Francisco Mariano Nipho facts for kids

Francisco Mariano Nipho (born 1719 in Alcañiz, died 1803 in Madrid) was an important Spanish writer and journalist. He is known as one of Spain's best journalists ever. People even called him the "freak of nature" because he was so talented.

During the time of King Charles III, Nipho helped start modern journalism in Spain. He became the first professional journalist. Francisco Manuel Mariano Nipho was born in Alcañiz. When he was young, his family moved to Madrid. He lived, worked, and grew up there for the rest of his life.

Nipho started many newspapers. He sometimes used different pen names, like "Mariano de la Say" or "Manuel Ruiz de Uribe." Nipho believed journalism had a big artistic and social role. However, it didn't make him rich. He once said journalism was "a painful and unprofitable occupation." But he also said its real job was to "educate and moralize" people. Like many journalists back then, he translated a lot of texts. He might have even published the first direct English-to-Spanish literary translations.

Nipho didn't become financially stable until he was older. In his later years, he worked as a censor, checking what was published.

Why Newspapers Mattered to Nipho

Nipho thought that books were too expensive for most people. Because of this, he believed newspapers were key to sharing knowledge. He wanted newspapers to help society learn and grow. His newspapers weren't just about news or scholarly topics. They were critical, but always tried to connect with everyday readers.

Nipho had traditional Christian beliefs. He wanted to share new ideas from smart people with the rest of the country. Even though new ideas sometimes clashed with his religious views, his faith stayed strong. Nipho had clear ideas about how journalism should work. He believed it needed three main things: wide reach, accuracy, and speed. He also thought journalism should help the Spanish economy get better. For Nipho, a journalist had two main goals: to educate people and to help science grow.

His Time and Influences

The 1700s greatly shaped Nipho's work. This was a time when new ideas, called the Enlightenment, were popular. People wanted to make many reforms. The king supported these changes. There was a strong spirit of starting new things. However, these reforms didn't always meet the country's real needs. Some traditional groups were against the changes. This meant transformations happened slowly. Spain had problems like poverty and low social mobility. So, King Charles III and other smart people tried to make improvements. They tried to do this while reducing the power of the rich nobles. This was supported by the middle class. Because of this, changes happened without a big revolution.

Nipho's Journalism Work

Nipho wrote many different things. All his work showed his belief that newspapers could reach many people. He felt books were too expensive for most. One of his other publications was The Fair Whisperer. In this, Nipho used satire, which is using humor to make a point. He wanted to teach morals and criticize society's habits. He was worried about people losing their Christian values. He divided this work into different "letters." These letters explained how England behaved in terms of customs, arts, and more. Nipho directed this paper under the name "Mariano of Giga."

Another paper, The Mail General, History, Literary and Economic Europe, collected useful reports from different countries. It came out every week. It was sent to England and other European countries.

The Court Jester

Nipho also published a satirical writing called The Court Jester. He used the pen name "Joseph de la Serna" for this. Its goal was to make fun of things that deserved laughter. It also aimed to be serious about silly things. This work showed strong social criticism. It was often ironic and a bit bitter, covering many different topics.

Diario de Madrid

This was the first daily newspaper known in Spain. It started in 1758. Nipho worked on it using the name "Don Manuel Ruiz de Uribe." He worked with Juan Antonio Lozano. He was able to start this paper because King Ferdinand VI gave him special permission.

Nipho's Impact on Journalism

Nipho's life and work show his changing nature. He sometimes stopped working on his publications for different reasons. However, he deserves praise for his new ideas. He always wanted to improve things. This came from his own personality, his love for journalism, and the time he lived in. In his writings, we can see his deep critical thinking. He was often pessimistic. He worried about Spanish society losing its Christian values and morals. This worry made him want to fix and improve things. He showed that journalism was an art for him. It had a huge social responsibility, even if it didn't pay much.

Nipho helped journalism grow in many ways. He introduced the daily newspaper. He also helped develop political newspapers and papers that taught morals and customs. He also made scholarly literary newspapers better. Along with daily newspapers, he helped start subscriptions and advertising. He also began selling newspapers on the street, much like today.

The Journal Noticioso

The first two copies of this paper had a long name: Daily News bulletins Curious-Scholar Public and Commercial and Economic. This paper lasted a long time, until 1918. Nipho created this first daily publication in Spanish journalism history in 1758. Many earlier papers used the word "daily" because they reported events in order by day. Journal Noticioso was one of the three biggest newspapers in Spain in the late 1700s. The others were The Censor and The Thinker.

In 1759, Nipho sold his part of this company to his partner, Juan Antonio Lozano. Lozano kept publishing the newspaper until he died in 1780. Journal Noticioso even put in ads for free. This was the start of "warnings" or small ads in Spain. Nipho explained his plan for this:

"Many people told me to put the notices in the Journal every eight days, or at most twice a week. But I couldn't agree with this idea. There's a strong reason: sometimes a person in this city needs to buy things for themselves or for people in their hometown. This person might only be in the city for one day, not the whole week. So, if the Journal doesn't come out on that day, the notice will be slow to reach them or won't be on time. For example, if you want to sell jewelry or furniture, you might miss a good buyer. But today, someone has money who needs it tomorrow. So, if the Journal comes out every day, all its ads will be useful."

This publication had up to 1000 subscribers. In 1786, Jacques Thevin renamed it Diario de Madrid. It covered local and national news. This was news that official papers like the Gazette and Mercury didn't include.

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