One of the oldest newspapers published in America was the Boston
News-Letter. The origins of this historical newspaper were
detailed, handwritten reports by John Campbell. In 1702, John
Campbell became the Postmaster in Boston. “As part of his job,
Campbell had the official task of writing letters of important
information to the main office.” (Sloan, William David and Julie
Hedgepath Williams. “The Early American Press, 1690-1783.”
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. 233p. Quoted material is
from page 18.) As ships arrived in America carrying incoming
mail and newspapers from England and the continent, along with
the passengers and crew, Campbell was in a good position to
learn the latest overseas news. As people came to his office to
receive or send their mail he was able to learn the latest local
news as well. It was Campbell’s responsibility to write detailed
reports in the form of letters filled with descriptions of every
ship that arrived or left America’s ports and the cargo they
were carrying, along w