James Gordon Bennett Sr.: An Icon in the Newspaper Industry in America

The history of the daily newspaper in America could not be completed without mentioning James Gordon Bennett Sr. He is a publisher and editor who established the New York Herald.

Bennett was born in Banffshire, Scotland on September 1, 1795. He grew up in the Catholic faith and even joined the seminary in Aberdeen when he was 15. He remained in the seminary for four years.

When he left the seminary, Bennett traveled all over Scotland. When a friend was set to sail to North America in 1819, Bennett joined him. They landed in Nova Scotia after four weeks. He worked there as a schoolmaster. When his savings were enough, he sailed to Portland, Maine. There, he became a teacher in a school in the village of Addison.

Bennett moved to Boston in 1820. There, he became a proofreader and bookseller. Soon, he worked for Charleston Courier as Spanish translator for the news reports. In 1823, he transferred to New York and worked as a freelance writer. Later he became New York Courier and Enquirer’s assistant editor.

After failing to start his own paper a number of times, Bennett finally began the Herald in 1835. The Herald published a front-page coverage of prostitute Helen Jewett’s murder in April 1836.

The Herald set an industry standard when Bennett first introduced the cash-in-advance for advertisers. He was also the first to use technology in gathering and reporting news. In 1839, Bennett was the first publisher to be granted an exclusive interview with then US President Martin Van Buren.

The Herald was apolitical but has endorsed several big political names such as William Henry Harrison, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, John Fremont and Franklin Pierce. He was an avid supporter of James Buchanan against slavery. He was an opposition to Abraham Lincoln but took the lead to declare the president a martyr following his assassination.

He turned over the helm of Herald to his son, James Gordon Bennett Jr. at a time when it has the highest circulation in the US. However, under the leadership of the younger Bennett, the paper declined. After Bennett’s death on June 1, 1872, Herald was merged with its closest competitor, the New York Tribune.