Question

What were the different means of communication known around the world before the advent of Newspapers ?

Answer 1

Before the beginning of the common era there was a custom in Egypt of placing inscriptions with royal decrees at public place. Emperor Asoka also resorted to similar method to reach out to his subjects.

In the Roman Empire, royal decrees were written on papers and those were distributed in all regions. They also contained the information of various events taking place in the nation and its capital. During Julius Caesar’s reign newspapers known as Acta Diurna, meaning acts of everyday, used to be placed, at public places in Rome. It was a very effective way of conveying royal commands to people.

In the 7th century C.E. royal dictates were distributed among people at public places. In England handouts used to be distributed occasionally, giving information about wars or important events. Travellers arriving from faraway would add spice to stories from those places and narrate it to local people.