could be seized.
 The magistrate’s action was final and no appeal could be made in a court
of law.

Press during Independence Movement

Indian press began to spread its roots in the 1870s. During 1870 to 1918
powerful newspapers emerged during these years under distinguished and
fearless journalists. These were the Hindu and Swadesamitran under the
editorship of G. Subramaniya Iyer, Kesari and Mahratta under B.G. Tilak,
Bengalee under Surendranath Banerjea, Amrita Bazar Patrika under Sisir Kumar
Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh, Sudharak under G.K. Gokhale, Indian Mirror under N.N.
Sen, Voice of India under Dadabhai Naoroji, Hindustani and Advocate under G.P.
Varma and Tribune and Akhbar-i-Am in Punjab, Indu Prakash, Dnyan Prakash, Kal
and Gujarati in Bombay, and Som Prakash, Banganivasi, and Sadharani in
Bengal.
The Press was the chief instrument for carrying out the main political tasks i.e.
political propaganda, education, and formation and propagation of nationalist
ideology to arouse, train, mobilize and consolidate nationalist public opinion.
Even the work of the National Congress was accomplished during these years
largely through the Press. The resolutions it took and the proceedings of its
meetings were propagated through newspapers. Nearly all the major political
controversies of the day were conducted through the Press. 

Interestingly and naturally, nearly one-third of the founding members of the INC
in 1885 were journalists. In fact, almost all the major political leaders in India
either owned a newspaper or were contributing their writings to one or the other.
The circulation was not confined only to cities or large towns. Newspapers used
to reach remote villages. A reader would then read them to the others who, most
probably, were not able to read. Gradually the trend of libraries started all over
the country. A single newspaper would be made the center of a local ‘library’.
The main assets used to be a table, a bench or two or a charpoy. Every piece of
news or editorial comment would be read or heard and discussed thoroughly. 
The newspapers were started to be considered as political educator and reading
or discussing them became a form of political participation.  Newspapers were
not published with business intentions but as a national or public service. They
were patronized and financed by rich, aware philanthropists.
It played the role of an institution of opposition for the Government. As a grudge,
almost every act and every policy that the Government went forward with, was
criticized ruthlessly. In this regar Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy, wrote in March 1886,
‘Day after day, hundreds of Sharp-witted babus pour forth their indignation
against their English Oppressors in very pungent and effective diatribe.’ Again in
May he writes, ‘In this way there can be no doubt there is generated in the minds
of those who read these papers. . . a sincere conviction that we are all enemies
of mankind in general and of India in particular.‘ 
Since 1870 Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code stated that ‘whoever attempts
to excite feelings of disaffection of the Government established by law in British
India’ was to be punished with transportation for life or with imprisonment upto
three years or for any term. 
Indian journalists used tricks to stay outside the Section 124A. They would
publish anti-imperialist extracts from London-based socialist and Irish
newspapers or letters from radical British citizens. Indian (British) Government
could not discriminate against the Indians in taking action against them without
punishing the offending Britishers too.
The Vernacular Press Act of 1878, against Indian language newspapers, was
passed at a single sitting of the Imperial Legislative Council. The Act ordered the
confiscation of the printing press, paper and other materials of a newspaper if
the Government believed that it was publishing instigative materials and had
flouted any warning from the government. Nationalist public bodies and the
Press campaigned against this Act. Eventually, it had to be repealed in 1881 by
Lord Ripon. 
One of the most prominent journalists, activists and Congressman was Bal
Gangadhar Tilak. He owned two newspapers, one in Marathi called Kesari and
another in English called Mahratta. His growing agitation accumulated many
leaders and led many movements. That is why he started to be called
Lokamanya Tilak. These activities led to his arrest and trial. But Indian Press did
not let its role get diminished.
Press in Post Independent India
Free India constitution provided the citizens right to freedom of speech and
expression, which included the freedom of the press. However, unlike Pandit
Jawarharlal Nehru, Mrs. Indira Gandhi was always at unease with the press. Even
during emergency in 1975 when pre-censorship was imposed, underground
presses were active.

