Newspapers in the United States have been published since the 18th century and are an integral part of the culture of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Although a few newspapers including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' are sold throughout the United States, most U.S.
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
s are published for city or regional markets. ''The New York Times'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' are often referred to as the United States' "
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...
".
History
The history of American newspapers dates back to the early 18th century, when the first
colonial newspapers were published. In the beginning, newspapers were a sideline for printers, but they eventually became a political force and played a role in the campaign for
American independence. The
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, th ...
guaranteed freedom of the press, and the
U.S. Postal Service Act of 1792 provided subsidies for the delivery of newspapers. During the
First Party System (1790s-1810s), both parties sponsored papers to reach their loyal supporters. In the 1930s, the
Penny press began to play a major role in American journalism, and technological advancements such as the
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
and faster printing presses helped to expand the press of the nation. In the early 20th century, newspapers were profitable and influential, but with the rise of
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
in the 1920s, the role of newspapers began to shift. In the late 20th century, many American journalism outlets became part of big media chains, and the rise of
digital journalism
Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the Internet, as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. What constitutes digital ...
in the 21st century has caused a business crisis for newspapers, as readers and advertisers shift to the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Demographics
All major metropolitan regions have newspapers, with some of them having multiple papers, though this has declined in modern times. Many smaller cities have had local newspapers, again, this having declined over time.
Archives
Many libraries provide
microfilm
Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...
archives of major U.S. newspapers.
Ownership
Media conglomerates like
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[The McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...]
,
Hearst Communications
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televi ...
and others, publish a large percentage of the nation's papers.
Publication
Most general-purpose newspapers are either printed one day a week, or are printed daily. They are in part advertising-driven, including
classified ads
Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...
, but also receive income from newsstand sales and subscriptions.
Major cities usually have
alternative weeklies (New York City's ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' or Los Angeles' ''
L.A. Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'', for example), which rely entirely on advertising, and are free to the public. A newspaper meeting particular standards of circulation, including having a subscription or mailing list, is designated as a
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...
. With this designation, official notices may be published, such as
fictitious business name
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
announcements.
The number of daily newspapers in the United States has declined over the past half-century, according to ''
Editor & Publisher
''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry."
Originally based in New York City, ...
'', the
trade journal of American newspapers. In particular, the number of
evening newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...
s has fallen by 50% since 1970, while morning editions and
Sunday editions
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
have grown.
For comparison, in 1950, there were 1,772 daily papers (and 1,450, or about 70%, of them were evening papers) while in 2000, there were 1,480 daily papers (and 766—or about half—of them were evening papers.
[Editor & Publisher International Yearbook as cited on naa.org, Newspaper Association of America website]
See also
*
List of newspapers in the United States
There are many newspapers printed and distributed in the United States.
, the United States had 1,279 daily newspapers.
Top 10 newspapers by circulation
The following is a list of the top 10 newspapers in the United States by average weekday ...
*
List of American journalism awards
*
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
References
External links
19th Century Historical United States Newspapersarchive at Indiana University
US newspapers searchable database University of Chicago
List of US Newspapers with Rates University of Chicago
*
ttp://www.usnewsspot.com "Unite State News Spot"
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