Newspapers as we know them date back to the seventeenth century. Even before
the Revolutionary War, American newspapers largely maintained independence from
government control. The first mass circulation newspaper was the New York Sun,
emerging in 1833 and selling for one cent a copy. Groups such as Native Americans
and African Americans also used the medium at this time to express views outside
the mainstream. Competition in the 1880s led to the rise of yellow journalism. Newspaper chains
began forming in the 1920s, and have grown more numerous over time. The advent
of television brought further changes to the medium. Today, metropolitan dailies are losing readership as suburban and small town
papers grow in popularity. Nevertheless, chains control 82% of all circulation.
Civic journalism and changing technology are two important issues for all newspapers.
Editors are also facing the dilemma of giving younger readers the soft news
they want or losing them as customers. | 
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education