During the whole reign of William there was not a single newspaper prosecution, but there were many in that of 'the good Queen Anne.' Still editors were obliged to be very careful in the wording of their items of news, generally prefacing them with 'We hear,' 'It is said,' 'It is reported,' 'They continue to say,' ''Tis believed,' and so on. Of the chief newspapers of this period we get the following account from John Dunton, who was joint proprietor with Samuel Wesley of the _Athenian Mercury_:
'The _Observator_ is best to towel the Jacks, the _Review_ is best to promote peace, the _Flying Post_ is best for the Scotch news, the _Postboy_ is best for the English and Spanish news, the _Daily Courant_ is the best critic, the _English Post_ is the best collector, the _London Gazette_ has the best authority, and the _Postman_ is the best for everything.'
The _Daily Courant_, which was the first daily newspaper, first appeared on the 11th of March, 1702. It was but a puny affair of two columns, printed on one side of the sheet only, and consisted, like most of the journals of the time, mainly of foreign intelligence. It lasted until 1735, when it was merged in the _Daily Gazetteer_. In spite of prosecutions for libel, the press throve, and, perhaps, to a certain extent, on that very account greatly improved in character. Addison, Steele, Bolingbroke, Manwaring, Prior, Swift, Defoe, and other celebrities became editors or contributors, and a battle royal was waged among them in the _Examiner_, the _Whig Examiner_, the _Observator_, the _Postboy_, the _Review_, the _Medley_, and other papers of less note.
Meanwhile newspapers began to appear in the provinces. The earliest was the _Stamford Mercury_--a title preserved to the present day--which came out in 1695. Norwich started a journal of its own, the _Norwich Postman_, in 1706, the price of which the proprietors stated to be 'one penny, but a half penny not refused.' The _Worcester Postman_ made its bow in 1708, and Berrow's _Worcester Journal_--which still exists--in 1709. Newcastle followed suite with its _Courant_, in 1711, and Liverpool with its _Courant_ in 1712. The other large towns did the same at less or greater intervals, and of the provincial journals which were born in the first half of the eighteenth century about a score still flourish. The _Edinburgh Gazette_ came cut in 1699, as appears from the following quaint document, which has been republished by the Maitland Club at the 'modern Athens':