Let's Compare Newspapers, Books, and Magazines.

These last couple of weeks in Journalism 1 class we've mostly spent focusing on physical forms of communication. These things are: Books, Newspapers, and Magazines. I thought that it would be a smart idea to get all the points across on how these things are different.

HISTORY
I'll take the easiest thing out first. Compared to all the other things, books are the oldest thing on the list. Before the Renaissance, they were a source of power because only the wealthy could read. This meant that tax collectors could lie about who was on record for paying and get a second payment. Newspapers trace back to 59 B.C.E. when the Romans had a publication which they would carve into stone to get the news out. The First American Newspaper was called Publick Occurrences and closed down after one issue. The magazine was invented far later than the other two. Magazines were invented in 1741 by the founding father that invents everything, Benjamin Franklin. Back then, magazines had something in there for everyone, so, advertisers wanted to advertise in it.

CONTENT
Newspapers were invented to get the news out quickly to the people, they weren't meant to last that long. That's the reason why they're printed on such cheap paper, the news in newspapers won't be as relevant in a week. Newspapers mostly report on global news and politics. Magazines, compared to newspapers, are meant to last a little bit longer. Many magazines are filled with colored pictures, celebrity news, and long-term journalism. (Usually about a politician). A book will last long than a magazine, but they also don't have as many pictures. Books come in multiple different genres like nonfiction and sci-fi to make it easier for the consumer to figure out what they want to read. Newspapers and some magazines only do that a little bit, not as much as books.

EFFECT ON THE WORLD
Thanks to Zenger, today's newspapers allow us to see what's truthfully going on in politics. Many people rely on newspapers for their source of news. Also, without newspapers, earlier advertisers wouldn't be able to get their products out. The same thing would happen if there were no magazines in the world. Magazines caused a huge boom in advertising because they reached everyone. Now, magazines are separated into tinier categories for different types of people. You can see what groups of people each magazine is for based on what advertisements are in it. Books don't really have advertising, but they give us records of what happened before newspaper. It shows us what people of the past liked to read and some books gave us an idea of what life was like back then.