Journalism

Although the first newspaper published in the American colonies began in Boston in 1690, it proved to be a shortlived experience because government authorities suppressed it immediately. It was not until April 24, 1704, when The Boston News-Letter appeared, that the public could enjoy a regularly published newspaper, although only on a weekly basis. Other rival newspapers appeared in Boston quickly, and other cities followed suit as Philadelphia, New York City, Annapolis, Charleston, Newport, and Williamsburg began publishing weeklies.

In 1727 the Maryland Gazette, the first newspaper in the province of Maryland and the oldest continuous surviving newspaper, was established at Annapolis by William Parks. At this time there were but six other newspapers published in America. The Gazette was discontinued in 1736 but revived again in 1745 under the management of Jonas Green. It is still published today and has been called the “flourishing patriarch of American journals.”

By 1775, 37 weekly newspapers existed in 11 colonies. These newspapers were similar in structure, usually a small weekly folio, four pages in length, with the following format: Page one contained foreign news; page two, domestic news; page three, local news; and page four, advertisements. Political news and the proceedings of legislative bodies aroused lively interest. Issues including abolitionism, religion, women’s rights, education, and medical discoveries highlighted the news. Specific events, such as the trial of John Peter Zenger, the Great Awakening, the Stono Rebellion, the Seven Years’ War, the Stamp Act Crisis, and the Boston Tea Party appeared in colonial weeklies.

Rather than articles penned by reporters, important letters and documents were often quoted at length. This became particularly critical when issues welded people together in their resistance to Britain beginning in 1763. Although local news was sometimes negligible, advertisements told the story of the economy, society, and cultural events of a particular town or region. Essays and poetry sometimes filled a considerable portion of newspapers, especially in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette. The use of an occasional editorial cartoon, such as Franklin’s famous “Join or Die” woodcut advocating uniting of the colonies during the Seven Years’ War, also appeared.

Besides newspapers, early Americans wrote autobiographies, journals, and political pamphlets. These authors sometimes described their own experiences, meditating on their lives, seeking to attract settlers to the colonies, defending a particular religious view, or attacking specific governmental policies. Examples of 17th-century chroniclers include John Smith, William Bradeord, John Winthrop, and Cotton Mather, while 18th-century examples include Robert Beverley and William Byrd II.

A second phase of American journalism after 1750 was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment. By the middle of the 18th century, the colonists became more aware of the efforts of Sir Isaac Newton and others to explain the mechanical laws of the universe and the philosophy of natural law. Writers began to emphasize rational thought, to think of history as possibly revealing the meaning of life, and to see institutions such as the law as having a life of their own. The works of Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Hutchinson, and David Ramsey are typical of the approach.

Except for what appeared in newspapers, secular literature was limited to the wealthy. Theological books did abound, but outside of the Bible and almanacs, the newspaper was the only printed medium found in most colonial family homes.

Further reading: David A. Copeland, Debating the Issues in Colonial Newspapers: Primary Documents on the Events of the Period (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000).

—James F. Adomanis