A Brief History of American Journalism

1600’s  Printing presses showed up and were used to print and circulate news items which developed into news pamphlets and newspapers

1 st American Newspaper  September 25 th, 1690 in Boston Massachusetts. Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick. Published only once. Caused a stir among political officials who found its content objectionable.

1 st American Newspaper  Three pages of text, but the fourth page was left blank, so Boston readers could add their own news before sending it to friends in other areas.

1700’s  Newspapers start popping up all over New England. Most were weekly papers of about 2-4 pages. Some were entertaining, some were outspoken on social and political issues e.g. problems with Great Britain. A few examples: Boston News-Letter, Boston Gazette, New England Courant, American Weekly Mercury, Pennsylvania Gazette, New York Gazette, Weekly Journal, Providence Gazette, Pennsylvania Chronicle, Maryland Journal, Massachusetts Spy

1800  By 1800, there were approximately 200 newspapers in the United States and nearly 3000 by By the same year there were also more than 1000 magazines being published. By the 1940s, there were more than 1800 daily papers in the United States, but that number began declining in the late 1990s.  Part of the increase in newspapers had to do with the penny press, allowing people to buy single copies instead of a yearly subscription.

Important Names  Mary Katherine Goddard published the first copy of the Declaration of Independence in January of 1777 in the Maryland Journal.  Benjamin Franklin started the 1 st foreign language paper, the Philadelphia Zeitung.  Peter Zenger was the 1 st journalist to be jailed for publishing inflammatory statements. He called the New York mayor out for tampering with the right of trial by jury and was jailed for 9 months. Alexander Hamilton was his lawyer and won the case. A victory for freedom of press!

Important Names Continued  Frederick Douglass escaped slavery, moved to Rochester, New York and published the North Star. The paper said its objective was, “to attack slavery in all its forms and aspects; advocate Universal Emancipation; promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the colored people; and to hasten the day of freedom to our three million enslaved fellow-countrymen.”  Amelia Jenks began publishing Lily in 1849 and wrote articles on women’s rights and the temperance movement. She also promoted the wearing of pantalettes, or bloomers, because long dresses and skirts could be easily caught in machinery during the Industrial Revolution.

Pulitzer, Hearst, and Yellow Journalism  In 1883 Joseph Pulitzer bought the New York World and made it a sensationalist paper.  In 1895 William Randolph Hearst bought the New York Morning Journal.  The two papers became rivals and sought to outdo one another, often using scare tactics and fake headlines and interviews. The public lost trust in newspapers and magazines.  In 1923 the American Society of Newspaper Editors adopted rules of ethics to be followed by its members. Nevertheless, the American public remained skeptical of what they read, and that skepticism remains today, in part because some journalists have sketchy ethics.

Time and Reader’s Digest  Both founded in the 1920s. Still among the top selling magazines in the United States

Radio :: Television :: Internet  In the 1920s radio burst onto the scene and television followed in the 1950s.  Mass Media is the term used to refer to both the print and broadcast media.  By the late 1990s and into the 21 st century, people were starting to get much of their news from the Internet.  New technology such as the laserphoto, computerized typesetting, offset printing, laptops, satellites, digital cameras, and desktop publishing have changed the way mass media is produced.

Journalism in the 21 st Century  New developments include podcasts, blogs, and online newspapers.  Some news analysts say that American spend nearly half their lives online, watching tv, listening to the radio, or reading.

Sources  Hall, Homer L., and Logan H. Aimone. High School Journalism. New York: Rosen Group, Print.