In 16th century England, actors held roughly the same social standing as prostitutes. But the arrival in of the first newspaper in 1620 introduced another, equally dubious profession to Her Majesty’s empire: Journalism.
Yes, by the time the old-fashioned, ink-on-dead-tree newspaper breathes its last, it’ll have hung in for centuries, give or take a few years. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the Mother Country morph from monarchy to commonwealth to monarchy again. Shaping readers’ perceptions of these confusing times quickly evolved into a high-risk, high-excitement occupation.
“Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper,” at the Folger Shakespeare Library through January, takes an engrossing look at the socio-political sea change brought about by advent of the newspaper. Then as now, readers could find thoughtful, fair, absorbing reportage, lurid voyeurism and political propaganda, depending on which publications they chose.
An edition of “Publick Occurrences,” the first paper published in America (it lasted one issue) is included, along with a replica of a printing press of the period built by Bucknell University. But you’ll be more surprised by how much of what’s here feels modern.
“The general news is, nobody know what make of the World,” observed Pigges Coranto, a satirical paper that predates The Onion and “The Daily Show” by 350 years. Give or take.
If you go
“Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper”
Through Jan. 31, 2009
Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol St. SE
Admission: Free
More information: 202-544-4600; www.folger.edu
