In each British North American colony, the first printing office was established by the Governor and legislative apparatus. Its chief purpose was to publish materials supporting the government’s official public communications arena. Aside from these specialized ventures, most subsequent print centers commenced printing and publishing with a weekly newspaper. This had become a regular practice by the mid-1760s, earlier in colonies with the longest tradition of printing.
America’s first continuously-published newspaper, the Boston News-Letter published its first issue on April 24, 1704. John Campbell, a bookseller and postmaster of Boston, was its first editor, printing the newspaper on what was then referred to as a half-sheet. It originally appeared on a single page, printed on both sides and issued weekly. In the early years of its publication the News-Letter was filled mostly with news from London journals detailing the intrigues of English politics, and a variety of events concerning the European wars. The rest of the newspaper was filled with items listing ship arrivals, deaths, sermons, political appointments, fires, accidents and the like.
One of the most sensational stories published when the News-Letter was the only newspaper in the colonies was the account of how Blackbeard the pirate was killed in hand-to-hand combat on the deck of a sloop that had engaged his ship in battle. Campbell relinquished his stewardship of the paper in 1722 to Bartholomew Green, its printer. As editor, Green devoted less space to overseas events and more to domestic news.
When Green died after a decade as its editor, the News-Letter was inherited by his son John Draper, also a printer. Draper proved to be a better editor and publisher than his predecessors. He enlarged the paper to four good-sized pages, filling it with news from Boston, other towns throughout the colonies and from abroad.
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1. What is the main subject of the passage?
(a) the early history of newspapers in America
(b) the Boston News-Letter
(c) contents of the Boston News-Letter
(d) editors of the Boston News-Letter
2. The word gventuresh in line 3 is closest in meaning to
(a) announcement
(b) habit
(c) speculation
(d) occupation
3. The word g subsequenth in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(a) later
(b) efficient
(c) official
(d) adventurous
4. All of the following are given as occupations of John Campbell EXCEPT
(a) printer
(b) editor
(c) bookseller
(d) postmaster
5. According to the passage, all of the following are characteristics of the early years of the Boston News-Letter EXCEPT
(a) most news items were about English politics and European wars
(b) it was printed weekly
(c) items included sensational stories
(d) items included births, deaths, and marriages
6. The word gintriguesh in line 11 is closest in meaning to
(a) scandals
(b) plots
(c) workings
(d) outcomes
7. The word gvarietyh in line 12 is closest in meaning to
(a) explanation
(b) account
(c) selection
(d) detail
8. One of the most exciting stories publishing by the News-Letter was
(a) later found not to be true
(b) about a war
(c) concerning English politics
(d) when the News-Letter had no competitor
9. Which of the following is true about editors after Campbell?
(a) John Draper was the son of Bartholomew Green
(b) Green was editor for 20 years
(c) Both Green and Draper were booksellers
(d) Green was considered a better editor than Draper
10. Where in the passage does the author first discuss a major change to the amount of overseas news included in the News-Letter?
(a) lines 8-10
(b) lines 11-14
(c) lines 18-19
(d) lines 21-23
