A newspaper can be a beacon of truth within a sea of opinions. Striving for objectivity, the newspaper provided a unifying source upon which Americans could coalesce. Today, sadly, every source of information must be examined through the prism of false information and as a result even newspapers have been often turned into a tool for political propaganda which has even robbed America of a central intellectual meeting place. While the recent technological revolutions have taken their toll on paper copies of the newspaper, many seek first a digital copy of a newspaper to verify the facts and events before forming their own opinions. It is with this in mind that the newspaper has changed America.
The age of newspapers in America started in Boston in 1704 by John Campbell the post master who created the Boston news-letter. It was the first continuingly published newspaper in America and it rose without any competition in Boston or any other city until 1719. The newspaper began with a focus on British issues and a smaller section on local Boston concerns, but it opened the door to regular newspaper publication in America.
The New York Weekly Journal created an opportunity for a major constitutional foundation in America. Newspaper editors discovered that there was definitely a market for partisan coverage and Weekly Journal editor John Peter Zenger was no exception. Zenger criticized the local royal governor and as a result was tried for libel. Thankfully for the tradition of the freedom of the press in America, he was found not guilty. His actions and resulting decision are taught in many US history curriculums across the nation.
A major innovation in American newspapers was the Penny Press Movement. Many newspapers were created to be the mouthpiece of political parties and they assumed the cost of their production. Other newspapers were created for commercial uses only. The commercial newspapers were expensive to produce and often only wrote articles that benefited the upper class and merchants. Both types of newspapers were on a subscription based model which meant that you could only pre-order a series of papers. The penny press model created inexpensive daily models over a variety of interests and social classes and relied on advertising instead to pay their costs. The New York Herald was an early example of these papers and was widely distributed. It even created the extra newspaper section to alert people to newly breaking news.
After the creation of the Penny Press, the sun rose on the beginning of the NYC Sun, the first successful daily newspaper. The Sun served to report and alert the community to crime trends and were the first newspaper to hire a full-time police reporter. They used the same investigative tendencies to investigate and disprove various hoaxes of the time period. The Sun was angled towards the working class of the time with the crime reporting and a frequent use of pictures in their articles. They further chronicled the deaths, suicides, marriages, divorces, and other human-interest stories and created a newspaper that focused as much on your social circle as national stories. This human-interest reporting was innovative as it brought the news home to their readers and it became an integral part of their lives and a regular source of community news. Lastly, in the days before news wire services the Sun sent out reporters to seek out stories while the great majority of newspapers only covered national issues and introduced female reporters.
The success and cheap printing of the Penny Press led to newspapers which were no longer dependent on subscription-based services and they could be sold on the street through the service of newsboys on the streets to sell, especially the afternoon version. In 1833, the Sun sent boys out as young as ten to sell their newspapers. The newsboys or “newsies” as they became known in a popular musical, sold the newspapers to make a small profit for themselves and their families. When the prices of buying the newspapers wholesale to sell became too high they led an effective strike that caused the newspapers to lower their prices back to pre-strike levels. Famous American figures who worked as newsboys included former Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Harry Truman, Joe DiMaggio, Thomas Edison, and Mark Twain.
The NY Times was a newspaper who started with the goal of delivering the news with staid morality and responsibility, but found itself at odds with the newspaper readership who wanted salacious and raucous news. Rather than give into popular pressure, however, the Times decided to lower its paper price, double-down on responsible coverage, and to work to deliver the news accurately and completely. This strategy led them to respectability after their full coverage of the Titanic sinking and then both World Wars and eventually the Pentagon Papers. Today, the paper continues to be known by its nickname, The Old Gray Lady.
Not all newspapers had their highest value in objective journalism. The Chicago Tribune was historically deeply associated with politics. The paper begun as an advocate of both the Know-Nothing and anti-immigrant policies and then shifted to focusing on stellar Civil War reporting and shifting their allegiance to the Republican Party. The Tribune grew to highlight both advice columns and comic strips in their papers.
It has been said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and in the 1890’s both Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal fought for control of the New York City and subsequently the US national market. Pulitzer felt that his NYC supremacy was threatened by the arrival of newspaper baron Hearst from San Francisco and they competed through various versions of yellow journalism or the use of sensationalized and often overexaggerated stories to promote causes such as the Spanish American War and to grab increased readership in the market. The two papers competed to the point that they even published two versions of the same original cartoon. The influence of yellow journalism is still felt today in the current tabloid newspaper and magazine culture.
