История письма и чтения. Асафова Г.К. - 115 стр.

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Courant (1702–35), which consisted largely of extracts from foreign corantos. A

more radical departure was the triweekly Review (1704–13), produced by Daniel

Defoe, in which the writer's opinion on current political topics was given,

introducing the editorial, or leading article. Defoe had been imprisoned, in 1702,

for his pamphlet “The Shortest Way with Dissenters,” but many eminent British

writers were being attracted to the newspapers. Henry Muddiman had gained

eminence as the “journalist” who edited the London Gazette (from 1666). John

Milton had edited the Mercurius Politicus under Oliver Cromwell, and Sir Richard

Steele and Joseph Addison, The Spectator (published daily1711–12). The

Spectator and The Tatler (triweekly, 1709–11, also written by Steele) are

commemorated in the modern magazines of the same name (see below Magazine

publishing), but their incorporation of social and artistic news and comment

influenced the content of the contemporary newspaper permanently. Sales of the

popular Spectator sometimes ran as high as 3,000 copies, and already this

circulation level was enough to attract advertising. An excise duty on

advertisements was introduced by the Stamp Act (1712), along with other so-called

taxes on knowledge aimed at curbing the nascent power of the press. The rate of

duty, at one penny on a whole sheet (four sides of print), was the same as the cover

price of The Spectator, and this effective doubling of the price killed it, along with

many other newspapers. But the newspaper had already become a permanent part

of the social and literary life in London, and not even higher duties could prevent

the proliferation of newspaper titles throughout the century.

Typical of the new breed of English papers was The Daily Advertiser (1730–

1807), which offered advertising space along with news of a political, commercial,

and social nature. An important gap in the political pages was filled from 1771,

when the right to publish proceedings in Parliament had been granted. This right

was not won lightly, for illicit accounts of debates in the House had appeared in the

monthly Political State of Great Britain (1711–40) and every effort had been made

to stop them. But campaigners such as the political reformer John Wilkes (with the

North Briton, 1762) eventually won out. Politicians of both Whig and Tory