The American Revolution was well chronicled, exulted and debated in broadsides.
John Dunlap printed the Declaration of Independence as a broadside on July 4, 1776, two days before newspapers printed it.
Broadsides are large sheets of paper printed on one side. Since the popularization of printing in the fifteenth century, broadsides have been a preferred method of mass media -- cheap, immediate, and often provocative.
They could be used for anything from official announcements to current events set in verse, event notices, or advertisements.
