Welcome to the JOUR200 blog!
Today's post is going to be about a famous editor and publisher from Baltimore. Hezekiah Niles was born on October 10, 1777 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was born into a Quaker family, but they quit the church to fight in the American Revolutionary War. When Hezekiah was a baby, his family moved from Wilmington, Delaware to escape issues about the war, but they returned and his father rejoined the Quakers.
At the tender age of seventeen, Niles apprenticed for three years at a printer in Philadelphia. The printer was called Aurora. In 1805 he published a magazine called Apollo and it did not last very long. It was a literacy magazine. From 1805-1811 he moved to Baltimore and worked as an editor in a daily broadsheet, the Baltimore Evening Post. This broadsheet was very closely affiliated with the Democratic-Republican party.
Niles was passionate about his beliefs, especially his days as a Jeffersonian. Despite being so passionate, he did not let his beliefs interfere with his work ethic. His approach was to be an "honest chronicler". His weekly magazine, Niles' Weekly Register, ran from 1811 through 1835. Each edition included sixteen pages of documents, speeches, national and international news. No ads were printed in this publication.
Fun Facts about Hezekiah Niles:
He had an older brother named Samuel.
A Hessian mercenary threatened to bayonet his mom while pregnant with him. (A bayonet is rifle with a knife attached to the front.)
In 1801, he attempted to establish his own printing business in Wilmington, Delaware but went totally bankrupt.
In his magazine, he indirectly promoted a national bank as well as protective tariffs.
*Sources include: Wikipedia, Pennsylvania Center of the Book, and American Journalists textbook (pg. 77)*
Hope you learned a little bit about this American editor and printer.
-Tiffany Lorente
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ReplyDeleteSarah Josepha Hale dove head first into the literary world, as it became the only way for her to provide for herself and her five children after the sudden death of her husband, David Hale in 1822.
ReplyDeleteEven though she was already 34 years old when she began, she quickly made a name for herself.
Hale is the author of the iconic nursery rhyme, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” As if that is not a claim to fame, she also campaigned for the creation of the beloved American holiday, Thanksgiving. Finally, Hale is also known for her involvement in the Bunker Hill Monument.
Jennifer Monahan’s article states that Hale’s first major contribution to the field of journalism was her novel, "Northwood: a Tale of New England (1827)," the first novel to be published by an American woman. Within the same year, Hale was invited by clergyman, John L. Blake to edit "Ladies’ Magazine."
Even when "Ladies’ Magazine" changed owners and became "Godey’s Lady’s Book," Hale stayed with the magazine and raised the circulation from 25,000 to 150,000 readers. Monahan expressed that due to Hale’s determination and work ethic, she is considered the first of the significant “lady editors” of the journalism world.
Through her column “Editor’s Table,” Hale discussed social concerns and personal philosophy. Additionally she devoted much of the magazine to discussing a women’s role in society. Hale’s concern towards health issues led her to support women’s integration into medical training as well as college education.
Hale enriched the field of journalism because besides holding many prominent roles, she was not afraid to show her colors on sensitive subjects such as women’s involvement in society.
Therefore, in modern society, Sarah Josepha Hale is considered the most prominent American woman to be involved in literary profession during the mid-nineteenth century.
Margaret Fuller Ossoli was born into a well-to-do family in the United States. Her father was a Congressmen and made sure she was as well educated. She was a teacher in Boston, MA and was friendly with young and bright men who attended Harvard. Of course, being a women, she was often prevented from entering Harvard’s libraries or classes. This, and her education, perhaps shaped Fuller’s feminist views.
ReplyDeleteFuller had her start in journalism after meeting her idol, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He asked her to join the Transcendental Club. This club was comprised of philosophers who discussed the “spiritual quality of life”. Fuller became the editor of The Dial, a magazine which spread Transcendentalist views. She was able to fill the magazine with many poetic and deep pieces.
Fuller’s journalism career progressed when Horace Greeley asked her to join the New York Tribune. This is when Fuller experienced transition in her writing. She switched gears from flowing literary works to detailed and factual stories. She struggled to write in a “faster, more concise” manner. However, this was what sparked her interest in social problems. She explored the social issues of New York, wrote a novel about “relations between men and women” and argued that women should have access to the same education as men. Fuller’s works and views played a role in history. In 1848, at the Seneca Falls Convention, her novel was a large topic of discussion.
In 1846, Greeley gave Fuller the opportunity of a lifetime. She became one of the first foreign correspondents for America. She reported on the poverty in England and the revolution in Italy, where she met her husband, Giovanni Angelo Ossoli della Torre. The articles she wrote abroad were considered her best works. She was to return to America with her son and husband. However, just a few miles away from New York, they were hit by a storm and lost at sea. A grief stricken Greeley wrote that Margaret Fuller Ossoli was “the most remarkable and in some respects the greatest woman whom America has yet known.”
Benjamin Franklin
ReplyDeleteA self-taught writer with avidity towards writing, Benjamin Franklin launched himself in the printing process at the young age of 12, becoming an apprentice for his brother James’s print shop in Boston.
By 1721, James had successfully founded the colonies’ first independent newspaper, The New England Courant, which was known for the brutal criticism of the Massachusetts Colony authority. The newspaper gave Benjamin the opportunity to have his letters published under the secret alias Silence Dogood, a middle-aged widow. James quickly ceased the “Silence Dogood” series once he discovered his brother was the true author.
At the age of 17, Franklin left the Courant and Boston to pursue further printing opportunities in Philadelphia. After a year of working with the printer Samuel Keimer, Franklin sailed off to England to advance his printing abilities.
In 1729, Franklin and friend, Hugh Meredith, started their own printing business, along with the publication of The Pennsylvania Gazette. The only newspaper at the time in Philadelphia was Andrew Bradford’s American Weekly Mercury, which Franklin believed was poorly executed and lacking entertainment.
The Pennsylvania Gazette successfully appealed to the colony’s political leaders, who further encouraged more and more people to subscribe.
The newspaper was revolutionary as it published America’s first political cartoon: Franklin’s renowned “Join or Die” cartoon, emphasizing the significance of colonial unity.
Although the newspaper made him well known throughout the colony, his true claim to fame came with his publication of Poor Richard’s Almanac, written under the pseudonym of Richard Saunders. He wrote a series of 26 almanacs, starting from 1732-1757), which were essentially annual books comprising of weather forecasts, tide charts, and other helpful information.
Wealth from his printing business in Philadelphia allowed Franklin to pursue the realm of inventions, public affairs, and scientific experiments.
Benjamin Franklin enriched the field as he created a stable foundation for the printing and production of successful newspapers. His many contributions to American journalism make him one of the most influential men in our history.