Newspaper In The 17th Century Essay

The introduction of newspapers in the 17th century offered a new way of information flow. Especially politics and public affairs were popular subjects, so it is not surprising that censorship followed suit. Benjamin Harris published the first multi-page newspaper in the American colonies in 1690, called Publick Occurrences, Both Forreign and Domestick (Clark, 1991). Four days after the release the government ended the production by forbidding further publications (Clark, 1991). Newspapers can be powerful tools in difficult times. Although the American Revolution was still part of the future, Colonial America was growing and so was the influence of the British Crown. Since the early 17th century, newspapers were developing in Great Britain and therefore Licensing Acts were not only made for the Britain but also for the

He soon established himself as the owner of the London Coffee-House while he continued to print and sell books (Imbaratto & Berkin, 2008). Harris's religious belief led him to support the Puritans, formerly a British movement, aiming for the Reformation of the Church of England and keeping a Christian ethic in New England ("Puritanism," 2016). He bolstered them towards the independence of Massachusetts from the British Empire.

With this motivation in mind on September 25, 1690 Benjamin Harris published the newspaper Publick Occurrences, Both Forreign and Domestic the first multi-page newspaper with world and local news in the American colonies. Some of the stories Benjamin Harris picked up in his coffee shop (Clark, 1991). Produced in high quality, the Publick Occurrences mainly addressed the merchant class, aimed to be published once a month (Imbaratto & Berkin,