Today print media have grown enormously both in terms of dailies and
periodicals and their circulation which is known as the periodical or magazine
explosion.

In the Western World, the explosion of newspapers came with the passion for
power. In India, popular journalism grew from the revolt of the subject class.
Newspapers were a vehicle of the freedom struggle. Most media owners of the
50’s had their roots in the freedom struggle.

Indian journalism after independence continued to carry the hall mark of

missionary work, as though the social responsibility associated with publishing
outweighed all commercial considerations. The need for systematic changes in
the format or design of the newspapers was not felt for a long time. However,
there were global technology shifts. In the ’70s, hot metal printing gave way to
offset technology and the color printing became cheap.

The big changes took place in ’90s, with the increasing consumerism, press
advertising volume grew three times over, from Rs. 800 crore to Rs. 2,600 crore
in the first five years of the decade. The national dailies sectionalized their
editorial offering, adding gloss and glamour with the purpose of drawing
advertisement from the white goods and services sector. Looks and readability
wise, the quality of newspapers and magazines have improved.
The publishing industry in India has moved a long way from its, socially
committed roots. All this does not mean that investigative journalism is dead.
Newspapers and magazines are indeed breaking far more stories on corruption
than ever before. This forces the print media system to become increasingly
accountable. Publishers have understood the fact that truth can be reported only
if message and medium are market driven.

The number of dailies has steadily increased in India. The number of daily
newspapers in 1994 increased to 4043 from 3740 in 1993 thereby registering an
increase of about 8.1%. Between 1985 and 1994, the number of dailies
increased by 124.36%.

During 1994, newspapers were published in as many as 99 languages/dialects

including few foreign languages. Hindi newspapers constitute the largest group
in the country.

The Press in today’s media scenario has become instrumental in setting the
political, economic, social and cultural agenda of the country. From 1990s India
has witnessed an explosion in electronic media, online news services. Media has
acquired such great control on the mind of the masses that it now controls and
shapes the liking, disliking and interest in different segments of news items to a
considerable extent. Compared to the print media, electronic media has grown
faster in view of advantage of visual impact enjoyed by it. The Indian press is
going through transformation because of changes occurring in today’s polity of
the country on account of rapid socio economic strides.

Liberalization, globalization, and competition from the electronic media are

impelling the print media to adapt new technologies, with more professional out
look and sensitivity to the market forces. Today, the structure of India’s print
media maintains a product line which is amazingly diverse array of languages,
management set up, topics and news contents. The rapid challenges being faced
today and to be faced in near future need dynamism and quick adaptation for
the growth and 11 effective survival of print media. The newspapers today are
compelled to delicately balance the twin challenges namely how best they can
adapt to and gain from digital distribution and advertising revenue; and how to
meet the role of fourth estate.

Unfortunately, media is failing to play its role as fourth estate effectively. What is
witnessed in today’s media scenario is that instead of making newspaper rich in
news contents and addressing serious issues for better governance of the
country and improve socio economic disparities, the media driven by market
forces and in unending urge to make more profits, is indulging in trivilisation and
sensationalisation and tainted corporate communication. It is interesting to note
that media is cleverly attempting to keep under wrap such deplorable design, by
covertly under playing trivilisation of news contents and biased news and views
sub serving interests of advertisers and corporate houses in order to remain
gainfully floated with market forces.

Such clever manipulation has been aptly described as ‘feeding the readers
spinach with the ice-cream.’ The changes in technology and marketplace are
shaping the growth and development of Print India. In India, almost all
newspapers are accessible through the Internet and provide up to date news and
information not only relating to India but other parts of the globe as well. Today’s
readers are not satisfied with traditional news contents but something more
giving insight to what is happening all around.

Unfortunately, in their anxiety to get more or more readers and particularly more
and more advertisers and 12 corporate sector as client, the print media is by and
large turning to be a commercial enterprise and the newspaper as a commodity.
Journalism in today’s media scenario appears more as a profession than a
mission. The print media is consciously oblivious to its role as Fourth Estate. To
say the least, this trend is not only unfortunate but deserves to be condemned
by civil society in no uncertain term.