Unbiased Opinion

I love reading old newspapers – they certainly didn’t pull back on any gruesome details! One of my 2 x great grandfathers committed suicide and, although it has been nigh-on impossible to lay my hands on a copy of the inquest report, a full unexpurgated account was published in one of the newspapers of the day. However, it was not always so – the first successful newspaper, launched today, 11th March back in 1702, just ran to 2 columns on paper the size of what we would today look upon as just a leaflet.

Somewhat different to the newspapers that are published today, the editor of The Courant (Mr E Mallett) gave an assurance that he would not express any of his own opinions, “supposing other people to have sense enough to make reflections for themselves”. Therefore, there was no editorial or columns providing other comments. All that was reported on was news from abroad. His newspaper flourished, whilst others failed and eventually Mr Mallett sold the newspaper to a Samuel Buckely, an established publisher – who later produced The Spectator, a much earlier version of today’s magazine and never short of any opinion!

By the way, Mr Mallet’s premises were “Against the Ditch at Fleet Bridge” – better known today as Fleet Street.