Articles

Who Contributed to Late-Eighteenth-Century English Newspapers? Authorship, Accessibility and Public Debate (1790–92)

Author: Johanne Kristiansen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Abstract

A dominant narrative shaping how we view the eighteenth-century English press is that newspapers were important forums for debate and opinion, and that they contributed significantly to the gradual broadening of political participation and inclusion. Yet we still know rather little about the contributors to newspapers in this period, and thus about the social accessibility of this public forum. Based on a systematic reading of six daily newspapers from the politically turbulent years 1790–92, this article explores the following questions: Who contributed to late eighteenth-century English newspapers in this important period? How open was the English press to writers from different social backgrounds?

Keywords:

How to Cite: Kristiansen, J. (2019) “Who Contributed to Late-Eighteenth-Century English Newspapers? Authorship, Accessibility and Public Debate (1790–92)”, Authorship. 8(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/aj.v8i2.15774