As you bask in the glory of this most recent edition of the Torch: U.S., you are in fact in the presence of a tradition over 2,000 years old. Sometime during the Gallic Wars (58-51 BCE), Julius Caesar began to spread issues of the Acta Diurna, or Daily Acts, which were notices carved into stone tablets and placed in public areas, such as the forum. However, as Julius Caesar was the author of the Acta Diurna, the publication was predominantly composed of pro-Caesar literature (much like how the Torch: U.S. is pro-NJCL literature) in the hope of creating political support for Caesar amid tensions caused by the Gallic Wars. The Acta Diurna, while not published on papyrus until much later, was one of the first types of newspaper and continued to be published until the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople in 330 CE.
The first newspaper began on stone tablets in public places, like the Roman Forum.
After the Gallic Wars and the Great Roman Civil War, the Acta Diurna took on a bit of an unexpected change. Instead of military news, the Acta Diurna now communicated news about upcoming events, political news, weddings, deaths, and even horoscopes. Sound familiar? Even with this massive amount of content, the Acta was still published on stone tablets for some time.
Recently, print newspapers have begun to fall out of fashion due to the presence of a constant, 24-hour news cycle. While the Acta Diurna was published daily and not broadcast 24/7 on live television, some similarities between today’s news and ancient news have remained. For instance, in ancient Rome, the Acta Diurna was written and released by government figures such as Julius Caesar.
While modern news networks are not necessarily controlled by the government, we do see certain media outlets aligning with specific political parties and/or institutions. The Roman government had the power to influence its citizens through the news in the Acta Diurna, just as those in charge of television networks have the power to influence the opinions and ideas presented on air.
In one respect, these two sources of media do differ drastically, in that the 24-hour news cycle allows us to see everything that happens at any point all over the world. Although we no longer carve articles into stone tablets and nail them to walls, the tradition of newspapers has continued throughout the centuries.
"Instead of military news, the Acta Diurna now communicated news about upcoming events, political news, weddings, deaths, and even horoscopes.
Sound familiar?"
Aidan Gregg
2019-2020 IJCL EDITOR
ROMAN
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