 This was an innovative method for the time before journalism that relied on first-hand reports was commonplace.Richard Steele, influenced by Defoe, set up "The Tatler" in 1709 as a publication of the news and gossip heard in London coffeehouses, hence the title.It presented Whiggish views and created guidelines for middle-class manners, while instructing "these Gentlemen, for the most part being Persons of strong Zeal, and weak Intellects..."what to think.""