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October 3, 2006
A Colonial Experiment in Citizen Journalism
The September issue of Delta Sky magazine included a fascinating article on America's first newspaper. Published almost exactly 316 years ago by Benjamin Harris in Boston, the four-page paper was known as Publick Occurrences: both Forreign and Domestick. Full of stories lifted from English broadsides and overheard on the streets of Boston, Publick Occurrences was hardly quality journalism by modern standards. Harris, meanwhile, was a bigot and an anti-Catholic, leading journalism historian John Tebbel, to quip, "[I]t is safe to say, no major American institution has been launched by so unworthy a pioneer."
In the inaugural issue, Harris stated that he would publish the paper once a month, though would consider doing so more often "if any Glut of Occurrences happen." (I simply love that phrase.) According to the article,
It contained no news less than a month old, and its intentions, at least as Harris explained them, were honorable. His paper, the publisher told his readers in a front-page notice, would print "Memorable Occurrents of Divine Providence" as well as "Circumstances of Publique Affairs . . . which may not only direct their thoughts at all times, but at some times also to assist their Businesses and Negotiations." Further, Harris wrote, Publick Occurrences was being offered to the residents of Boston "[t]hat some thing may be done toward Curing, or at least the Charming, of that Spirit of Lying which prevails among us; wherefore, nothing shall be entered but what we have reason to believe is true, repairing to the best foundations for our information." If someone came to Harris with information that was not true, some "malicious Raiser of a false Report," the publisher would expose the person's dishonesty in the very next issue. "It is Suppos'd that none will dislike this Proposal, but such as intend to be guilty of so villainous a Crime."
Three of its four pages were jammed with dense type. There were no headlines between stories, so one story would blend into another without a pause or segue. The fourth page, amazingly, was totally blank, the idea being that readers of the paper would jot down comments or contribute their own news, then pass it along to another reader. More than three centuries before Jeff Jarvis, Jay Rosen and Dan Gillmor began writing about networked journalism, citizen journalism and citizen's media, Publick Occurences was paving the way for The People Formally Known As the Audience to participate in the creation of news.
Unfortunately, Harris' innovative, but ethically flawed journal was doomed from the start. The colonial British authorities did not look kindly upon his newspaper. They were upset with him publishing what they considered diplomatically provocative hearsay; even worse, he never bothered paying for a publishing license. Soon after the first issue was published, they published their own document banning the newspaper:
The Governour and Council having had the perusal of the said Pamphlet, and finding that therein is contained Reflections of a very high nature: As also sundry doubtful and uncertain Reports, do hereby manifest and declare their high Resentment and Disallowance of said Pamphlet, and Order that the same be Suppressed and called in.
With that, Publick Occurences came to an ignominious end. Embittered by the experience, Harris left the colonies and returned to England. But the stage had been set for a flowering of homegrown, independent newspapers across the colonies, even if they didn't embrace his bold, yet simple experiment in citizen journalism.
Today, only one copy of the newspaper is still known to exist, and the Massachusetts Historical Society has published a digital version of it. Unfortunately, they only published the three typeset pages; the citizen journalism that might have been scribbled on the fourth blank page remains a mystery. I wonder if it's because the page was blank - and thus uninteresting to archivists - or if it wasn't deemed historical enough for public consumption. Either way, I wish they had included it. -andy
Posted by acarvin at October 3, 2006 8:39 PM
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