Early History of Access to News

Boston, Thursday Sept. 25th, 1690, Printer, Benjamin Harris

When the Founding Fathers spoke of the importance of protecting the Peoples' access to news, they were probably thinking in terms of broadsheets and newspapers.  The early newspapers in the Colonies were quite simple, perhaps only broadsheets, published as a sideline by printers.  Broadsheets are defined as "A large piece of paper printed with information on one side only," the sort of thing we might call a poster. a handbill, or a placard.  The term continues in the present day to refer to a newspaper with a large format, also used to describe a tabloid or a news-sheet.

Publick Occurrences is considered one of the earliest, if not the earliest, newspaper published in the British North American Colonies, for it was four pages long and promised monthly publication.  Boston residents loved it, but the British authorities did not.  British law provided that "no person keep any printing-press for printing, nor any book, pamphlet or other matter whatsoever [without] especial leave and license first obtained."  Harris had not obtained that permission, and British authorities banned further publication and seized and destroyed every copy they could find.  The one copy that is known to have survived is preserved in the British Library.

The meaning of Hamilton's argument in last week's blog, saying there was no need to expressly protect something that could already freely be done, is better understood in the context of what happened to Benjamin Harris' newspaper.  Since Harris did not get permission to publish, his newspapers were destroyed.  Hamilton was saying that since no permission was required in the new nation being formed, there was no need to protect the free publication of newspapers.  Of course, our founding fathers decided differently, and the 1st Amendment does protect a free press.

The Publishing of broadsheets and newspapers did continue under British rule of the colonies, particularly by merchants.  What was called a "partisan press" also developed, in which biased support for political parties or platforms were published. In 1734 when the satirical attacks by a man named Zenger so angered the British governor that he sued Zenger for criminal libel, the jury acquitted Zenger.  By the close of the colonial period there were 24 weekly newspapers in the 13 colonies, and satirical attacks on the government were common practice.

Benjamin Franklin's older brother, James was the first to publish a newspaper superior in quality to the unprofessional news sheets that preceeded James Franklin's New-England Courant.  The style and format drew heavily on The Spectator, a British publication.

The new nation brought with it creation of  newspapers clearly aligned with particular political parties.  The parties threw vulgar insults back and forth.  For example, when Federalist Alexander Hamilton convinced Noah Webster to edit a Federalist newspaper, the Jeffersonian Republicans called Webster "a pusillanimous, half-begotten, self-dubbed patriot", and "incurable lunatic", and "a deceitful newsmonger...Pedagogue and Quack", "a traitor to the cause of Federalism", and "a great fool, and a barefaced liar."

The reality that the animosity in print got so far out of bounds seemed to show  almost everyone changes were needed.  The newspapers of the Revolution became a unifying force, stressing the common purpose to come together and see the war with  Britain to a successful outcome.  Unfortunately, old political differences were behind the passage of the 1798 Alien Sedition laws by Federalists for the purpose of stifling what they regarded as libels by editors with whom they disagreed.  The tactic backfired, and public opinion shifted away from the Federalists and toward the Jeffersonian Republicans.

Newspaper growth in the young nation

This blog is not intended to be a complete study of the evolution of a free press in America, but rather it is intended to show that the process was not always tidy.  Gradually, the editorials shifted from the use of pseudonyms and unsigned editorials and articles, toward a willingness to stand behind what they wrote.  The "Penny Press" made newspapers more affordable, and the number of newspapers grew.  Specialized journalism expanded, with foreign language newspapers for new immigrants, and other targeted groups including religious, educational, agricultural and commercial newspapers.

As settlers headed West, small town newspapers flourished, often politically aligned with a particular party.  Isaac B. Werner was part of this movement, and his county seat of St. John, had two popular weekly  newspapers-the Populist County Capital  and the Republican St. John News.

An era of Yellow Journalism

The late 1800s were also an era of "Yellow Journalism," during which time news was often sensationalized to increase circulation.  The drawing at left, done by Frederic Remington, was published by William Randolph Hearst's newspaper as part of the effort to stir momentum for war with Spain in Cuba.  Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were accused of "war mongering" with sensational "Yellow Journalism" in their news and images.  In a time before camera journalists, artists could misrepresent events, and today the ability to manipulate images is even more sophisticated and concerning.

It was also a period in which investigative reporters exposed social injustices.  One particularly noteworthy case was the female reporter, Nellie Bly, who contrived to be admitted into a mental facility in order to describe factually the mistreatment of those admitted, for legitimate mental illness but also falsely admitted by vengeful guardians and relatives or admitted for temporary conditions and refused release after recovery.  Her expose, Ten Days in a Mad-House, exposed the desperate need for reform.  Without a free press, those abuses might have gone unnoticed or intentionally ignored.

By the 1900s newspapers had grown to the extent where they seemed like an invincible force for delivering news.  As described in last week's blog, editors and responsible journalists saw the need for professional standards of integrity, and they formed the American Society of Newspaper Editors.  Nearly every family subscribed to at least one daily newspaper, and legendary family owned newspapers became a sort of American Royalty.  The wealth and power of American newspapers seemed fixed.

In 1970 there were 1,748 daily newspapers in the United States.  By 1980 there had been a slight decrease, but in 1990 the number had dropped to 1,611, dropping to 1,480 by 2000.  The decline slowed, even ticking upward in between 2012 and 2013, but the decline plunged downward until in 2016 there were only 1,286 daily newspapers in the United States.  Although I do not have the numbers, I suspect the number of daily newspapers has continued to decline sharply.

From 256,800 employees in the newspaper industry in the United States in March of 2010, there has been a gradual reduction of employees until March of 2016 there were 183,200.  The unfortunate reality is that even large newspapers have cut the number of reporters actively engaged in searching out the news.  More reliance on use of the Associated Press means less insistent independent digging for the facts.  

