Journalism and News Media in the Commonwealth (Cromwell the Great)

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Let it be impressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into your children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium of all the civil, political, and religious rights of an Englishman.
(Junius, Dedication to the English Nation)

Information about current events were at first published in newsbooks, the precursor of modern magazines, later replaced by newspapers and weeklies.

Newspapers in the Commonwealth

The Mercurius Politicus, a weekly magazine 1650, supported the republican government. From 1655 until 1660 it had a monopoly on news publications. It was the "official" press of the Government until its closure in 1701. Its editor Marchamont Nedham, a major a journalist, publisher and pamphleteer was a fierce republican and besides John Milton, the main propagandist of the Commonwealth.

It was followed by The Mercurius Caledonius (1660), Scotland's first newspaper, containing domestic news such as reports of parliamentary debates, as well as reports from abroad and reprints of news from London newspapers.

The printing was regulated by several laws. The universities were given full editorial freedom and monopoly over the academic publications and freedom to govern their operations, employ its staff, determine its printed work, and benefit from its proceeds.

The rights and freedom of private publishers were governed by a series of laws. The first one was the Press License Act (similar to Licensing of the Press Act 1662), succeeded by the Press Liberties Act. Printing presses were not to be set up without notice to the Stationers' Company. Later legislation established prosecutions for libel. Enactment of the Copyright Act becoming the first statute to provide for copyright regulated by the government and courts, rather than by private parties such as guilds.

The Claim of Rights Act (1702) constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech ending the government-granted license of press. Further development were the end of compulsory stamp duty on newspapers (1855), the duty on paper (1861) and the optional duty on newspapers (1870)

An important development was the regular daily publication of broadsheets containing only news and current affairs with paid advertisement. These newspapers would displace the readership from the more partisan publications.

Technical advances in printing and communication, cheap printing process, revenue from advertising and the growing literacy of the working classes produced tabloids

The main national newspapers of the Commonwealth are The Daily Register and its main competitor The Universal. Other important national newspapers are The British Mercury, The London Herald and The Daily Telegraph.

Important Home Country newspapers are in:

• Scotland: The Caledonian Mercury the oldest newspaper of the Commonwealth, the Caledonian News, The Glasgow Post and The Lothian Press;
• Ireland: The Gaelic Herald, The Free Press, The Dublin Mail and the Citizen News.

Besides independent newspapers an important share of readership is served by political or partisan newspapers and weeklies. The main ones are The Tribune (National-Conservative), The Weekly Review (National-Conservative), The Examiner (Radicalism), The Dispatch News (Civilism), and The Clarion (Welfarist and Socialist).

The official journals of record (publish laws, decrees and other documents of interest) or government gazettes are The London Gazette, The Edinburgh Gazette and The Dublin Gazette.

There are also several weekly publications of general interest, literature and the arts or trade papers.