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.
What is the main subject of the passage