My first immediate thought when I saw the title "...first photo published in a newspaper..." was to image a newspaper photo with obvious dots or their proper name "Halftones"

A few googles reveal much detail about the process including that it was used up to 1990s

They say it was likely an "inked engraving", not a halftone. Presumably created by hand. So it is a bit debatable whether we should call it a photo or just an engraving, made from a photo reference. (We wouldn't call an oil painting a photo even if it was created from a photo reference.)