The Early American Press, 1690-1783

(Hardback)

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The first book in a six-volume series on the history of American journalism, this volume provides a survey of the earliest printing in the American colonies, up through the Revolutionary War. The work focuses on the nature of journalism during the years covered, considers noteworthy figures, examines the relationship of journalism to society, and provides explanations for the main directions that journalism was taking. Early American printing was animated by remarkable vitality and sophistication, with the life of each newspaper and printer being marked by individual ideas and individual struggles. Early Americans also had quite sophisticated ideas about the role and operation of the press. In this survey, the authors try to suggest the complexities of the early American press. They address such issues as why newspapers first appeared, the purpose that newspaper operators saw for themselves, the role of the practice of journalism in the colonial press, and the role of the press in influencing public opinion. Their primary focus, however, is on the essential nature of the early American press and the factors that accounted for that character.

Reviews

.,."a valuable addition to the study of journalism's past."-Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly
.,."one of the books greatest strengths is that the early American press is taken seriously, and so the origins of American journalism are closely, astutely, and comprehensively examined and analyzed. Sloan and Williams clearly have made an extremely important contribution to the historical scholarship of this period by demonstrating the high degree of press sophistication that previously has been ignored or disregarded by writers uninterested in the social and intellectual content of early American periodicals. The extensive endnotes, bibliography, and solid historigraphical foundation qualify it as required reading for a graduate course in American journalism history. Furthermore, the high quality of this book holds much promise for a welcomed series of great import to the discipline."-Journalism Educator
...a valuable addition to the study of journalism's past.-Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly
...one of the books greatest strengths is that the early American press is taken seriously, and so the origins of American journalism are closely, astutely, and comprehensively examined and analyzed. Sloan and Williams clearly have made an extremely important contribution to the historical scholarship of this period by demonstrating the high degree of press sophistication that previously has been ignored or disregarded by writers uninterested in the social and intellectual content of early American periodicals. The extensive endnotes, bibliography, and solid historigraphical foundation qualify it as required reading for a graduate course in American journalism history. Furthermore, the high quality of this book holds much promise for a welcomed series of great import to the discipline.-Journalism Educator
By creating a work that is based upon investigation of primary sources, The Early American Press can authoritatively challenge, for example, concepts of journalistic motivation and press influence. The book offers its readers an extensive bibliography and a bibliographic essay that approaches the study of the press of early America from various historic schools. An important step for media history. Through close reevaluation of the press of the eighteenth century, Sloan and Williams are pointing out that there is a complexity in early American printing that belies assumptions of simple four-page, boring sheets of news.-Journalism History
This excellent book describes the American press's first 93 years within the cultural context of the era. The authors reveal a mosaic of influences and discuss the parallel between the press in the American colonies and Great Britain after about 1750. The book is the first volume in what looks to be a promising new series on the American press. Very highly recommended for all journalism and American history collections, upper-division undergraduate and above.-Choice
..."a valuable addition to the study of journalism's past."-Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly
"By creating a work that is based upon investigation of primary sources, The Early American Press can authoritatively challenge, for example, concepts of journalistic motivation and press influence. The book offers its readers an extensive bibliography and a bibliographic essay that approaches the study of the press of early America from various historic schools. An important step for media history. Through close reevaluation of the press of the eighteenth century, Sloan and Williams are pointing out that there is a complexity in early American printing that belies assumptions of simple four-page, boring sheets of news."-Journalism History
"This excellent book describes the American press's first 93 years within the cultural context of the era. The authors reveal a mosaic of influences and discuss the parallel between the press in the American colonies and Great Britain after about 1750. The book is the first volume in what looks to be a promising new series on the American press. Very highly recommended for all journalism and American history collections, upper-division undergraduate and above."-Choice
..."one of the books greatest strengths is that the early American press is taken seriously, and so the origins of American journalism are closely, astutely, and comprehensively examined and analyzed. Sloan and Williams clearly have made an extremely important contribution to the historical scholarship of this period by demonstrating the high degree of press sophistication that previously has been ignored or disregarded by writers uninterested in the social and intellectual content of early American periodicals. The extensive endnotes, bibliography, and solid historigraphical foundation qualify it as required reading for a graduate course in American journalism history. Furthermore, the high quality of this book holds much promise for a welcomed series of great import to the discipline."-Journalism Educator

Author Bio

WM. DAVID SLOAN is Professor of Journalism at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He is the author of The Significance of the Media in American History (1994) and 11 other books. JULIE HEDGEPETH WILLIAMS is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Mass Communications at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. She has co-authored The Great Reporters: An Anthology of Newswriting at Its Best (1992).