At the beginning of the early modern period, taverns, along with other public places such as ports, churches and markets, were one of the major hubs for news, most of which were brought by travellers and transmitted orally.
Anno M cccc lxx jor am erdag vor (con)fersio <pal> paully do starb jorg starcz ein gastgeb, der <C lxxxviiii> pruder <179>, washed and coloured pen drawing, 1470, unknown artist, in: Hausbuch der Mendelschen Zwölfbrüderstiftung, vol. 1, Nürnberg 1426–1549; image source: Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg, http://www.nuernberger-hausbuecher.de/75-Amb-2-317-88-v/data, public domain.