The 1st Amendment may protect a free press, but what it takes for newspapers to seek out the truth in an increasingly complex world doesn't come for free.

Remember, you can click on images to enlarge them.

Then & Now--Influences

Late 1800's Ad from the County Capital

In doing research for my manuscript about Isaac Werner and the Populist Movement, I read both the Populist newspaper to which Isaac subscribed, The County Capital, and the Republican newspaper to which my paternal great grandfather subscribed, The St. John News.  There were certainly significant differences in the way news was reported by those two St. John newspapers.  I suspect, however, that the advertisements I am including in this blog from The County Capital were much the same.

Then and now, we are all influenced by where and how we obtain our information.  Of course, that definitely applies to politics, but this blog is not about politics.  Then and now we are promised cures and beauty products that we want to believe but deep down know better.  We are lured to buy things that are exciting but unnecessary, updates when our old things are still serviceable, beautiful when what we have is just a little faded. I am sharing ads from the County Capital of Isaac's era, but there is no need for me to share modern ads, since you are bombarded with them on television and teased by them in magazines.  The art of propaganda to influence our decisions is nothing new; however, the ability to influence our decisions is encountering new territory.

Late 1800's Ad from the County Capital

Recently I read an article by Justin Brown concerning remarks made by a former Facebook executive, warning the Stanford University students to whom he was speaking that they must decide how much of their intellectual independence they are willing to give up.  Chamath Palihapitiya is a former Facebook vice-president who left in 2011, so he should know about that which he speaks when he says, "you don't realize it, but you are being programmed."

I previously blogged about algorithms  (Adapting to Changing Technologies, 3-30-2017)  and about what we visit and how we purchase online are being used to track our activities, interests, and tastes, as well as how much we are willing to pay for things we want.  Palihapitiya revealed another sophisticated method being used to influence us.  "The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works.  No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth.  ...This is a global problem  ...  It is eroding the core foundations of how people behave by and between each other."

1800s Ad, County Capital

He explained how what he called 'bad actors' can manipulate large populations, "...because we get rewarded in these short-term signals (hearts, likes, thumbs ups) and we conflate that with value and we conflate that with truth."

When asked for a solution to the damage this is causing, Palihapitiya admitted that he had no broad remedy.  "My solution is, I don't use these tools anymore.  I haven't for years."

Reflecting on his warning, I thought about whether he was being too alarmist.  Perhaps as you read this, you are doing the same thing.  I have blogged about the disappearing significance of letters between friends. (Isaac's Penmanship, 5-2-2012)  I have noticed how young people no longer join community groups as their parents once did.  The St. John Victorian Teas I blogged about (11-8-2011) have been discontinued because the women who planned and hosted the teas have grown older and were unable to recruit younger women to take their places.  Of course, part of that is the result of more women in the workplace, too busy to assume more responsibilities.  But even lodges and clubs that are merely gathering places are failing to attract younger members.  Movie theaters are closing because people prefer to watch movies at home on their own televisions with Netflix or  cable.  Friends have admitted that they often text because they don't want to get involved in a long phone conversation, and I have watched two people in the same room communicate by text rather than conversationally, excluding others in the room from their comments.  Social courtesies and common interactions are definitely changing.

Brown's article also cites Facebook's founding president, Sean Parker, who acknowledges their purpose was to "consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible."  Parker also admitted the intentional effects of  "giv[ing] you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever.  And that's going to get you to contribute more content."  ..."It's a social-validation feedback loop...exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology."  http://www.ideapod.com/social/user/Justin 

Late 1800s Ad from County Capital

Justin Brown, the author of the article from which these quote are taken, is CEO and co-founder of a digital media platform providing commentary on the ideas shaping our lives.

Did the County Capital  shape Isaac Werner's ideas about populism and community issues?  Of course.  Did The St. John News shape my great grandfather's ideas, and the ideas of his son and grandson who continued to be subscribers for their entire lives? Certainly.  However, Isaac and my great grandfather knew one another and shared conversations.  Their interactions were not restricted to like-minded people.  The St. John News editor once joked that some of his subscribers stopped taking the paper in order to subscribe to the County Capital.  "Now they have to borrow someone else's paper to read The News," he teased. But as the way we communicate changes, those interactions change too.

Solo local newspapers generally tried to minimize their bias, not only from professional ethics but also because they needed as many subscribers as possible to stay in business.  Where are those newspapers today?  Small towns that once supported 2 or 3 newspapers now have none.  Small cities shrink their size and publish only once or twice a week to survive.  Even bigger cities' newspapers are slim editions.  Many families no longer subscribe to any newspaper.  

Late 1800s Ad from County Capital 

Our opinions are shaped by national news on television, which doesn't always accurately reflect regional news, reducing their reporting about a state or region to a single point of view.

When was the last time you received a letter from a friend?  Do your friends correspond regularly by e-mail as they did before facebook or other social media.  Are we often too busy to pause for conversations with friends at the post office and the grocery store?  As past means of communication decline, and social organizations lose membership, where do we get our news about friends' new babies and high school sports victories if not on social media.  

And by the way, could you take a moment to ❤❤❤❤me?  We all do it.  And we are pleased when we receive hearts and likes and thumbs up, but hearts are not conversations.  Hearts are not the exchange of ideas and opinions.  Isaac liked it when he received compliments for his ideas, newspaper articles, and speeches at community meetings, but he was also aware of opposing views in his community, expressed during informal conversations and public meetings.  Is what is happening now through social media really that different?  I just thought you might enjoy reading what people with expertise in social media think.  If they are alarmed, should we be??  

Remember, you can click on these antique ad to enlarge them.