Johann Carolus published Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien in Strasbourg, then a free imperial city within the Holy Roman Empire. It is widely recognised as the first printed newspaper. Regularly issued reports created a new way for readers to follow distant political and military events.

Periodical news changed prose style, public debate and the speed at which writers encountered current events. Newspapers later became crucial venues for poems, reviews, political satire and the careers of writers such as Defoe, Swift and Pope.