News of Travels, Travelling News: The Mediation of Travel and Exploration in the Gazette de France and the Journal de l'Empire

The study of an eighteenth-century gazette or an early nineteenth-century French newspaper quickly reveals that the terms ‘voyage’ (‘travel’) and ‘voyager’ (‘to travel’) appear regularly. The news bulletins that constitute a central element of these publications are filled with information about the movements of royals, diplomats and other ‘celebrities’.¹ News from long-distance voyages and expeditions, in the shape of letters from or about travellers, provided the press with intriguing and ‘exotic’ material. Non-fiction travel writing also had a place in the press, notably through reviews and book advertisements. Primarily preoccupied with the transmission of events happening outside of the community