" ORIGIN OF NEWSPAPERS"

WE KNOW THAT NEWSPAPERS ARE BASICALLY JOURNALS RELATING TO MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST. IN THIS CONTEXT, IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT COLUMBIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA ATTRIBUTES THE ORIGIN OF THE NEWSPAPER TO JULIUS CAESAR, AND THAT THE EARLIEST RECORDED EFFORT TO INFORM PUBLIC ON CURRENT EVENTS WAS THE ROMAN ' ACTA DIURNA ' WHICH WAS POSTED DAILY IN PUBLIC PLACES. CHINA'S OLDEST NEWSPAPER BEGAN IN THE EIGHT CENTURY, AND IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY , MANUSCRIPT NEWS SHEETS WERE ISSUED IN MAJOR CITIES THROUGHOUT GERMANY. IN 1556, THE VENETIAN GOVERNMENT POSTED THE ' NOTIZIE SCRITTE ' FOR WHICH READERS PAID A SMALL FEE OR ' GAZETTA '; IT BECAME SO POPULAR IT WAS FINALLY PRINTED IN QUANTITY.