James Gordon Bennett Sr.
| James Gordon Bennett Sr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | September 1, 1795 Keith, Scotland |
| Died |
June 1, 1872 (aged 76) New York City |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Children | James Gordon Bennett Jr. |
James Gordon Bennett Sr. (September 1, 1795 – June 1, 1872) was the founder, editor and publisher of the New York Herald and a major figure in the history of American newspapers.
Born to a prosperous Catholic family in Newmill, Banffshire, Scotland, at 15 Bennett entered the Catholic seminary in Aberdeen, where he remained for four years.
After leaving the seminary he read voraciously on his own and traveled throughout Scotland. In 1819 he joined a friend who was sailing to North America. After four weeks they landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Bennett briefly worked as a schoolmaster till he had enough money to sail to Portland, Maine, where he again taught school in the village of Addison, moving on to Boston by New Year's 1820. He worked as a proofreader and bookseller before the Charleston Courier hired him to translate Spanish news reports. He moved to New York City in 1823 where he worked as a freelance paper writer and, then, assistant editor of the New York Courier and Enquirer.
In May 1835, Bennett began the Herald after years of failing to start a paper. In April 1836, it shocked readers with front–page coverage of the murder of prostitute Helen Jewett; Bennett conducted the first-ever newspaper interview for it. The Herald initiated a cash–in–advance policy for advertisers, which became the industry standard. Bennett was also at the forefront of using the latest technology to gather and report the news, and added illustrations produced from woodcuts. In 1839, Bennett was granted the first ever exclusive interview to a United States President, Martin Van Buren.
The Herald was officially independent in its politics, but endorsed William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, and John C. Frémont. Author Garry Boulard speculates that Bennett ultimately turned against Pierce after the President failed to appoint him to a much-coveted post as ambassador to France. From that point on, Bennett consistently lambasted Pierce on both his front and editorial page, often calling him "Poor Pierce." Bennett supported James Buchanan as tensions rose over slavery. He endorsed John C. Breckinridge for the 1860 presidential campaign, then shifted to John Bell. He promoted George B. McClellan in 1864, but endorsed no candidate. Although he opposed Abraham Lincoln, Bennett backed the Union, then took the lead to turn the president into a martyr after his assassination. He favored most of Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction proposals.
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