The Business of News in England, 1760–1820

"The Business of News in England, 1760-1820 explores the commerce of the English press during a critical period of press politicization, as the nation confronted foreign wars and revolutions that disrupted domestic governance (1760-1820). Britain had a precociously commercial newspaper press, yet our understanding of it has remained surprisingly basic. Examining the lives and businesses of 257 newspapers and 305 newspaper proprietors, this study explores the emergence of the provincial press as the powerhouse of the English press. It demonstrates how competition in the newspaper trade shaped cooperative networks and as a result, shaped news content, information flow, and even readers' notions of belonging; and how the financial success of the trade and occupational cohesion enabled the rise of the Fourth Estate and irrevocably changed the dynamics of power in the press-politics nexus. "--