Journalism in the United States began humbly and became a political force in the campaign for American independence. Following independence, the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of speech. The American press grew rapidly following the American Revolution. The press became a key support element to the country's political parties, but also for organized religious institutions.
During the 19th century, newspapers began to expand and appear outside the cities of the Eastern United States. From the 1830s onward the penny press began to play a major role in American journalism. Technological advancements such as the telegraph and faster printing presses in the 1840s helped expand the press of the nation, as it experienced rapid economic and demographic growth.
By 1900, major newspapers had become profitable powerhouses of advocacy, muckraking and sensationalism, along with serious, and objective news-gathering. Starting in the 1920s, technological change again changed American journalism as radio and television began to play increasingly important roles.
In the late 20th century, much of American journalism merged into big media conglomerates (principally owned by media moguls like Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch). With the coming of digital journalism in the 21st Century, newspapers faced a business crisis as readers turned to the internet for news and advertisers followed them.
Colonial era The history of American journalism began in 1690, when Benjamin Harris published the first edition of "Public Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestic" in Boston. Harris had strong trans-Atlantic connections and intended to publish a regular weekly newspaper along the lines of those in London, but he did not get prior approval and his paper was suppressed after a single edition. The first successful newspaper, The Boston News-Letter, was launched in 1704. This time, the founder was John Campbell, the local postmaster, and his paper proclaimed that it was "published by authority."
As the colonies grew rapidly in the 18th century, newspapers appeared in port cities along the East Coast, usually started by master printers seeking a sideline. Among them was James Franklin, founder of The New England Courant (1721–1727), where he employed his younger brother, Benjamin Franklin, as a printer's apprentice. Like many other colonial newspapers, it was aligned with party interests. Ben Franklin was first published in his brother's newspaper, under the pseudonym Silence Dogood in 1722, and even his brother did not know his identity at first. Pseudonymous publishing, a common practice of that time, protected writers from retribution from government officials and others they criticized, often to the point of what today would be considered libel.
Ben Franklin moved to Philadelphia in 1728 and took over the Pennsylvania Gazette the following year. Ben Franklin expanded his business by essentially franchising other printers in other cities, who published their own newspapers. By 1750, 14 weekly newspapers were published in the six largest colonies. The largest and most successful of these could be published up to three times per week.
Colonial newspapers were typically one man operations; in some cases a widow took over her late husband's operation.Susan Henry, "Sarah Goddard, Gentlewoman Printer." Journalism Quarterly 57.1 (1980): 23-30. The owner acted as publisher, reporter, editor, typesetter, printer, and accountant, with perhaps one helper to assist with the several hundred copies printed every week. The shop also printed fliers or leaflets for local merchants, and sermons for ministers. The news pages were filled with clippings from other newspapers, reports from Europe,and some local reporting.Al Hester, et al. "Foreign News in Colonial North American Newspapers, 1764–1775." Journalism Quarterly 57.1 (1980): 18-44. The papers did not have headlines or images, but did have advertising from local merchants as wells as official announcements. Local authors, usually anonymous, provided poetry, essays, sermons, and sometimes political commentary on current events. The content included advertising of newly landed products, and local news items, usually based on commercial and political events. Editors exchanged their papers and frequently reprinted news from other small cities. Essays and letters to the editor, often anonymous, provided opinions on current issues. While the religious news was thin, writers typically interpreted good news in terms of God's favor, and bad news as evidence of His wrath. The fate of criminals was often cast as cautionary tales warning of the punishment for sin.Stephen L. Vaughn, ed.,Encyclopedia of American Journalism (2008) pp 108-9, 179, 330, 445 Michael Emery and Edwin Emery, The press and America: An interpretative history of the mass media (6th ed. 1988), pp. 17-44.Frank Luther Mott, American Journalism a History 1690–1960 (3rd ed. 1962) pp. 43–64.
