TEXT C In each British North
American colony, the first printing office was established by the Governor and
legislative apparatus, Its chief purpose was to publish materials supporting the
government’s official public communications arena. Aside from these specialized
ventures, most subsequent print centers commenced printing and publishing with a
weekly newspaper. This had become a regular practice by the mid-1760s, earlier
in colonies with the longest tradition of printing. America’s
first continuously published newspaper, the Boston News-Letter published its
first issue on April 24, 1704. John Campbell, a bookseller and postmaster of
Boston, was its first editor, printing the newspaper on what was then refereed
to as a half-sheet. It originally appeared on a single page, printed on both
sides and issued weekly. In the early years of its publication the News-Letter
was filled mostly with news from London journals detailing the intrigues of
English politics, and a variety of events concerning the European wars. The rest
of the newspaper was filled with items listing ship arrivals, deaths, sermons,
political appointments, rims, accidents and the like. One of the
most sensational stories published when the News-Letter was the only newspaper
in the colonies was the account of how Blackbeard the pirate was killed in
hand-to-hand combat on the deck of a sloop that had engaged his ship in battle.
Campbell relinquished his stewardship of the paper in 1722 to Bartholomew Green,
its printer. As editor, Green devoted less space to overseas events and more to
domestic news. When Green died after a decade as its editor, the
News-Letter was inherited by his son John Draper, also a printer. Draper proved
to be a better editor and publisher than his predecessors. He enlarged the
paper to four good-sized pages, filling it with news from Boston, other towns
throughout the colonies and from abroad. Which of the following is true about editors after Campbell
A.John Draper was the son of Bartholomew Green. B.Green was editor for 20 years. C.Both Green and Draper were booksellers. D.Green was considered a better editor than Draper.