Newspapers in America: The briefest history

Although alternative American newsweeklies as we know them today attribute their roots to the alternative publications of New York City in the 1800s, it cannot go unmentioned that America's earliest print publications share many characteristics with the Phoenix and other contemporary weeklies. For example, in his History of Newspapers, author Mitchell Stephens points out that the weekly publications that sprang up in pre-revolutionary America were committed to challenging governmental authority. With candid boldness they decried the laws and regulations placed on the colonies by the King, and in doing so created a new community of like-minded readers within the colonies. Today, weekly publications have every right to speak out against the government. However, we cannot forget that these earliest publications were key in establishing the need for freedom of the press in America. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was adamant in his support of the First Amendment to the constitution and stated boldly: "...were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." (qtd. in Stephens, 1) Jefferson recognized the importance of competing, opinionated voices in a new nation that claimed to pride itself in democracy. By 1801, when he assumed presidency, there were close to 200 newspapers circulating in the United States. Freedom of the press fostered a spirit of competition that in turn fostered the creation of many diverse publications.

While the earliest papers were defined by their subjectivity, and clearly mirrored the opinions of individual editors, changes took place when mass circulation turned newspapers into a valuable business. There occurred a shift in the mid-1800s from newspapers as vehicles of opinion to newspapers as providers of factual information. After the Civil War in America the "inverted pyramid" writing style become popular in the press, which cut facts out of the narrative structure and placed them in order of importance. The most important facts--namely who, what, when, where, why-- were now placed in the top of the story as a lead (Stephens, 2). This style, though effective in relaying information, discouraged diversity in tone and structure. It was in such an environment that the number of newspapers in America exploded. 3,000 newspapers in 1860 became 4,500 in 1870 and 7,000 in 1880 (Stephens, 2). When the penny press hit the scene, it was welcomed as a happy alternative to the unbiased, large-scale publications of the times.

From increases to decreases

The alternative newsweekly gained more importance in the first half of the 20th century, when the number of newspapers in America stopped growing steadily and began suddenly to decrease. This phenomenon was a result of consolidation and the formation of chains. The newspaper business had become lucerative enough for the most successful publications, that large newspapers were now able to buy up smaller newspapers in an area and begin to monopolize the news market. For example, by 1940, the 20 daily newspapers in New York City alone had been reduced to eight. Also in that year, 25 cities in the United States with populations of more than 100,000 found themselves with only one daily newspaper (Stephens, 5). As a result, those groups of American citizens who felt that their interest and opinons were unrepresented began placing their faith in the alternative press. The presense of alternative publications in cities across the country insured that one voice would not be able to present itself as the sole perspective of a community.

Today, the number of print publications is steadily-decreasing because the newspaper business is less lucrative. With the combination of monopolization of the newspaper market and increased competition from the internet as a news source, the number of print publications continues to decrease. In the case of Providence, the Phoenix has carried out the role of diversifying the news market and providing an alternative to the dominant daily publication, the Providence Journal, for 30 years.

Back to History: from Penny Press to Providence Phoenix