Mass Media. The Press.

On September 25, 1690, news-hungry Bostonians, who had to wait months for papers from Britain, bought the first copies of the American Colonies’ first newspaper. It was a small four-page journal with one blank page on which readers could fill in their own news. The paper was fairly sensational for its day, with reports of smallpox and fevers, a suicide, Indian raids, and a scandalous story about the King of France. That first issue was also the last because the printer, Benjamin Harris, had not obtained the license required by law. More than a decade passed before Americans saw another native newspaper.

Although there are two American news services operating worldwide – the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) – the tremendous size of the nation, the variety of time zones, and the general preoccupation with many local issues make it difficult for national daily newspapers to exist. “The New York Times”, with a circulation of 900 000, is perhaps the most influential daily newspaper, followed by “The Washington Post” and “Los Angeles Times”. “The Christian Science monitor” has become known for its in-depth analysis of major news developments. An attempt has been made to introduce the “popular” “US Today” on a nationwide basis; and “The Wall Street Journal”, broadened from strictly financial paper to one with general news interest, comes close to being a national newspaper.

All large American cities have at least one newspaper and, although mainly concerned with local affairs, they are also read in other States.

Periodicals exist for virtually every type of interest, some with just a tiny circulation, others like “The Time” with a circulation worldwide of more than 6 million copies. More than 50 of the leading magazines produce over 1 million copies of each issue.

New periodicals keep appearing. There has been a great growth in suburban newspapers, which siphon readers from the big city press. Most successful of these has been New York’s “Newsday”. Founded in 1940, it is today one of the country’s leading evening papers.

In a single month some 9000 different magazines appear in the United States. Americans all across the country buy million of copies of these periodicals, which treat every imaginable subject in the range of human thought. There are publications for farmers, apartment dwellers, cooks, weight lifters, and antique collectors, among many others. Men and women of every age group and children can all find magazines specifically aimed at them. Sports of every variety and special interests in every field are covered.

Although individual magazines come and go, the magazine business continues to be the most competitive, and imaginative of all publishing attempts, and there are no signs that the public appetite for its products is about to diminish.

More and more the Nation seems to be getting its news from radio and television. But it is the newspapers and magazines that have the time and the space for the most careful interpretation of the news. The newspapers in the United States continue to deal most effectively with local news and to relate the national news to the locality.