Saturday Rave: The Daily Courant by Elizabeth Mallet.

It was Elizabeth Mallet who started the trouble.

What did she do?

This:




The Daily Courant was Britain's first national newspaper, which began on 11 March 1702 at Elizabeth's premises at Fleet Bridge, London.

It consisted of a single sheet with foreign news on the front, and advertisements on the back.

As for editorial policy, Elizabeth Mallet declared that she would add no comments of her own, as her readers have 'sense enough to make reflections for themselves.'

She (although pretending to be a 'he') also sets out her authority for publication:

...he will not, under Pretence of having Private Intelligence, impose any Additions of feign'd Circumstances to an Action, but give his Extracts fairly and impartially, at the beginning of each Article he will quote the Foreign Paper from whence 'tis taken, that the Publick, seeing from what Country a piece of News comes...may be better able to judge the Credibility and Fairnesse of the Relation.

Feign'd Circumstances...

Isn't that lovely?

And it sounds a lot nobler than fake news, doesn't it?

Word To Use Today: feign. This word comes from the Old French feindre, to pretend, from Latin fingere to form, shape, invent.