Abstract
The need to record and relate happenings was born with civilization and different methods were used at different times (stelae, scrolls, engravings, paper). Among the Romans, the priests were charged with the daily recording of public events, and so this information was considered sacred. Julius Caesar restructured the system, making it secular and political. Later, handwritten sheets with facts of public interest began to circulate. The 15th and 16th centuries, with the invention of the printing press and the introduction of postal services, brought great changes in methods and distribution, but it was not until 1631 that the first regular European newspaper appeared. Along with the publication of news came censorship and, fortunately, the struggle to secure the freedom of speech.