The Power of Newspapers

When World War I swept away the monarchy in Germany, a social-democratic government took office in Berlin. Afterward, Communists tried to overthrow this new government. Both the Communists and the government felt that controlling the press would mean controlling not just public opinion but the people as well. Thus began a fierce battle for the power of the press.

OVER the past few centuries, newspapers have shaped culture, influenced politics, played an important role in business, and affected the daily lives of millions. What role do they play in your life?

Apparently, in 1605, Germany became the birthplace of the first newspaper in Europe. In some places today, about 3 out of 4 people over the age of 14 read a newspaper daily. While certain developing countries have fewer than 20 copies of a daily newspaper for every 1,000 inhabitants, Norway has more than 600. Altogether, around the globe, about 38,000 newspapers compete for readership.

Everywhere, newspapers inform the public of important affairs. But they do more than that. They provide information on which many readers form opinions. “Our daily newspaper reading,” claims Dieter Offenhäusser of the German Commission for UNESCO, affects “our attitudes, our conduct, and even our fundamental moral values.”

Historians say newspapers have instigated, supported, and justified wars. They cite the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, the Spanish-American War of 1898, and the Vietnam War of 1955-75. Many businessmen, scientists, entertainment stars, and politicians have come to grief over a scandal publicized in newspapers. In the famed Watergate scandal of the mid-1970’s, investigative journalism set off a series of events that forced U.S. President Richard M. Nixon to resign. Yes, for good or for bad, the press can be a mighty power to reckon with.

But how did this influence begin? How reliable is what we read in our newspapers? What precautions can help us benefit from them?

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The Berlin newspaper war following World War I

Satisfying the Demand for News

“ALL Athenians and the foreigners sojourning there would spend their leisure time at nothing but telling something or listening to something new,” reported the chronicler Luke almost 2,000 years ago. (Acts 17:21) A century earlier the Roman government, recognizing the public appetite for news, had begun displaying Acta Diurna, daily bulletins, in prominent places.

By the seventh century, the Chinese were producing the world’s first printed newspaper, called Dibao (Pao). In Europe, where many people were then still illiterate, traveling storytellers spread accounts of wars, calamities, crimes, and other matters. Later, handwritten and woodcut-illustrated newssheets regarding such things were sold in public markets and at fairs.

In time, trading houses enriched their business letters with important news items. Eventually, these items appeared on an extra sheet called nova (news), which could be circulated.

The Birth of Newspapers

At the start of the 17th century, two German newspapers began regular publication. Relation (relating the news), of Strasbourg, was first printed in 1605; Avisa Relation oder Zeitung (news advisory), of Wolfenbüttel, began publication in 1609. The first daily newspaper in Europe was the Einkommende Zeitungen (Incoming News), which appeared in Leipzig, Germany, in 1650.

That first daily paper in Leipzig consisted of four pocket-size pages. These presented news items in random order. Single copies of this paper were fairly inexpensive, but a year’s subscription would cost a well-paid worker a whole month’s wages. Still, the demand for newspapers grew rapidly. By the year 1700, in Germany alone there were between 50 and 60 regular newspapers, and these reached several hundred thousand readers.

At first, news sources were letters, other newspapers, postmasters who received news by mail and reproduced it, or simply gossip picked up by newsmen in public places. With growing competition, however, publishers worked on improving the quantity and quality of the news. They hired their first professional editors. And because most publishers could not afford an extensive network of news sources and journalists, the appetite for news led to the formation of news agencies for gathering and distributing news to subscribing publishers.

Vital Contributing Inventions

The newspaper business would not have been possible without important inventions, especially Johannes Gutenberg’s method of printing with movable type. Further inventions made newspaper production practical and affordable. In the 1860’s, for example, the web rotary press made it possible to print on a continuous roll of paper rather than on separate sheets. Shortly afterward, the Linotype machine was used to compose metal type into pages for printing. Then, in the latter half of the 20th century, computer typesetting replaced costly hand work.

In the meantime, news itself traveled ever faster as the telegraph began to come into common use in the 1840’s, typewriters in the 1870’s, and the telephone at about the same time. More recently, in the lifetime of millions now living, the use of computers, e-mail, and fax machines has become common in the newspaper business. Reporters arrive at the scene of their story ever sooner​—by rail, automobile, and airplane. And speedy transport now delivers ever more newspapers.

What Gets Into the Paper?

Finding enough news is not a problem in many places in our ever-shrinking world. “The difficulty lies more in selecting from a vast and never-ending torrent of news,” according to the editors of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. News agencies flood Germany’s newspapers with some 2,000 items each day. Reporters, correspondents, news broadcasts, and other sources inundate newspaper editors even further.

