4. Daily newspapers emerged in the late 18th century
During the administrations of George Washington and John Adams, the overwhelming majority of newspapers in the United States were weeklies. The first daily newspaper appeared in Philadelphia in 1784. By 1810, 27 newspapers published daily editions, as far south as New Orleans. The emergence of the daily newspapers meant additional sources for news were needed beyond the national papers, which focused almost exclusively on politics. It became commonplace for Congressmen to write letters and essays for their local newspapers. A focus on local news emerged, as well as coverage of the affairs of settlers on the continually expanding frontier. Through the War of 1812, American newspapers remained almost exclusively partisan, vehicles for the expressing of political views of their publishers, as well as unbridled condemnation of their opponents. Politics remained the chief source of information to be found in newspapers across the country.
Until about 1840, the national newspapers in Washington continued to be the chief source of news for the growing population of newspapers in the United States. That changed slowly, as the nation expanded to the west. The industrial age took hold. Factories sprang up in cities, steamboats appeared on rivers and lakes, railroads and canals connected cities. Locally prominent businessmen and issues began to take precedence over stories of national interest. The latter focused on American involvement in foreign affairs, and the politics of Washington. Americans came to trust those newspapers which reflected their own political preferences and beliefs and look with suspicion on those which did not. Major newspaper editors began to focus their publications on issues other than national politics, though political viewpoints continued to dominate the editorial pages.