penny press
The penny press: news for the masses Print news has had a long history, but this section will focus on the era when modern journalism was born. ... The political papers, or "party press," were funded by political parties, which openly dictated what would go in the paper. ... Then, in the 1830s (closer to the 1870s and 1880s in Canada), the penny press revolutionized the way news was produced, distributed and consumed. Instead of relying on subscriptions and political funding for revenue, the penny papers chose to rely on advertising. They were therefore able to offer their version of news to the public for merely a penny, and sold their papers in the streets. Since many more people could now afford to buy a paper, the penny press had to try to offer something for every type of reader. ... 22 News also became less political, though no less colourful, because the penny papers refused to be affiliated with any political party. ... This period was the beginning of the modern press and journalism as we know it.