Two thirds of the news consists of announcements​—press statements and reports about scheduled events, such as concerts, sports events, and conventions. Editors must know their market to meet the demand for information on subjects of local interest, which might include harvest results, anniversaries, and celebrations.

Sports sections, comic sections, political cartoons, and editorials are popular parts of newspapers. Feature stories, reports from foreign countries, and interviews with prominent figures and experts on particular subjects can be both insightful and entertaining.

Newspapers Face a Crisis

“Germany’s newspaper industry is facing the toughest financial crisis of its history,” reported the newspaper Die Zeit in 2002. And for 2004 the Swiss Press Association reported the lowest total circulation in ten years. What has happened to the demand for newspapers?

For one thing, the global economy took a downturn, cutting back advertising, which had generated two thirds of many papers’ revenues. Between 2000 and 2004, the U.S. Wall Street Journal lost 43 percent of its advertising revenue. Will the ads return in the wake of an economic upswing? Many classified ads for real estate, jobs, and cars have been lost to the Internet. Today newspapers compete with electronic media​—radio, television, and the Internet.

On the other hand, the demand for news is alive and well. Professor of media economics Axel Zerdick remarked to a Frankfurt, Germany, newspaper: “The crisis is not quite as bad as most journalists believe.” The chief editor of a German daily’s local section echoed that view, observing: “The regional [newspaper] is still going strong.”

Even if it is granted that nothing beats newspapers for in-depth coverage and the power to trigger public discussion, the questions remain: Can you trust their slant on the news? How can you benefit most from the newspapers you read?

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JOURNALISM​—A DEMANDING PROFESSION

One might envy journalists. “Having one’s name in the press can give a journalist a feeling of personal glory,” admitted one longtime French journalist. Yet, journalism can also bring its frustrations​—a story snapped away by a rival, an interview request turned down, countless hours spent waiting for an event that never materializes.

A newspaper writer in Poland noted another challenge. “We do not know when we will have time off or when we will have to work,” she said. “Sometimes our privacy suffers, and the pace of work may disturb our family life.” And a former journalist in what was then the Soviet Union pointed to perhaps the greatest frustration, “I worked so hard, but in the end it was still not published.”

A sports writer for the largest newspaper in the Netherlands revealed: “I am often told that I am ignorant. Some readers get angry or frustrated, and as emotions at times temporarily run high in sports, people have even threatened to kill me.” So, what motivates journalists to continue?

For some, of course, it could be the paycheck​—but not for all. A journalist who works for a French paper spoke of his love of writing. A Mexican journalist said, “At least you manage to provide something worth knowing.” And in Japan a senior editor of the world’s second-largest daily commented, “I find joy when I feel that I have helped people and when justice is served.”

Newspapers, of course, are not the work of journalists alone. Depending on the size and structure of the publishing house, there may be editors, proofreaders, fact checkers, archivists, and many others who work very hard, but anonymously, so that you will get your paper.

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An early German newspaper and a modern newsstand

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Early German newspaper: Bibliothek für Kunst-und Antiquitäten-Sammler, Vol. 21, Flugblatt und Zeitung, 1922

How to Benefit From the Newspaper

“Foolish is the man who never reads a newspaper; even more foolish is the man who believes what he reads just because it is in the newspaper.”​—August von Schlözer, German historian and journalist of the late 18th century.

IN ONE survey several thousand people in Britain and France were asked how much trust they placed in each of 13 institutions. The press came in last, even after politics and big business. In the United States, most readers still say they believe their newspaper. But surveys by the Pew Research Center show that the percentage of believers has declined.

There is often justification for skepticism, especially when what is said involves the national interests of the country in which a newspaper is printed. What happens then? Truth is often sacrificed. As Arthur Ponsonby, an English statesman of the 20th century, once noted: “When war is declared, Truth is the first casualty.”

Even when war hasn’t been declared, it is wise to examine the news with healthy skepticism. “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word,” observes a Bible proverb, “but the shrewd one considers his steps.” (Proverbs 14:15) If you exercise appropriate caution, the newspaper can generally satisfy your appetite for the news that you need.

The Importance of the News

The news media is important today because it helps us keep up with what is going on in the world. And to do so is vital. Why? Because much of what is happening today was foretold by the greatest prophet who ever lived, Jesus Christ. When asked about the end of this system of things, he said that the time of the end would be marked by wars, an increase in lawlessness, food shortages, pestilences, earthquakes, and other related events.​—Matthew 24:3-14; Luke 21:7-11.

