A newsletter is a

printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...

or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

or an

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of interest to its recipients and may be considered

grey literature Grey literature (or gray literature) is material and research produced by organizations outside of the traditional publishing, commercial or academic publishing and distribution channels. Common grey literature publication types include reports (a ...

. E-newsletters are delivered electronically via e-mail and can be viewed as spamming if e-mail marketing is sent unsolicited. The newsletter, sometimes a periodical, is the most common form of serial publication. About two-thirds of newsletters are internal publications, aimed towards employees and volunteers, while about one-third are external publications, aimed towards advocacy or special interest groups.

History

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, newsletters were exchanged between officials or friends. By the Middle Ages, they were exchanged between merchant families. Trader's newsletters covered various topics such as the availability and pricing of goods, political news, and other events that would influence trade. These commercial newsletters were in effect, the first "serious" outlet for news publishing, from which evolved

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s. The first full "newspaper" was '' Relation of Strasbourg'', printed in 1609 by Johann Carolus. Many rivals soon followed, such as the German '' Avisa Relation oder Zeitung'' and the Dutch '' Nieuwe Tijdingen''. By the end of the 17th century, several newspapers were established all across Europe, and were often translated into other languages. By the late 17th century, several governments were censoring newspapers, which harmed their development. Wars, like the Thirty Years' War, also imposed restrictions on trade, which could lead to shortage of paper in addition to censorship. Government censorship remains in effect in several countries to this day, although several countries now have laws guaranteeing freedom of the press.

Modernity

Modern newsletters are usually created and distributed electronically by companies, organizations or individuals. Newsletter marketing is a form of

direct-to-consumer advertising Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) refers to the pharmaceutical marketing, marketing and advertising of medication, pharmaceutical products directly to consumers as patients, as opposed to specifically targeting health professionals. The term ...

. This is used by companies that want to send information directly to potential and existing customers. When received unsolicited, they can be seen as

spam Spam most often refers to: * Spam (food), a consumer brand product of canned processed pork of the Hormel Foods Corporation * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ...

. Newsletters are also used by organizations to inform their members of ongoing developments. Writing and distributing personal newsletters by individuals can be observed since the late 2010s in the advent of social networking services. Due to the way the algorithms on such services work, followers may not see the updates someone posts.

Production

Many paper newsletters are letter-size pamphlets, sometimes made of side- or corner-stapled letter-size paper, sometimes of saddle-stitched (stapled) tabloid paper. Until the early 20th century, newsletters were generally produced by letterpress. The development of spirit duplicators and mimeograph machines in the early 20th century made short-run reproduction more economical. In the 1960s, xerographic photocopying became ubiquitous.

History

Modernity

Production

References

Further reading