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A review by jgauthier
Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism by Eric Burns
3.0
The first newspapers in the New World were a potent political force, pushing the colonies toward the fight for independence and later dividing the citizens of the nascent United States into squabbling factions of the sort we are still well acquainted with today.
Burns follows the history of the colonies up to the 19th century, stopping regularly to point out the influence of journalists and their targets in every major event. Each significant conflict or scandal, it seems, was fueled or at least exacerbated by the extremely active and partisan press of the times.
3 stars: Worth a read to get a new perspective on the American Revolution and the early United States.
Burns follows the history of the colonies up to the 19th century, stopping regularly to point out the influence of journalists and their targets in every major event. Each significant conflict or scandal, it seems, was fueled or at least exacerbated by the extremely active and partisan press of the times.
3 stars: Worth a read to get a new perspective on the American Revolution and the early United States.