The State of the Industry.

In 1850 about 10 percent of the adult population in the United States subscribed to one of the 254 daily newspapers, which usually cost a penny per issue, though in New York a paper cost three cents by the time of the Civil War. Newspapers could be distributed by mail without charge in the county of publication until 1856, and in cities newsboys hawked papers on street corners. The rural population was poorly served, especially before the Civil War. Before the war most news was local because reports from distant locations were hard to gather. Papers were filled with opinion, and much, if not most, of the space in the paper was devoted to prose other than reportage. The average paper was six columns wide and eight pages or fewer. There were few illustrations, though different sizes and fonts of type introduced some variety...