The creation of movable type marked the beginning of mass production of the written word and thus was essential to the newspaper industry's development. In general, this accomplishment is credited to Johannes Gutenberg, who was working in Mainz, Germany, in the mid-1400s. Other printing techniques existed prior to that time, including a form of movable type in Egypt and other areas of the Mediterranean. In 1295, Marco Polo brought Europe word of advanced printing techniques that were being used in Chinese. Furthermore, the Aztecs of South America hung colored banners in their main public squares to spread the "news" without the use of Gutenberg's or anyone else's "modern" technology. Still, when Gutenberg produced his movable type, the process of information dissemination underwent a revolution.

What, specifically, was Gutenberg's revolutionary invention? Gutenberg had used woodcuts to print pictures and came up with the...