A Short History of Journalism for Journalists

The formation of journalism arose from the creation and adaptation of what would be known as ‘the public’; a group somewhat unintentionally formed out of the human disposition to communicate. Whether to plainly keep a record of significant events or the daily life of townspeople, journalism kept a steady stream of information readily available to the public. In the eighteenth century, citizens could gather in public areas to trade and garner news from one another in various forms of media for the time. A remarkable configuration of diverse people from assorted classes comprising servants, merchants, lower-court politicians, and so on was collocated into what still stands as a political force. While most were strangers, together, they represent more than a mere gossip circle. In truth, they played a critical factor in overthrowing the Old Regime through the mingling of the public to form either republics or democracies. Toppling monarchies by composing common interests between social classes is undoubtedly not an easy affair, but imposing. Journalism played a vital role in earlier societies, providing the public a voice and proving citizens have power over political figures.

An intriguing link between journalism and democracy exists; one cannot prevail without the other. While the formation of journalism in the hands of the public proved influential in reforming the government, what occurs without the combined vitality of the two? Journalism became the voice of the people, gossip, or archives alike, but when journalism wavers, so too does the united vocalization of democracy. When journalism lacks the strength of the public, journalists diminish to humorists and propagandists sent to represent something the public can no longer bond over. The sense of community is weakened without its advocates, resulting in a more divided, feeble democracy.