A newspaper that was a force in both the white and black communities was William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator. Begun in 1831, the newspaper was an unexcused champion for the abolitionist cause and advocated for its goals at every opportunity. Garrison posted copies of articles from those he disagreed, but then would eviscerate them in harshly worded responses. The black community was very appreciative of his actions and were major financial and social supporters of his newspaper. The newspaper provided a window into both the black community of Boston and the community at large and worked to provide for the Underground Railroad and provide assistance to the community. The paper was a source of hope and strength for both the white and black communities and published its final issue when its mission was accomplished, at the end of the Civil War in 1865.
The African American community was also ably served by the New York Amsterdam News. The News covered the community of Harlem, NY, which was a burgeoning black community and a source of interest for the nation. They chronicled the human interest stories of the community including births, deaths, weddings, and charitable causes that the citizens promoted. Harlem was an especially interesting community at this time as it was undergoing the famous literary golden age known as the Harlem Renaissance and they introduced the epoch to the nation. After a strike the News was the first unionized African American newspaper. The newspaper featured columns from African American luminaries including Adam Clayton Powell Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois, and Roy Wilkins among others and was an early discoverer of Malcolm X. The newspaper battled for civil rights issues throughout World War Two, the Civil Rights Movement, and beyond and continued to serve as a beacon of African American culture for the betterment of America at large. Their efforts were bolstered by the other major African American newspapers the Pittsburgh Courier, The Chicago Defender, and the African American.
Another innovator in the newspaper industry was the Los Angeles Times. The paper began with a major conservative bent which lashed out against organized labor and their positions were explosive, unfortunately, quite literally. In the middle of the night on October 1st, 1910, a bomb ripped through their building in protest of their anti-labor positions. The explosion and its resulting fire killed twenty-one people and injured many others. After an investigation, a kangaroo trial resulted with multiple instances of jury bribery. The trial was so chaotic that even the great lawyer Clarence Darrow was only able to secure a plea deal for his union member clients to avoid the death penalty. Despite the paper’s unfortunate infamy from the bombing, the paper has continued to grow to a more politically centered reporting position and created newspaper innovations such as being listed on the New York Stock Exchange and in 1928 it created the first newspaper owned radio station in America.
The Washington Post is a newspaper which is housed in the nation’s capital and has done its part to cast an open window into the felonious workings of our national government. The Post reported on major stories such as the Watergate Scandal, revealed the lies of the government during the Vietnam War in the Pentagon Papers, and alerted us to the covert surveillance of American citizens by the National Security Agency.
The Wall Street Journal is the second largest newspaper in America by subscription and focuses largely on economics and market related issues. The Journal has provided a variety of services to America from starting out as a guide for market traders to being the paper of record for financial professionals seeking an edge in the market. Today, the paper offers quality reporting and a conservative leaning opinion page which often requires fact checking.
The newspaper has been an indispensable part of both the fact-finding and entertainment industries in America and while their circulation may currently be shrinking, their influence continues as current forms of media subsume all of their innovations. The newspaper has long held a cherished place in American culture and has helped to drive the creation of Americana and with any luck it will resume its central place in providing America with the correct and objective news that her citizens and politicians need to make impactful and intelligent fact-based decisions.
Sources:
John Peter Zenger | Colonial America, Freedom of Press, Libel Case
John Peter Zenger was a New York printer and journalist whose famous acquittal in a libel suit (1735) established the…www.britannica.com
Los Angeles Times | History, Ownership, & Facts
Los Angeles Times, morning daily newspaper founded (1881) in Los Angeles that transformed from a regional daily into…www.britannica.com
Collections Online
Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections Online: The Boston Newsletter, number 1www.masshist.org
The Washington Post | News Organization, Watergate, Pentagon Papers, Graham Family, Jeff Bezos &…
The Washington Post is one of the United States’ pre-eminent news organizations, with a long tradition of holding the…www.britannica.com
Penny press:
In the early 1800s, most newspapers were weeklies, though some dailies did exist incoastal cities. There were two types…www2.bellevuecollege.edu
“The Liberator” (U.S. National Park Service)
With Garrison at the helm, his specific beliefs and tactics dominate the pages of the Liberator. His tenets included…www.nps.gov
The New York Times | History & Facts
The New York Times, morning daily newspaper published in New York City, long the newspaper of record in the United…www.britannica.com
New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010) | The New York Public Library
Searchable full-text and page images of the leading Black newspaper of the 20th century.www.nypl.org
Crucible of Empire – PBS Online
Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War Web Site examines the history of this 100 year old war and discusses…www.pbs.org
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