Text 4. From the history of a newspaper in america

The first newspaper in British North America, Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick (1690), was immediately suppressed by the governor of Massachusetts. Official news was spread by means of proclamations and pamphlets or by newsletters and newspapers from London. The first regular newspaper in the colonies did not appear until 1704, and it was published by authority of the government. It was the weekly Boston News-Letter, published by John Campbell, the postmaster. Another paper replaced it in 1719, the Boston Gazette, published by postmaster James Franklin, an older brother of Benjamin Franklin. Two years later James Franklin started his own New-England Courant. This was the beginning of independent journalism in the United States.

The right to criticize government was established by the Zenger trial in 1735*, and by the time of the American Revolution there were daily newspapers in most cities and weeklies in smaller towns. Each of them was unafraid to engage in intelligent and often vehement debate on public issues.

After the Constitution of 1787 was in place and political parties were in the process of formation, American newspapers became highly partisan. They adopted the positions of either John Adams's Federalists or the Jeffersonian Republicans. Because the press espoused government policies, the government was very willing to use the press as a propaganda tool. At one time President Andrew Jackson had 60 full-time journalists on the White House payroll.

Today each government center is headquarters to a large pool of journalists. The White House press corps with its daily briefings is well known. Similar gatherings take place in other world capitals.

The move toward a press free of partisan sentiment started in France with the founding of La Presse in 1836 by Emile de Girardin. He introduced new features, such as serial stories, to raise circulation and bring down the purchasing price of the paper. In the United States James Gordon Bennett, disgusted with newspaper partisanship, founded the New York Herald in 1835. With this newspaper modern American journalism began. Bennett led the way in rapid news gathering and efficient production methods. Soon there were imitators. Horace Greeley founded the New York Tribune in 1841, and several other great American newspapers were founded in the decades before and after the Civil War. By 1850 there were about 400 dailies and far more weeklies. In 1880 there were about 850 dailies and in 1900, more than 1,950. Because of mergers and failures there are now fewer dailies —about 1,780. Throughout the world there are about 9,600 daily newspapers.

In the United States newspapers were the means by which millions of immigrants learned about the American way of life. Aware of this huge mass audience, newspapers added new features and used sensationalism to attract readers. Joseph Pulitzer** turned the St. Louis Post-Dispatch into a crusading journal. William Randolph Hearst***, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, bought the Morning Journal in New York City. Pulitzer had bought the New York World, and soon the two competed in a furious rivalry. They used scare headlines, many illustrations, Sunday supplements and comic strips to attract readers. Their tactics gained the name yellow journalism, from a comic strip named "The Yellow Kid," which played a part in the rivalry.

The techniques of yellow journalism spread throughout the newspaper industry. To combat it, Adolph S. Ochs took over the New York Times in 1896 and reestablished it as a serious newspaper with its well-known slogan "All the news that's fit to print." This marked the comeback of the type of journalism inaugurated by James Gordon Bennett 60 years earlier.

TODAY'S NEWSPAPER. The Sunday edition of the New York Times weighs about 4 pounds (2 kilograms). It, like other big-city dailies, is much more than just a newspaper. It is a highly variegated public-service publication, offering readers articles and features that cover nearly the whole range of interests.

Most obvious is the extensive news coverage documenting international, national, and local events. There is also commentary on current events by the editors as well as discussions by columnists with a wide range of perspectives on the news.

Features of most newspapers include sections on entertainment, finance and industry, science, home improvement, computer technology, and travel and tourism. There are reviews of books, concerts, plays, motion pictures, and ballets; detailed sports coverage; columns on astrology, fashion, photography, personal advice, bridge, and chess; obituary notices; engagement and wedding announcements; television listings (often in a special supplement); comic strips (except for the New York Times); crossword puzzles; magazine supplements; and abundant advertising, including classified ads.