American Independence The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed paper, and the burden of the tax fell on printers, who led a successful fight to repeal the tax.Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr., Prelude to independence: the newspaper war on Britain, 1764-1776 (1958) By the early 1770s, most newspapers supported the Patriot cause; Loyalist newspapers were often forced to shut down or move to Loyalist strongholds, especially New York City.Carol Sue Humphrey, This popular engine: New England newspapers during the American Revolution, 1775-1789 (1992) Publishers up and down the colonies widely reprinted the pamphlets by Thomas Paine, especially "Common Sense" (1776). His Crisis essays first appeared in the newspaper press starting in December, 1776, when he warned: These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.Thomas Paine, "The American Crisis: Number I" (1776) online
When the war for independence began in 1775, 37 weekly newspapers were in operation; 20 survived the war, and 33 new ones started up. The British blockade sharply curtailed imports of paper, ink, and new equipment; causing thinner newspapers and publication delays. When the war ended in 1782, there were 35 newspapers with a combined circulation of about 40,000 copies per week, and an actual readership in the hundreds of thousands. These newspapers played a major role in defining the grievances of the colonists against the British government in the 1765-1775 era, and in supporting the American Revolution.Vaughn, ed., Encyclopedia of American Journalism (2008), pp 17-21William Sloan and Julie Hedgepeth Williams, The early American press, 1690-1783 (1994)
Every week the Maryland Gazette of Annapolis promoted the Patriot cause and also reflected informed Patriot viewpoints. From the time of the Stamp Act, publisher Jonas Green vigorously protested British actions. When he died in 1767, his widow Anne Catherine Hoof Green became the first woman to hold a top job at an American newspaper.Leona M. Hudak, Early American Women Printers and Publishers: 1639-1820 (1978). A strong supporter of colonial rights, she published the newspapers as well as many pamphlets with the help of two sons; She died in 1775.
During the war, contributors debated disestablishment of the Anglican church in several states, use of coercion against neutrals and Loyalists, the meaning of Paine's "Common Sense", and the confiscation of Loyalist property. Much attention was devoted to the details of military campaigns, typically with an upbeat optimistic tone.David C. Skaggs, "Editorial Policies of the Maryland Gazette, 1765-1783," Maryland Historical Magazine (1964) 59#4 pp 341-349 online Patriot editors often sharply criticized government action or inaction. In peacetime, criticism might lead to a loss of valuable printing contract, but in wartime, the government needed the newspapers. Furthermore, there were enough different state governments and political factions that editors could be protected by their friends. When Thomas Paine lost his patronage job with Congress because of a letter he published, the state government soon hired him.Dwight L. Teeter, "Press Freedom and the Public Printing: Pennsylvania, 1775-83," Journalism Quarterly (1968) 45#3 pp 445-451
First Party System
Newspapers flourished in the new republic—by 1800, there were about 234 being published—and tended to be very partisan about the form of the new federal government, which was shaped by successive Federalist or Republican presidencies. Newspapers directed much abuse toward various politicians, and the eventual duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr was fueled by controversy in newspaper pages.
By 1796, both parties sponsored national networks of weekly newspapers, which attacked the opposition vehemently.Jeffrey L. Pasley, "The Tyranny of Printers": Newspaper Politics in the Early American Republic (2003) The Federalist and Republican newspapers of the 1790s traded vicious barbs against their enemies.Marcus Daniel, Scandal and Civility: Journalism and the Birth of American Democracy (2009)
The most heated rhetoric came in debates over the French Revolution, especially the Jacobin Terror of 1793–94 when the guillotine was used daily. Nationalism was a high priority, and the editors fostered an intellectual nationalism typified by the Federalist effort to stimulate a national literary culture through their clubs and publications in New York and Philadelphia, and Noah Webster's efforts to simplify and Americanize the language.Catherine O'Donnell Kaplan, Men of Letters in the Early Republic: Cultivating Forms of Citizenship 2008)
The most important newspapers of the 1790s-1800s were closely read by other editors and copied from. They would be read aloud and commented upon in coffee houses and taverns.Mott, pp.113–142.Emery and Emery, pp. 69–88. Gazette of the United States in Philadelphia. It was the leading Federalist newspaper, founded in 1789 and edited by John Fenno. It was a militant mouthpiece for the Federalist party and the Washington administration. National Gazette in Philadelphia. This was the leading Republican newspaper, founded in 1791 and edited by Philip Freneau. It was an fierce critic of the Federalists and of Washington himself. Leading Republicans contributed articles, often pseudonymously, including Madison and Jefferson. Washington was often annoyed, grousing to friends about "that Rascal Freneau."Eric Burns, Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism (2007) p. 281.. Columbian Centinel. This was a prominent Federalist newspaper published in Boston, edited by Benjamin Russell. It was one of the most influential papers in New England, and its material was widely reprinted. National Intelligencer of Washington D.C. was the leading Republican newspaper in the South. For decades it was a major source of Congressional news.William E. Ames, "The National Intelligencer: Washington's Leading Political Newspaper" Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., vol. 66/68, (1966), pp. 71–83. online
Penny press, telegraph, and party politics As American cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington grew, so did newspapers. Larger printing presses, the telegraph, and other technological innovations allowed newspapers to print thousands of copies, boost circulation, and increase revenue. In the largest cities, some papers were politically independent. But most, especially in smaller cities, had close ties to political parties, who used them for communication and campaigning. Their editorials explained the party position on current issues, and condemned the opposition.Frank Luther Mott, American Journalism: A History, 1690-1960 (Macmillan, 3rd ed. 1962) pp 228-52