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 The First Newspapers to Grace Our Colonies

As we all know our speech hasn't always been protected. During the time of the colonies when we started to grasp the idea of independence, Britain didn't appreciate that the colonies wanted separation from the motherland. But as we know if enough people get behind a movement a chance for change may happen; but how do you spread motivation for a movement as quickly as possible? You print it.

Benjamin Harris and Richard Pierce were the men who chose to air out the dirty laundry that existed around Britain and the Colonies. Pierce and Harris wrote and published the first newspaper to grace the colonies: Publick Occurrences.  Unfortunately the first and last issue of Publick Occurrences was published on September 25, 1690 and was shut down that very same day. 

Publick Occurrences was considered to contain provocative content such as: News about King William's War, conflicts with Native American tribes allied with the British and French, outbreaks of diseases like Smallpox, local gossip, and rumors about King Louis XIV of France. Since the content of Publick Occurrences was deemed provocative it was shut down by Boston Authorities. Along side the issue coming to an end, Benjamin Harris was jailed for printing and publishing Publick Occurrences due to not having a license and violating printing laws at the time. 

While some people in the colonies collected the courage to fight for their independence, others wanted to stay loyal to Britain. Being over seas and way from your home land is difficult when it comes to Britain's current events and other important information that needs to be shared with the colonies. What better way to do that then spreading information by newspaper. This is why the Boston News-Letter was born. 

The Boston News-Letter was printed and published by John Campbell a Scottish man. This paper became the colonies first consistent newspaper, publishing weekly with the first issue coming out on April 24, 1704. The issues contained content that was pre-approved by the Royal Governor and sent out after approval. The newsletter consisted of topics such as: News directly from England (Articles about the French, threats to Scotland, Ireland, and England), local events (maritime arrivals, actives, and more), and pirates (the Boston News-Letter published about Blackbeards' death). 

Due to this news letter being pre-approved and run by British officials it was able to continue publishing regularly from April of 1706 until February of 1776. The Boston News-Letter only stopped publishing when the British withdrew from Boston during the Revolutionary War.

Although both Publick Occurrences and the Boston News-Letter stood for two different clauses at the time, they both helped the United States create a foundation for future news papers to come as well as help our founding fathers decide how press and freedom of speech should be protected in the United States. 

Through these two news papers we can reflect on biased and unbiased information as well as censorship within media and compare it to today's society. In the Boston News-Letter we can clearly tell that all information was given and approved by the British government; creating and biased and positive point of view to anyone who chose to read it. 

On the other hand Publick Occurrences aimed to expose Britain and help encourage independence within the colonies leading the issue to be censored and shut down immediately by Boston Authorities, along with it's publisher being arrested for printing the issue. As we reflect on bias opinions and censorship, and how far we've come as a country from our first newspapers to our local News 12 station, we can ask ourselves as writers and consumers media, if we believe our country is moving us backwards or forwards.

Why Am I Here?

I often get asked how I learned about High Point University and why I decided to attend this school. I tell everyone the same thing; my sister goes here, that’s why I'm here. While visiting my sister during her freshman year I realized that I liked High Point, but I never loved it. It wasn't somewhere I could see myself in that moment due to having my heart set on a school back at home. After getting rejected to the school I wanted I had two opinions: High Point University or University of Maine. Two very different schools in two very different climates. But in the end, I clearly choose HPU. My sister was here which made it an easy decision. Sometimes I think what life would be like if I didn't pick HPU and instead picked a school back at home. Having my family 500 miles away is one of the most difficult things I've had to deal with, but I know I'm nowhere near alone because my sister is only a 5-minute walk away from my dorm. 

But why journalism? I've had a love for writing my whole life. Even though teachers would tell me I wasn't good at spelling, grammar, etc. I loved writing, nonetheless. I loved the way stories made me feel, I use it as a form of self-expression, an outlet to get out all my thoughts and feelings. So, when it came to picking a major I knew I wanted to write. I told myself that I would never settle for a boring job that I had absolutely no interest in. So when I settled on journalism I knew I'd be doing what I love and I'd never be bored and most importantly I've always loved the idea of sharing my thoughts with the world and having people listen to what I have to say.

In the future I want to produce unbiased media. I feel as though in today's world there is so much question of if articles and news sights have a political bias or if they're fact checked. I want to ensure people find the right information and facts about whatever they're looking for. Especially when it comes to learning about politics because it's very clear to see that some articles and new sights favor one side over the other, and with that comes a lot of wrong information and confusion for younger generations as well as older generations. There are so many facts and information we do not know due to this bias in media and I want to help change that.