The Tatler and The Spectator

The Tatler and The Spectator

The origin of journalism can be traced back to the 17th century, when manuscript newsletters began to circulate, and when periodical pamphlets mainly concerned with foreign affairs, began to be published.
Anything printed was subject to censorship and it lasted till 1694, when Parliament refused to renew the Licensing Act. Some forms of punishment, however, remained for some newspapers.
The abolition of censorship led not only to the issue of a great number of newspapers, but also to an improvement in the journalistic style.
Some important periodicals like The Review, The Examiner and The Ramble, The Idler have started a new era for the English press, but the two most important periodicals of the time were The Tatler and The Spectator.
The Tatler was started by Richard Steele, an Irish gazetteer who in 1709 decided to publish a newspaper which should contain not only news , but also articles about some topics.
Later, Joseph Addison , a friend of Steele, join to the editorial staff and The Tatler appeared, in the form of a single sheet, three times a week , when it was replaced by The Spectator, a new periodical conducted by Steele and Addison toghether till 1712, and it was revived by Addison alone in 1714, to be finally stopped in December 1714. The Spectator is usually connected with Addison’s name more than Steele’s because it was above all Addison who turned the paper into an instrument of literlay and moral propaganda.
The immediate success of The Spectator was certainly due to other factor, such as:
- It was published daily so that reading it became almost a habit;
- It appaered at the beginning of the new British middle class;
- It was written in such a way as to be understood.