In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were corantos, small news pamphlets produced only

when some event worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was The Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the 1640's and 1650's by a plethora (large number) of different titles in the similar newsbook format. In the beginning of the 17th century the right to print was strictly controlled in England. This was probably the reason why the first newspaper in English language was printed in Amsterdam by Joris Veseler around 1620. This followed the style established by Veseler's earlier Dutch paper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. However, when the English started printing their own papers in London, they reverted to the pamphlet format used by contemporary books. The era of these newsbooks lasted until the publication of the Oxford Gazette in 1665. The control over printing relaxed to some extent after the ending of the Star Chamber in 1641. The Civil War escalated the demand for news. News-pamphlets or -books reported the war, often supporting one side or the other. Following the Restoration there arose a number of publications, including the London Gazette (first published on November 16, 1665 as the Oxford Gazette. -The first true newspaper in English - for a generation it was the only officially sanctioned newspaper, though many periodical titles were in print by the century's end.). It was the first official journal of record and the newspaper of the Crown. Publication was controlled under the Licensing Act of 1662, but the Act's lapses from 1679-1685 and from 1695 onwards encouraged a number of new titles. There were twelve London newspapers and 24 provincial papers by the 1720s (the Daily Courant was the first London newspaper). By the early 19th century there were 52 London papers and over 100 other titles. The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the UK, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published. The London Gazette is the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously-published newspaper in the United Kingdom, having been first published on 7 November 1665. It is not a conventional newspaper offering general news coverage, and does not have a large circulation. The Gazette was not a newspaper in the modern sense: it was sent in manuscript by post to subscribers, not printed for sale to the general public. Her Majesty's Stationery Office took over the publication of the Gazette in 1889. In 2006 the London Gazette is still published each day, except for Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays. Notices for the following, among others, are published:

Granting of Royal Assent to bills of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or of the Scottish Parliament The issuance of writs of election when a vacancy occurs in the House of Commons Appointments to certain public offices Corporate and personal insolvency Granting of awards of honours and military medals Changes of names or of coats of arms Royal Proclamations and other Declarations

Licensing of the Press Act 1662

The Licensing of the Press Act 1662 is an Act of the Parliament of England (14 Car. II. c. 33), long title "An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Bookes and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses." The Act was originally limited to two years. The provisions as to importation of books, the appointment of licensers, and the number of printers and founders were practically reenactments of the similar provisions in an order of the Star Chamber of 1637. Printing presses were not to be set up without notice to the Stationers' Company. A king's messenger had power by warrant of the king or a secretary of state to enter and search for unlicensed presses and printing. Severe penalties by fine and imprisonment were denounced against offenders. The act was successively renewed up to 1679. Under the powers of the act Sir Roger L'Estrange was appointed licenser, and the effect of the supervision was that practically the newspaper press was reduced to the London Gazette. The objections made to lines 594-599 of the first book of Paradise Lost by the archbishop of Canterbury's chaplain, acting as licenser, are well known. The act expired in 1679, and for the remainder of the reign of Charles II, as in the reign of George III, the restrictions on the press took the form of prosecutions for libel. In 1685 the Licensing Act was renewed for seven years (Jac. II. c. 8, 15). No mention of the liberty of the press was made in the Bill of Rights. On the expiration of the Licensing Act in 1692 it was continued till the end of the existing session of parliament (4 & 5 Will. and Mary, c. 24, 14). In 1695 the Commons refused to renew it. The immediate effect of this was to lay authors open to the attacks of literary piracy, and in 1709 the first Copyright Act (8 Anne, c. 19) was enacted for their protection. The power of a secretary of state to issue a warrant, whether general or special, for the purpose of searching for and seizing the author of a libel or the libellous papers themselves - a power exercised by the Star Chamber and confirmed by the Licensing Act - was still asserted, and was not finally declared illegal until the case of Entick v. Carrington in 1765 (St. Tr. xix. 1030). In 1776 the House of Commons came to a resolution in accordance with this decision. The compulsory stamp duty on newspapers was abandoned in 1855 (18 Vict. C. 27), the duty on paper in 1861 (24 Vict. C. 20), the optional duty on newspapers in 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 38). From that time the English press maybe said to date its complete freedom, which rests rather upon a constitutional than a legal foundation. It is not confirmed by any provision of the supreme legislative authority, as is the case in many countries.