History of French journalism: Difference between revisions

In the Old regime there were a small number of heavily censored newspapers that needed a royal license to operate. The meetings of the Estates-General in 1789 created an enormous demand for news, and over 130 newspapers appeared by the end of the year. The next decade saw over 13002000 newspapers founded, with 500 in Paris alone. Most lasted only a matter of weeks. Together they became the main communication medium, combined with the very large pamphlet literature.<ref>Harvey Chisick, "The pamphlet literature of the French revolution: An overview." ''History of European ideas'' (1993) 17#2-3 pp: 149-166.</ref> Newspapers were read aloud in taverns and clubs, and circulated hand to hand. The press saw its lofty role to be the advancement of civic [[republicanism]] based on public service, and downplayed the liberal, individualistic goal of making a profit.<ref>Jane Chapman, "Republican citizenship, ethics and the French revolutionary press," ''Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics'' (2005) 2#1 pp. 7–12</ref><ref>H. Gough, ''The Newspaper Press in the French Revolution'' (1988)</ref><ref>Jeremy Popkin, ''Revolutionary News: The Press in France 1789-

The ''Moniteur Universel'' served as the official record of legislative debates.<ref>David I. Kulstein, "The Ideas of Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, Publisher of the Moniteur Universel, on the French Revolution.," ''French Historical Studies'' (166) 4#3 pp 304-19</ref>
[[Jean-Paul Marat]] gained enormous influence through his powerful ''[[L'Ami du peuple]]'' with its attacks on scandals and conspiracies that alarmed the people until he was assassinated in 1793. In addition to Marat, numerous important politicians came to the fore through journalism, including [[Maximilien de Robespierre]]. During the conservative era of the Directory, newspapers decline sharply in importance and Napoleon reduced the number to four papers, all closely censored. <ref> Paul R Hanson, ''The A to Z of the French Revolution '' (2007) pp 233-35 [http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/1133/1/uoa66jc03.pdf online]</ref>