A Radio Talk by Charles F. Kettering For that reason I believe we shall all be interested to know that editors and publishers from all over the United States will gather in New York this week to attend the annual convention of the American Newspaper Publishers' Association. Closely related to this is the fact that April 24th - tomorrow - marks the 240th anniversary of the first successful newspaper published in this country. John Campbell, postmaster of the port of Boston, was in a good position to receive all of the latest news from abroad as travelers came and went through that port. He liked to summarize this news which he sent to various Government officials, such as Governor Winthrop of Connecticut. Many more people were just as eager for such news, but Campbell couldn't find time to write letters to all of them. He hit upon a happy solution. He would print these letters and distribute copies. So on the 24th of April, 1704, John Campbell published, in the back room of his home, the first successful newspaper in the United States. He called it "The Boston News-Letter." |