The introduction of
printing created a medium for communication like no other. "Until the
advent of radio it was the great means of communication" (Chappell 3).
As paper became more widely available in the thirteenth century writing
became more prominent. When the need to reproduce texts became greater,
Gutenberg's movable type came about followed by a variety of other
printing processes. By 1500 somewhere around 12,000,000 books in 35,000
editions had been printed. The world's first newspaper was published in
Germany in 1609 (Chappell 127).
But with such volumes suddenly being
distributed, regulations were made to prohibit unrestrained publishing
in 1637 when England limited the number of print shops and foundries by
decrees. "With the coming of the seventeenth century, printing was
being viewed as a threat to established power, both religious and
political" (Chappell 112-113).
T
hough people like John Milton spoke out
in favor of freedom of press and against requiring official censoring
before publication of any text, governments' fear of political unrest
kept even the first American newspaper from continuing after its first
issue. Attempted by Benjamin Harris in 1690, the governor and council
of the American colony declared the paper was not authorized and ended
further production.