The emergence of the journalist, public opinion, and the modern newspaper

The eighteenth century was a transformative period in the history of journalism. It was in the eighteenth century that the people who ran newspapers began to use the self-descriptor of “journalist” and to think of their active role in pursuing and printing truth. The prevalence of newspapers grew in this period. What difference increased access to the news and practices of reading the news made for readers’ participation in public life has been debated; nevertheless, the very term “public opinion” emerged in the eighteenth century. This chapter examines the content, layout, republication habits, publication frequency, and distribution networks of eighteenth-century newspapers. The press in the eighteenth century invited interaction with readers who avidly responded. This chapter traces the complex interactions between the press and society at a moment of intense social, economic, and political transformation. Newspapers in the eighteenth century signaled the changes of the Age of Revolutions.