It would be difficult for modern readers to accept the text-only version of a newspaper.
One online source containing “a brief history of the birth of photojournalism,” states that the first illustration to appear in a newspaper, similar to modern courtroom renderings, was around 1806, and the first actual photograph to accompany a news story appeared in July, 1848 (https://medium.com/exploring-history/the-first-photograph-ever-used-in-news-e87fa3f9eebf).
That photo was printed in a French weekly periodical L’Illustration. It depicted barricaded Parisian streets caused by a worker’s strike. The 1848 June Days Uprising occurred from June 22nd to 26th, but the much slower pace of news gathering at that time, coupled with the weekly publication schedule, meant that the article didn’t appear until July 1st. The published image was likely an inked engraving from the original photograph. (See Dr. Anthony Hamber’s “The Rise of Photographic Illustration 1839-1880” Zoom meeting presentation November 2021 on YouTube.)
The same French publication was the “first paper to publish a color photograph in 1891 and 1907 respectively.” (Note: Editor unable to confirm this.) Sadly, it was reporting of war that gave photojournalism its big boost, especially Roger Fenton’s Crimean War photographs and the American Civil War. Unfortunately, providing the public with visual documentation of war’s horrors did not reduce or limit its recurrence.
With improvements in technology and more widespread use of cameras, illustrations based on photographs began to appear more regularly in newspapers after the Civil War. “By 1900, images were expected rather than cherished.” Today, news does not exist without accompanying images. It only took a century for photography to go from a interesting addition to print journalism to a journalistic force in its own right.”
What the heck…
Are Those Even Cameras?!
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