The Bible also says: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” This prophecy adds that during these “last days,” people would be “lovers of themselves, lovers of money,” and “disobedient to parents.” They would have “no natural affection” and would be “without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.”​—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

No doubt you see this Bible prophecy being fulfilled in your own community. And what is occurring worldwide​—as reported in newspapers—​only serves to confirm the accuracy of Bible prophecies. Does this mean that we can believe everything we read in the newspaper? No, even those dedicated to the newspaper business express the need for caution.

Understand the Challenges

Everybody makes mistakes, even the most honest and skilled professionals. “In my three years as a free-lance fact-checker,” Ariel Hart wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review, “I have never checked a story that had no mistakes, whether five pages long or two paragraphs.” She cites such examples as “a year slightly off; old data; misspellings; widely reported information taken from secondary sources, but wrong.”

Journalists must contend with unreliable news sources. At times, hoaxes are fed to the press. In 1999 a prankster planted a fake news story about “a cemetery amusement park,” backing it up with an eye-catching Web site of a phony development company and a phone line for interviews, which the deceiver used to pose as a company spokesman. The Associated Press wire service failed to detect the ruse, whereupon many daily papers in the United States carried the story. The secret of successful hoaxes is said to be “a provocative story with great visuals that’s outrageous yet plausible.”

Even well-intentioned journalists don’t always get the story right. “Journalists usually work at a quick pace,” explains a writer in Poland. “Newspapers are racing against one another. Each one wants to be the first to publish the news. For that reason many of us, although willing, are not able to write a well-researched article.”

Pressures to Conform

Freedom of the Press 2003​—A Global Survey of Media Independence rated 115 of 193 countries as either not free or only partly free. However, subtle manipulation of the news may occur even in countries that enjoy freedom of the press.

At times, some journalists are simply excluded from receiving important information, while others who toe the line receive exclusive interviews and invitations to accompany politicians on their travels. Revenue from advertisers can also influence reporting. “The advertiser may threaten to withdraw profitable ads if the editor publishes anything negative about the advertiser,” a Polish journalist noted. And a copyreader at a Japanese newspaper cautioned, “Keep in mind that an objective news report is very difficult to achieve.”

‘Well, then,’ you may ask, ‘if professional journalists face such problems in producing credible copy, how is the reader to know what to believe?’

A Balanced View Is Needed

Clearly, discernment is needed. “Does not the ear itself test out words as the palate tastes food?” asked the patriarch Job. (Job 12:11) The reader needs to examine carefully what is written to see if it has the ring of truth. He wisely, as it were, tests and chooses what is right. A first-century disciple of Jesus Christ wrote approvingly of those who listened to the apostle Paul but then checked Paul’s sources to verify the truth of what he taught.​—Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Similarly, a newspaper reader may ask himself such questions as: What is the background of the writer? What are his prejudices? Does the story cite hard facts that others can check? Who might have an interest in distorting the truth? Wisely, the reader may check different sources for verification. He may also discuss what he reads with others. “He that is walking with wise persons will become wise,” a Bible proverb observes.​—Proverbs 13:20.

At the same time, don’t expect perfection. As we have seen, various factors prevent newspapers from being entirely objective. Still, they can help you to stay informed about what’s going on in the world. It is important to keep up-to-date, for Jesus, when speaking of the very times in which we live, urged: “Keep awake.” (Mark 13:33) Your newspaper can help you do so, even while you make allowances for its limitations.

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WHEN THE PRESS REFLECTS BIAS

Misrepresentation in the news is often the result of hasty reporting or misinformation. Yet, such well-intentioned stories can quickly spread serious falsehoods. On the other hand, sometimes efforts to misinform are deliberate, as was true in Nazi Germany when lies were spread about people of certain races and religions.

Consider the effect of a thinly veiled smear campaign launched not long ago during a human rights case in Moscow, Russia. “When three girls committed suicide in Moscow,” reported The Globe and Mail newspaper of Toronto, Canada, “the Russian media immediately suggested they were fanatical followers of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Such news stories appeared on February 9, 1999, the day that a civil court resumed a trial aimed at banning Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Moscow. Geoffrey York of The Globe and Mail Moscow Bureau reported: “Police later admitted the girls had nothing to do with the religious sect. But by then a Moscow television channel had already launched a new assault on the sect, telling viewers that the Jehovah’s Witnesses had collaborated with Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany​—despite historical evidence that thousands of their members were victims of the Nazi death camps.”

As a result, in the minds of many of the misinformed and possibly fearful public, Jehovah’s Witnesses were either a suicidal cult or Nazi collaborators!

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Jesus Christ foretold much of what we now see reported on in the newspaper

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Newspaper reports confirm Bible prophecies

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FAO photo/B. Imevbore

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Commendation was given to those who checked the sources for the apostle Paul’s teachings, also a wise practice when reading unusual news reports