Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper

The first newspaper arrived in England in 1620 and sparked a huge demand for up-to-the minute reports on domestic and world events. Men and women in Renaissance England were addicted to news, whether from the battlefields of Europe, or the scandal-filled salons of its courtiers. Newspapers commented on politics, crime, omens, bad weather, natural disasters, and strange apparitions.

Breaking News traces the development of the newspaper in England, from its origins in manuscript letters and im...