Infamous Scribblers

Infamous Scribblers by Eric Burns

Category: History Grade: B

With so much discussion today about the political leanings of the press, its helpful to realize that the concept of an unbiased press is really a pretty recent one. This book, whose subtitle is "The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism", makes it pretty clear that, during the time of the Revolutionary War, impartial journalists were a breed that just didn't exist. It also makes clear that, in service to a cause, journalists of this period didn't care much about things like fairness, political correctness, independence or even, in many cases, truth.

Some of the worst offenders are some of the most well known names of the period. While Benjamin Franklin himself seems to have been opinionated but honest in his writings, his older brother and his grandson never let truth stand in the way of making a point. Among the worst, however, was Samuel Adams - one of the strongest of the Sons of Liberty and absolutely vitriolic in print. He went after his targets with a vengeance and, when he didn't have things to say that made them look bad, he just made things up.

Interestingly, one of the most venerated founding fathers was also one of the most underhanded when it came to using the press for political purposes. Thomas Jefferson not only secretly funded a republican newspaper, he gave the editor a no-show federal job to help make ends meet and then lied about his involvement, denying it until his death. He wasn't alone among the politicians of the day. Many of them, including Hamilton, Madison and even Adams, were prone to funneling information to the press and even directly writing for publication under pseudonyms. In public, Washington was just about the only one above the fray but, in his private correspondence, he was vocal about the press. In fact, the title of this book Infamous Scribblers came from a letter written by Washington.

The books reasonably well written and, if you like reading history about this period, I'd recommend it.