JOURNALISM IN BRITAIN

Evolution of Printing Media in Britain

Before the advent of broadcasting media, the development of the British press witnessed significant stages in its evolution. The different phases included the hegemony of Provincial and London newspapers, the growth of Sunday newspapers, the rise of quality newspapers, the emergence of press agencies and the advent of popular press. Each category of newspaper was supported by political and social reasons. From the 18th century onwards, there were many newspapers which successfully emerged. Some scholars have argued that the first English written newspaper was printed by Joris Vesler in Amsterdam in the 1620s. However, The Daily Current (1702) has been regarded as the first official British daily. The pioneer newspaper was followed by other titles including Richard Steel’s Tatler (1709), Joseph Addison’s Spectator (1711), John Wilkes’s North Briton (1762), Junius’s Public Advertiser (1769-72) and many more. However, before the advent of the first daily, the British press landscape was made of different sorts of publications which presented news and literary subjects. There was no distinction between the newspaper format and other forms of publication. The specialization of some publication gave birth to the idea of newspaper That early development of the press stemmed from significant political events which had taken place in the 17th century. They primarily included the Abolition of the Star Chamber and the repeal of the Licensing Act. The latter was established two years after the accession of King Charles II. It was meant to counter the press. The Abolition of these parliamentary measures contributed to 11 grant much freedom to the press. It also entailed the proliferation of newspapers in Britain in the following centuries. However, the Abolition of the Star Chamber and the repeal of the Licensing Act ranked among the previous political revolutions that promoted the early growth of the press. The British Civil War which opposed Oliver Cromwell to Charles I, the Glorious Revolution which led to the overthrowing of James II by Parliament, the signature of the Petition of Rights in 1628, the vote of the Habeas Corpus in 1679 and the establishment of the Bill of Rights in 1689 were additional political reasons which sustained the development of the British journalism. These factors commonly stimulated needs for news and supported the rise of the press in the urban centers and provinces. Nonetheless, it is worth pointing out that the development of provincial press was slightly different from their urban counterpart. Scholars have disagreed about the origin of the first British provincial newspaper. However, the Norwich Post (1701) has been regarded as the first regional newspaper. Provincial press increased successfully by the end of the 18th century. In addition to the impact of the 17th century political events which had affected both urban and provincial press, the rise of regional newspapers was supported by additional factors which included the displacement of British publishers from cities to remote provincial areas. These counter-urbanization phenomena stemmed from the saturation of London since most journalists settled in the urban centers in order to develop their press business. As a consequence, the urban gradual settlement entailed an overcrowding situation and intense competitions which engendered the withdrawal of some printers and publishers. However, the rush for London was also due to the historical notoriety of the British capital. Some scholars argued that London overshadowed many European cities in terms of population before the 18th century. 12 In the following century, the struggle against the “Tax on Knowledge” and the permanent campaign against illiteracy credited the growth of the provincial press. In fact, a large number of British people, including women, were not educated in the 19th century despite the advancement of the British system of Education. Grammar school, colleges Universities had been founded before the birth of British journalism. For instance, the first English grammar school had been founded in the 6th century. The improvement of people’s education contributed to the emergence of the provincial press. The development of transports and the invention of electric telegraph also played significant role in the shaping of the British provincial press. Despite the increasing competition which was connected to the same items, the improvement of the communication also contributed to the emergence of the provincial press. Railways, roads and boats facilitated the transportation of newspapers from and to regional areas. Such success resulted from consequences of the Industrial Revolution which almost accompanied the evolution of British journalism from the late 18th century. Today, there is a wide range of regional newspapers in Britain. These provincial newspapers have helped tackle local issues and have contributed to build a strong regional information network. As one can notice the development of provincial press was supported by additional reasons. However, the emergence of regional newspapers was concurrently accompanied by the growth of the Sunday press from the late 18th century. The British Gazette and Sunday Monitor (1779) was the pioneer Sunday newspaper in Britain. However, The Observer (1791) has been regarded as the oldest Sunday newspaper. The ephemeral existence of first Sunday publications was due to the opposition of the Church. In fact, the advent of these newspapers was controversial owing to the hostility of Puritan who considered that the 13 popular feature of Sunday newspapers could not coexist with religious values. Paradoxically enough, these constraints did not prevent the Sunday press from emerging in the following centuries. In the following century, Sunday titles managed to attract new readership by reporting crimes, sport news and some popular features in their columns. As a result, they created a new connection with the marginalized working class. In fact, Sunday newspapers brought about new ways of presenting news. They broke with the conservative standards of the traditional press by putting forwards the popular facts and rumors. In the 20th century, most Sunday newspapers fell into the hands of press barons. For instance, The Sunday Pictoral, the Sunday Mail, the Sunday Express and many more titles were owned by the press barons…The impact of press concentration also affected the evolution of Sunday press. Despite their successful growth, they witnessed 20th century crucial stages of British journalism. These phases included the technological reform of British press, the impact of the European wars and the competitions between the press owners. However, the early social approach of Sunday press did not result in the modernization of British journalism. Innovations in the newspaper industry have been attributed to The Times magazine.

The Growth of Broadcasting Media

The term broadcasting media includes a wide range of journalistic and communicative devices. In the frame of this work, we have purposely shed light on journalistic media. The advent of radio stations and televisions opened new era in the development of journalism from the first half of 20th century. However, the British broadcasting journalism respectively began with the establishment of public services and the foundation of commercial broadcasters. Today, public and private broadcasters work hand in hand. Broadcasting was put under the leadership of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) from 1927. However, broadcasting services had been under the leadership of BBC (British Broadcasting Company). The corporation was meant to assure social functions by providing and promoting education, information and entertainment. The BBC gradually extended its radio services outside the UK borders. The Empire Service was the first to assure foreign radio services. But it was taken over by BBC World Service from 1932. Public radio stations were followed by the emergence of public television which was put under the leadership of the BBC from 1936. Televisions also extended their programs offshore. Today, BBC World News is one of the leading British international television services. The advent of commercial broadcasters called into question the leadership of public broadcasting services from the 1950s. The LBC (London Broadcasting Company) was the first commercial radio stations to challenge the Corporation monopoly of radio from 1973. It was soon followed by many private radios. Regarding the commercial television, the foundation of ITV (Independent television) marked the advent of private television in 1955. The first independent television became then a potential rival of the public television. However, the competition did not prevent the public and commercial broadcasters from collaborating. For instance, the BBC public service included 17 commercial programs. Some commercial operators involved public programs in their channels. According to some scholars, this interrelation resulted from the gradual decline of public broadcasters in favor of the rise of commercial operators. As it can be noticed broadcasting media gradually called into question the leadership of printing media. They put an end to the long reign of newspapers. Rivalries also concerned radios and televisions. Since a few years, the public and commercial media have joined their efforts for some reason .