The Evening Signalʻs publication on May 27, 1840 served as the official declaration of a brutal and merciless battle. “Utter scoundrelism” and “venal wretch” were some of the phrases editor Park Benjamin employed as ammunition towards James Gordon Bennett, editor of the New York Herald (Copeland, 174). The attack was followed by publications of malicious strikes from other newspapers who also sought to silence the controversial Herald and its bold editor. Vicious remarks detonated throughout the press and the war had erupted. These attempts of ad hominem are now referred to as the “Moral War” of journalism in 1840. It was Bennettʻs relentless criticism of political, financial, and religious institutions in the Herald that ignited this opposition …show more content…
When he arrived in Boston, on New Yearʻs day in 1820, he had no money until he found a job as a clerk for a book publishing company called Wells and Lilly. He then decided to move to New York, where he worked odd jobs until the editor of the Charleston, South Carolina, Courier offered him a position as a translator. While there, he translated the French and Spanish newspaper articles that would arrive in the Charleston harbor. After ten months at the Courier, he returned to New York and worked as a freelance …show more content…
These technological advances allowed the press to gather and produce news more effectively. Bennett took advantage of the new technology, such as the telegraph and steamship, to ensure that the Herald was the first to receive and publish news (Jones, 159). For example, in 1846, he was the first to report on an entire political speech through telegraph. Overall, these methods allowed Bennett to enhance the verification of the news he received as well as the quality and speed in which he published it.
Over time, the New York Herald gained success and by 1865 it had a circulation of 110,000 and made $1,095 annually (citation). In 1867, Bennett passed on the paper to his son James Gordon Bennett Jr. and five years later he died on June 1, 1872. After the paper was passed on to Bennettʻs son, it did not maintain the success that Bennett worked hard to gain and was eventually sold to the owners of the New York Tribune in