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Identify the factors responsible for the growth of the newspaper industry in Victorian Britain The Victorian newspaper

industry is a predominant example of journalism in boom. It expanded rapidly, forming numerous new newspapers and various innovative techniques in order to provide the public with current affairs in a new style they had never before seen. Due to the historical context, the growth in a vast array of philosophies and ideologies, cultural dominance, the expansion of technology and the growth and development of the economy, journalists were able to inform and entertain the masses of issues of public concern and importance. It was these factors that enabled the journalistic industry to exploit their resources and expand like their predecessors had never expected. Under the reign of Queen Victoria, journalism became an official and authorised industry. The public began to see the importance of having a journalist to speak the view of the underdog those that could not speak against the authorities as they had no right in order to do so. Many argue, such as Stead, that the journalist became more representative of the classes and the evident public opinion than the politicians were themselves. The significance of new ideas and concepts was vital to the journalistic industry. There was a globalisation of journalism and a collective ambition of growth and prosperity across Victorian England. People were exploiting the free market of journalism, promoting free ideas and especially concepts of parliamentary democracy and representation of the people within the state. These revolutionary ideals were enhanced by the increasingly willingness of Parliament to comply with its people. When the Great Reform Act of 1832 was passed by Parliament, this enabled 650,000 males to vote in elections, as opposed to the previous figure of 400,000. Although this may seem an insignificant development, it proved extremely influential. As more people were given the right to vote, more people took an interest in the political matters of the day. Therefore, journalists were able to use this in order to provide the people with political news they sought to read and acknowledge. Later on, when the Reform Act of 1867 was passed, this enfranchised the whole urban male working class in England and Wales. A wider spectrum of the public was deemed capable of making an informed decision on what type of politics should run the country. Journalists believed more people would be willing to involve themselves in political matters that surround England, and so targeted all classes in order to display the view that newspapers represent anyone and everyone. As the right to vote was denied to many beforehand, people jumped at the opportunity to obtain a source of power and influence over who would be titled their spokesperson. Furthermore, Parliaments began to see the increasingly important industry and economy of England. In 1844, Parliament passed the Railway Regulation Act in order to provide compulsory services at a price affordable to the poor to enable them to find work. This encouraged more people to work, to earn a living and to obtain prosperity. By using the existence of the railways, Parliaments were able to provide an incentive for the public to find work and encourage entrepreneurialism. This then led to more people having the money available to invest in newspapers to provide them with the daily news they so desired. This could not have been enforced without the invention and expansion of technology itself. In 1814, the steam press was invented by Koenig and Bauer. The first generation of printers not only were inefficient, used a lot of energy and needed constant maintenance, but they were also extortionately expensive to run. However, this paved the way for other innovative technological equipment to be designed and used for newspaper printing. Of course, this was heightened by the industrial revolution that was occurring in the Western world. There was more advanced machinery and the 1880s saw an introduced method of using wood pulp in newspaper printing. Enhanced by new ideas and new explanations from the world around us, people became more experimental and more daring to attempt to revolutionise the world around them. The Victorian era saw the birth of Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species that turned the values and norms of society on its head. Darwins theory of evolution and Natural Selection created the possibility that human beings have not discovered everything there is to discover, it left questions unanswered and people were more

determined to find those answers for themselves. In journalism, people were not satisfied with the current methods, or the current technology, they were continually seeking to improve and develop in order to provide a better service of journalism to the people. In 1868, the Times were the first newspaper to purchase the first continuous web printing machine. This created a doubling in production and a better source of paper, making their newspaper more appealing to customers. This enabled them to provide more newspapers in order to sell them more and more and to gain a profit from this. The 1840s saw a boom of the railway network. Various new railway lines were being built, creating a more accessible England. People were able to travel to places they were otherwise never able to visit creating a more culturally aware Britain. The railways increased communication; journalists were able to not only collect news and print it in paper form, but also to distribute newspapers all across the country. News was now able to travel faster, to more people and to affect the lives of an expanded electorate. As previously stated, the expansion of railways enabled Britons to become more of a culturally aware collection of individuals, which were willing to except the traditions of others that lived elsewhere. The Victorian era saw an emphasis on education, leading to higher aspirations of the young and the increased literacy of the population. Many more were now able to read, write, and involve themselves in political matters that concern them individually and their community. This era also saw the introduction of sports and business news displayed in newspapers. Sporting Life (established in 1863) and The Sporting Chronicle (launched in 1871) provided local evening newspapers based on the results of sporting competitions, for example Australian cricket scores. In addition, due to the widened electorate and the increased amount of people interested in business and commerce, the middle class was able to expand and grow rapidly. This then led to more ambition due to the new and revolutionary concepts that were filling the lives of ordinary citizens. An increase in ambition and the incentive to build prosperity and wealth motivated more people to involve themselves in business and therefore providing an expansion of the economy itself. Due to free market ideas, and more trade, the economy advanced significantly under the Victorian era. Parliament abolished the Stamp Duty in 1855, leading to free market ideas and the introduction of more cheap but quality newspapers, such as the Daily Mail in 1896. The government were less involved and undertook a lassiez faire approach. The government did not see it was important to intervene in the industry and business for the country. In order for business and industry to flourish, the government needed to provide a free market, without state intervention. This was now the foundations of the political ideology of Conservatism. As the economy expanded, journalism was in boom, producing more newspapers than ever before. More people understood business and were able to invest money in journalism in order to be provided with the tool for informing public opinion and holding power to account the revolutionary newspaper. In conclusion, there were many factors that led to the growth of the newspaper industry during the Victorian era. Parliament abolished taxes on knowledge, provided Acts for the basis of the expansion of the railway track and resisted to involve themselves in business and industry. The spread of new ideas and concepts provided a globalisation of journalism and a collective ambition of growth. Culturally, there were higher aspirations due to more of the population being able to read and write and there was a growing middle class that were more willing to experiment and discover new concepts for themselves. This led to the revolutionary technology that the Victorian era displayed; new techniques of printing were introduced in order to provide the people with more newspapers and more entertaining and informing news. All of the causes interlink with each other, as I have demonstrated, however there is one factor that for me is the most significant and predominant. The expansion in technology and railways enabled for more democratic ideas and concepts to be transported to all over the country. It also made people more culturally aware and more adventurous in their own lives and the way they challenge accepted facts or traditions. It was also heightened by the growing middle class and the ambition to make money that was vital to a wide section of society. The political, social and cultural factors did lead to the industrialisation of Britain, however without the vital transport mechanism that the Victorians provided, journalists

would have been left with a very limited and restricted area to sell newspapers, and would only be able to provide the smallest number of people entertaining and informing news of public concern. Crushing the original ideology of liberalism of the press, newspapers would instead become reactionary proprietors, restricting the public from the information they so desire, not exactly the liberating press that their predecessors had solely hoped for.

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