Monday, October 01, 2012

New Yorker shout-out for the NEC

I happened upon this article on American newspapers in the New Yorker, by the Nation columnist Eric Alterman who writes:
It really was not until 1721, when the printer James Franklin launched the New England Courant, that any of Britain’s North American colonies saw what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. Franklin, Benjamin’s older brother, refused to adhere to customary licensing arrangements and constantly attacked the ruling powers of New England, thereby achieving both editorial independence and commercial success. He filled his paper with crusades (on everything from pirates to the power of Cotton and Increase Mather), literary essays by Addison and Steele, character sketches, and assorted philosophical ruminations.
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_alterman#ixzz2809dbecB
Actually James Franklin didn't seem to have all that much commercial success if Isaacson is to be believed. But it was nice to see James Franklin get some recognition.