Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 11

Contributions of the Istmian Press in National Development its Beginnings and Times of the Colonies History of the Isthmian Press Colonial Period Abstract- The appearance of the written press in Panama dates back to the first half of th e 19th century,in the midst of constant political, social and economic debates. This article is a contribution to scientific knowledge, 30 existing newspapers between 1821 and 1903 are listed and systematized. The year of launch, the intention and associated writers are taken into consideration; categorized into 5 periods attending the Justo Arosemena Institute School of Journalism, which had its first graduation in 1956. Keywords: panama, national newspapers, postcolonial era. I. I ntroduction ccording to the Dictionary of the Royal Academy, the written press is the set of publicationsprinted on paper, with varied periodicity, whose objective is to inform and entertain society. Newspapers are part of the most widely distributed written press. According to Saint Charles in (Arona Castillo, 2016), newspapers "are the best instruments of the history of an era, whatever point of view from which one wants to study it." They are published daily and offer general information on political, social, economic, geographical, cultural, sports, judicial and educational issues of a region, country, territory or state (Kayser, 1974). For UNESCO, newspapers are all printed media published in a certain country, intended for the public, whose publications constitute a continuous series, with the same title, with a certain periodicity not exceeding oneyear, dated and numbered copies (Arona Castillo, 2016). In Panama, the written press has its origins at the beginning of the 19th century, when José María Goytía imports to the isthmus the first printing press destined for the propagation of liberal doctrines (Castillero, 1958), the first newspaper Miscelánea del Istmo (Luna Vásquez, 2012), edited by Juan José Argote, Manuel María Goytía, Juan José Calvo and Mariano Arosemena. It was a four-page weekly with a small format, which appeared every Sunday. This newspaper supported the independence of the Isthmus from the Spanish crown and its adherence to Colombia (Candanedo, 2003). Despite the wide variety of newspapers that have circulated in Panama, there are few scientific documents, published in Spanish and open access that can demonstrate the contribution of newspapers in the historical development of the national context or, present a systematization or record of these newspapers as a strategy to understand the evolution of the country. In this document we present chronologically the newspapers that emerged, evolved and became extinct from the Isthmian press, during the period of the Unification to Colombia -1821 to 1903, attending the School of Journalism of the Institute Justo Arosemena, located in Panama. II. D eveloping First Period In the period of union between Panama and Colombia, the government created in 1823 an organ of information: The Official Gazette of the Department of the Isthmus which, towards the end of 1825, was called Gaceta del Istmo de Panamá (Del Rosario, 1968) in (Estrella de Panamá, 2021). Published the administrative acts of the Government of Colombia. In 1823, the first official newspaper of the Department under the name of Gaceta Del Gobierno Independent of Panama. Apparently it is not a new newspaper but a name change of the Gazette founded theprevious year. He is followed in order by The Prosecutor and The Law and later The Panamanian (Castillero, 1958). Table 1: Newspapers of National Circulation. 1821-1827 Name of the Newspaper Year Description THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ISTHMUS 1823 Sole Interest of its Publishers it accepted subscriptionsto cover the expenses of paper. THE COMET OF THE ISTHMUS 1823 It presented as its motto the following thought of Rousseau: “When Legislation Weakens, CustomsDegenerate; But then the judgment of the censors will dowhat the force of the laws has not done”. A © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue XI Version I 27 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 A Author: Faculty of Social Community, University of Panama, Panama-Republic of Panama. e-mail: gdelis06@gmail.com Garrit Geneteau Delis