Newspaper Exhibits

US History:  Newspaper Exhibits

1.    1.  What is a newspaper? (Find a definition)
From Merriam Webster a newspaper is,

: a set of large sheets of paper that have news stories, information about local events, advertisements, etc., and that are folded together and sold every day or every week

: the paper on which a newspaper is printed

2.     2. When and where did newspapers first come into existence?
Though many different countries published their first newspapers at different times, the first newspaper was published in Rome in 59 B.C. and was called the Acta Diurna.

3.  3.    What were some of the very oldest newspapers in the United States?

Some of the very oldest newspapers include the Courant, which originated in Hartford in 1764, The Boston News-Letter which was published in Boston in 1704, and The New-England Courant which was also published in Boston in 1721.

4.    4.  Find a newspaper being published today.  You may find a paper copy of a paper (such as Sunday edition of the local paper) or a USA Today, or you may read a digital copy of a newspaper.  Try finding one for a major American city.  See what news is receiving attention.  What are the “leading stories”?

I read The New York Times online for today’s date and found that the leading stories have to deal with many political views and campaigns for the election. Other smaller topics such as sexual education, and news on Lamar Odom are highlighted and boldfaced but under smaller categories of the newspaper. Many of the older newspapers contain more gossipy subjects, while today’s New York Times was about more substantial issues and happenings worldwide rather than targeted at a group of people.

5.    5.  Which does it mean to be the “newspaper of record”?  What US newspaper was first designated as the nation’s newspaper of record in 1913?  What other US paper can be considered a newspaper of record?
To be the newspaper of record means to be, “a major newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered professional and typically authoritative.” (Wiki) The first newspaper designated as the nation’s newspaper of record in 1913 was The New York Times. Another US paper that can be considered a newspaper of record is The Washington Post.

6.    6.  Think about it:  How is looking at a newspaper different from our use of social media to stay connected?
We are constantly surrounded by social media it’s gotten to the point that it’s unavoidable, and there is a continuous need to socialize rather on the internet than with the person that’s in front of you. People are swayed by pictures and comments on social media before even beginning to formulate their own opinions on a topic. You are then expected to voice your views on said social media and the cycle of people seeing the same popular opinion is endless until the popular opinion is all that they see and they expect and accept it. Newspapers give people the power to read from a critic’s standpoint, and form an opinion on the topic without being judged or monitored by social media. After reading a newspaper there’s not the expectation that you will blog about it, unless you really want to. Newspapers are more factual and not opinion based like almost everything is on social media. Newspapers connect you to the world and other views of people, while social media just connects you to the most popular and trending opinion.

7.    7.  Upload an image that serves as a good way to illustrate what you’ve discussed in this post.