Long ago, before newspapers, a town crier rang a bell and called out the news in the street. In some places illiteracy stayed high until the early 20th century. So people kept relying on town criers for news. In Boston in the 1600s, town criers were elected town officers. A printing press is a machine that prints many copies of the same page, including newspapers. You may have heard that Gutenberg invented printing. In fact, printing was created in China before Gutenberg. He developed it further in Europe in the 15th century. Gutenberg began experimenting with printing in Strasbourg in 1440. He built a printing machine in Mainz, Germany. It was ready to use by about 1450.

In 1605 a paper called Relation was printed in Strasbourg. It is described as the first official newspaper. Newspapers then spread across Europe. They added to the growth of literacy and education. They also spread the same information to ordinary people. A Boston paper called Publick Occurrences came out in 1690. It promised to print news once a month, or more often if enough happened. It was probably shut down for its mix of royal gossip and sharp criticism of an English military commander. Officials said it had no license. The Boston News-Letter began on April 24, 1704, and it lasted for more than seventy years. It was approved and paid for in part by the British government. It was printed by Bartholomew Green and edited by John Campbell.

You may have heard that Benjamin Franklin printed the first newspaper in America. In fact, Franklin became the owner and publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. That was long after 1690. His newspaper work began in his older brother's print shop in Boston, where he was apprenticed in 1718. The Gazette became the most widely read newspaper in the colonies. The first message sent over Samuel Morse's telegraph line was sent on May 24, 1844. It went between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. The electric telegraph changed how wars were fought. It changed how money was sent. It also changed how newspapers did business.

In 1846, five New York City newspapers paid for a pony express route. They wanted news of the Mexican War to reach the north faster than the mail. The Associated Press was born. By November 2026, a news group such as the Associated Press makes stories, photos and videos for others to use. Radio carried news by sound. In 1920 a radio station in Pittsburgh called KDKA read election results on the air. People listened at home. Radio sent sound across long distances to a country where most people lived outside big cities. It made the nation feel smaller and more connected. The BBC began daily broadcasting on November 14, 1922.

For years a network TV news show was only 15 minutes long each weeknight. It grew to 30 minutes on September 2, 1963. As of 2026, 88 percent of U.S. adults say they at least sometimes get news from digital devices. Also, 63 percent get news from television at least sometimes. Strong images of upsetting events may upset kids. Grown-ups can limit how much kids watch. If news is scary, it is okay to turn it off and talk with a grown-up.

Words to know

• telegraph: wire message tool
• illiteracy: unable to read
• apprenticed: learning a trade
• broadcasting: sending by radio
• literacy: ability to read