This module will examine the development of journalism in Britain across the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, introducing students to the main themes and debates in the history of news media. Lectures will juxtapose key drivers of change – social, political, technological, and cultural movements – with individual titles to reveal the evolving nature of news, its changing formats, and role in society across the period. The module will cover topics including the new literary genres that appeared in 1709 and 1711 with the publication of The Tatler and The Spectator, the growth in circulation rates thanks to improved technologies and repealed taxation, the role of news media in public debates, and the enduring fascination with celebrity and crime, spurring the advent of the tabloid press, ‘new’ journalism, and the 1896 launch of the Daily Mail. Final sessions will discuss tips and techniques for writing journalism today.