The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-01-10
American Journalism.


It is instructive and encouraging to
glance ut the history of American Journal
ism. 1t was not until the lapse of two
centuries, after the discovery of the art
of printing, that the idea was conceived
of applying that art to the production
of anything like public newspaper. In
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
indeed, the need of such an agency for
the diffusion of intelligence among the
people was scarcely felt, and the predic-
ton that newspaper, III the modern
sense of the word, could ever have an ex-
istence, would no doubt have been re-
garded as evidence of the widest lunaey.
1t has been impossible to fix with GER
tainty the date at which the first pub
lie journal made its appearance; We
only know-perhaps / should rather say
CONFERENCE.-THE it was some time III the
10th century, and i'll Italy. The first
newspaper III England was established III
1867. The Puritans had printing press
at Cambridge, Mass, as early es 1859,
but the first newspaper III America-the
Boston NeWS Lctter-did not appear I'M
til sixty-five years later-to wit, III l1O4.
Fourteen years earlier, however, single
number of journal was issued, which
was promptly condemned and probably
suppressed by the Colonial Assembly.
The first newspaper of Philadelphia APP
peared Dec. %, 1913; the first Ill New
York, Oct Is, 1925. These, of course,
were all weeklies. Since that day the
growth of journalism III this country is
among the marvels of our history, as a
few figures, CLEANED from various
sources, will show
In 1854, there were four newspapers
i'll Boston, two in New York, two III
Philadelphia, and one i'll Williamsburg,
Va. III the whole country not another.
From that time until 1776, the year OF
the Declaration of Independence, the
number increased considerably. In that
year there were seven i'll Massachusetts,,
one i'll New Hampshire, two III Rhode
Island, four in Connecticut, four III New
York, nine in Pennsylvania, two each IN
i'll Maryland, Virginia, and North Caro-
lima, one III Georgia-thirty-sev in all.
One of these-the AdUertjSer, of Phila-
delphia-was a semi-weekly; all the rest
were weekles. From 1776 to 1900 the
number of newspapers in the United
States increased to 200, of which several
were daiies, the first daily having been
the Pennsylvania Packet, or the Gen
crdi AdUcrtiSer, which, under an alb
breviated title, lived until 1897. Ac-
cording to the census of 1910 the num-
Der of newspapers in the country at that
time was 359, of which y were dailles,
and their total annual issue was -, 3d.
600 copies. In 1894 there were ii dailies
in Philadelphia and II i'll New York, with
n circulation varying from 900 TO 1000
copies. In 1898 the whole number of
journals had increased TO $50, with
yearly issue of IS, III, 179 copies. In
1880 the number was estimated at l 200.
The census of 1910 returned 1,631 news
papers, with yearly issue of 1875, $685.
673 copies, or an average OF nearly y
copies to each person Ill the population,
and of II little over II journals to every
100, 900 inhabitants. In 1910 the num-
Der of dailies was 254, with an average
circulation of 3, 300 copies each. In 1860
there were 3S5 dailies, 10 bi-weeklies, So
tri-weeklies, and BIB weeklies. The
number of sheets issued annually was
dailies, !, AIS, 49,; tri-weeklies, 107, 40;
bi-weeklies, 175, 165; weeklies, 1881 $50,
making total of 9,342, $50 At the
present time, according 10 george l.
Rowell Il Co. s american Newspaper
Directory, the number of dailies in the
country is $40; of tri-weeklies, 107; of
semi-weeklies, 113; of weeklies, 4,S0S.
The amount of circulation of all these
papers is not given; but it is safe to as
sumo that the increase in the last ten
years has been very great. l think it
can be no exaggeration if We set the
number at 25,UO0,000 copies. -Olirer