Before the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, there was an aspiring new industry known as the free press. It took shape thanks to the earliest practitioners, such as the young Benjamin Franklin, who as the printer and publisher of the influential Pennsylvania Gazette, was widely believed to be the first newsman in what would become the United States of America.
So on this 250th birthday of our nation, while a deeply divided country tries to come together around the shared ideals articulated on that yellow parchment paper dated July 4, 1776, we should remember that it was journalism that helped spark the cry for independence — ultimately leading to the Revolutionary War and forging our democratic republic. The very First Amendment of the Constitution would enshrine — and protect — the role of a free press.
But a full 11 years before the Constitution was signed, the Declaration of Independence stated the purpose and the promise of a new nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The key word in the document is in the title, as “independence” is an attribute that is necessary in any democracy, and most definitely for a free press. At the time, it was all about freedom from control of the crown, which oversaw the media in the colonies, freedom from control of business interests, and freedom to establish a voice by the people and for the people. The battle to control newspapers was a fixture of a political debate for the colonies, and the leaders of the colonies were focusing their ire on the so-called Stamp Act — which imposed a royal tariff on paper used for everything, but most particularly used by the nascent press in the new country.
The tariff undercut the financial sustainability of the press, and the founding fathers knew that the Crown had every intention of weakening the independent voices that newspapers like the Pennsylvania Gazette and the Boston News-Letter, which would prove to be the first sustainable newspaper in the country, were gathering.
Through the tax, the Crown was also able to curtail the rise of the so-called ”pamphlets,” which were essentially long essays bound up as small pamphlets that could easily fit in a pocket and be hidden from the British redcoats, who were increasing in number in Boston and beyond, and seeking to quell a revolutionary spirit in the air.
Indeed, the Stamp Act of 1765 decreed that a tax would be paid for all paper that carried the stamp of the British Crown, which the colonists deemed unfair since they had no elected officials offering input. The resistance to the Stamp Act set in motion the rallying cry “No Taxation Without Representation,” which in turn gave shape to the Boston Tea Party protests that proved to be the historic point of no return for the rebels challenging the authority of the monarchy.
The most famous author of these pamphlets was Thomas Paine, who wrote “Common Sense” in January 1776. The 47-page pamphlet argued for American independence from Great Britain using clear, persuasive language accessible to common people. It attacked the monarchy, and presented a compelling case for a republican government; it became an instant bestseller, and galvanized public opinion toward revolution.
This is definitely a truncated history, with more angles than there is space to share here, but that was the essence of the time in which the Revolution was born. We could think of Thomas Paine as an early prototype of what these days we might call digital influencers or creators, who are increasingly rising up as independent voices challenging mainstream media and questioning the status quo.
The Founding Fathers believed deeply that a free press was the cornerstone of a democracy. These days a free press is truly in jeopardy as perhaps never before in our history. Local news organizations are suffering mightily, and closing their doors in far too many corners of the country. Major news organizations like CBS News have found themselves under the heavy thumb of an autocratic president in the White House. Oligarchs like the billionaire Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, are facing critics who feel he has used his vast wealth to shape the legendary watchdog newspaper in a way that will favor his own corporate interests. There are many examples of how the free press is being challenged, but there is no question these are tough days for an independent press.
We are proud at The MV Times to be an independent news organization with a local owner. Steve Bernier, who bought the paper in January 2023, saved it from shutting down, and allowed our small Island to have two newspapers that serve to keep each other honest, and to be sure that together, we are listening to the whole Island. Bernier has generously invested in the paper, allowing us to expand staff, to improve the website, and most of all just giving us a chance to be sustainable and to serve the community.
We are not there yet on sustainability, candidly, but we are not giving up, and we are going to keep doing our best to serve as a watchdog, and to be sure we are hearing all of the voices of this diverse Island. Indeed, that is why we have cleared four pages for opinion essays from many different corners of the Island, to hear from our community of readers and to give them a voice. At the end of the day, giving voice is what democracy is all about, and freedom is all about. Happy 250th birthday to America, and wishing a happy Fourth of July to all.
Charles Sennott is the editor and publisher of the Martha’s Vineyard Times. He is the founder of The GroundTruth Project, which launched Report for America, and he writes the GroundTruth newsletter on Substack.