#FunFactFriday – Our Oldest Newspapers

As we approach Independence Day, here are some fun facts related to one of the tenants of our constitution, the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press.

Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick was the first newspaper published in America.  Richard Pierce was the publisher and Benjamin Harris served as editor.  It made its debut in Boston on September 25, 1690, well before the first Independence Day.

America’s first continuously published newspaper also originated in Boston and also pre-dates the United States’ initial birthday. Boston News-Letter published its first issue on April 24, 1704.  John Campbell, a bookseller and postmaster of Boston, was its first editor.

The Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper in the United States, was first printed in 1828 in New Echota, Ga., the capital of the Cherokee Nation.

Arizona’s first newspaper, The Weekly Arizonian, started publication in 1859 in Tubac, which is located about 50 miles south of Tucson.

The Salt River Herald was Phoenix’s first newspaper.  It first published in 1878 under the direction of editor Charles E. McClintock.

This blog, HMATime, made its debut on January 22, 2008.  With contributing posts from HMA staffers and occasional guest writers, it is the oldest and longest continuously published PR blog in Arizona and the Southwestern United States.