The History Of The Provincial Press In England

Regional newspapers around the globe are fighting to survive in the face of challenges to their economic model, due to the constant influx of new technology. At the same time, while studies of the national press have created a continuous narrative on the newspaper, the history of the regional press has been subject to relatively little academic scrutiny, despite being a significant industry in terms of a readership, circulation and profit. By focusing on provincial English newspapers, Matthews makes the case for the larger issue of the future of local newspapers worldwide. She argues that a comprehensive approach to the history of the regional press can result in a conceptualization of the industry in terms of the shift in emphasis between the key elements of state control, ownership, social influence and production techniques. They can be categorized into six distinct stages: the local newspaper as opportunistic creation; the characterization of the local newspaper as fourth estate; the impact of New Journalism; the growth of chain control, the shock of the free paper and new technology and finally, the current picture, the search for a new business model.

This collection aims to correct the imbalance of London-dominated periodicals by investigating the development, maturation and persistence of the provincial political press in the British Isles in the modern era. Chapters covering aspects of the Irish, Yorkshire, Welsh, Scottish and Midlands political press are included to redress this imbalance.

Regional newspapers around the globe are fighting to survive in the face of challenges to their economic model, due to the constant influx of new technology. At the same time, while studies of the national press have created a continuous narrative on the newspaper, the history of the regional press has been subject to relatively little academic scrutiny, despite being a significant industry in terms of a readership, circulation and profit. By focusing on provincial English newspapers, Matthews makes the case for the larger issue of the future of local newspapers worldwide. She argues that a comprehensive approach to the history of the regional press can result in a conceptualization of the industry in terms of the shift in emphasis between the key elements of state control, ownership, social influence and production techniques. They can be categorized into six distinct stages: the local newspaper as opportunistic creation; the characterization of the local newspaper as fourth estate; the impact of New Journalism; the growth of chain control, the shock of the free paper and new technology and finally, the current picture, the search for a new business model.

"Printed in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia by Lightning Source for Open Book Publishers (Cambridge, UK); page [5].

First published in 1987, this is a comprehensive analysis of the rise of the British Press in the eighteenth century, as a component of the understanding of eighteenth century political and social history. Professor Black considers the reasons for the growth of the "print culture" and the relations of newspapers to magazines and pamphlets; the mechanics of circulation; and chronological developments. Extensively illustrated with quotations from newspapers of the time, the book is a lively as well as original and informative treatment of a topic that must remain of first importance for the literate historian.

Politics and the Rise of the Press compares the rise of the newspaper press in Britain and France, and assesses how it influenced political life and political culture. From its social, economic and political sources, to its importance for the middling ranks in eighteenth-century British society, and its transformation after the French revolution. This detailed, comparative account, which also contains considerable original research on the early Scottish press, will be of value to all students of French and British history of the period.

"Printed in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia by Lightning Source for Open Book Publishers (Cambridge, UK); page [5].

In this succinct one-volume account of the rise and fall of the English press, Jeremy Black traces the medium's history from the emergence of the country's newspaper industry to the Internet age. The English Press focuses on the major developments in the world of print journalism and sets the history of the press in wider currents of English history, political, social, economic and technological. Black takes the reader through a chronological sequence of chapters, with a final chapter exploring possible scenarios for the future of print media. He investigates whether we are witnessing the demise or simply a crisis of the press in the aftermath of the News of the World scandal and Levinson Inquiry. A new title by one of the most eminent historians of Britain and a leading expert on the history of the press, The English Press will appeal to undergraduate students of British and media history and journalism, as well as to the general reader with an interest in the history of England and the media.