Unit 1. Mass Media: the Press » Стр.31 (2)

Some newsletters began during the Renaissance in Europe. Merchants spread handwritten documents that described the latest wars, economic news, and human-interest stories. After Gutenberg invented the printing press in the fifteenth century, printed newsletters appeared in the late 1400s. Many «newssheets» in the 16th century even had illustrations. Despite their popularity in Europe, newspapers had a rocky start in colonial America. A newspaper was called The Public Occurrence and was printed in Boston in 1690. Perhaps it documented things too publicly. The publisher was arrested by the authorities and all copies of the newspaper were destroyed. Remember, this had been before the Bill of Rights made freedom of the pres a basic right in America.