The correct answer is D) They made up stories and news.
What did the early newspapers do when they did not have enough news to print? They made up stories and news.
In those early years, the press was different from what we know today. Among the difference was that journalists had no proper academic background or preparation for journalism and had no ethics code.
So when they ran out of true stories, they had no problem creating their own. People in that time believed everything that appeared in the newspaper and considered it a true source of information. And that was exploited by the newspaper owners.
The news was business, and owners had to continue to sell their newspapers, So they needed stories; true or created, but they had to sell newspapers.