ABSTRACT
Sin-~ashingballadswerewhatthepublicseemedtolike,andwhatthe stationers(whoranthepublishingindustryonanentrepreneurial basis,employingprinters,booksellers,andauthorsaslabour)paid writerstoproduce.44Nashewaswellawarethatpublisherspreferred newsreportstooriginalinventions.In1596hewrotetoWilliam Cottonthatitwasnogoodhopingforanymoneyfromthepress:all thepublisherswere'gaping'forthenewsballadsoftheEssexvoyage andwouldscarcelybeinterestedinanyinventionhehadtooffer(v. 194).Notthat'news'heremeansfactualreportage;theoldhumanist criteriaofprovidenceandprofitabilityrequiredthatthereaderbe abletobenefitfromamoralizedrenderingofhistoricaleventswhich wouldbringthe'news'intostereotypedlinewitheveryexemplary discourseonasimilartopic.45
