Who established New York’s first daily newspaper?
December 9, 1793 — Noah Webster established New York’s first daily newspaper, the American Minerva.
It aimed to contain “the earliest intelligence, collected from the most authentic sources,” and it’s full of those long s letterforms (ſ) that look like lowercase fs and were by then not long for this world.
Webster, a Federalist who wanted to discourage the French influence in the US, made his first “address to the public” that covered nearly the entire front page.
The American Minerva ran for 744 issues between 1793 and 1796. It was bought out and eventually became the New York Sun, which was published until 1950.
Sources
Words of Wisdom
Newspapers, from their cheapness, and the frequency and rapidity of their circulation, may, in America, assume an eminent rank in the catalog of useful publications in a great degree, supersede the use of Magazines and Pamphlets. The public mind in America, roused by the magnitude of political events and impatient of delay, cannot wait for monthly intelligence. Daily or at furthest weekly communications are found necessary to gratify public curiosity.
