The Business Practices of the Frontier Editor: Indiana in the Early Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Frontier editors faced numerous challenges in the attempt to set up a newspaper operation on the American frontier. The editors had to determine which community offered the best possibility for success and then transport a printing press and equipment to the new locale. A minimum number of subscribers, advertisers, and job printing contracts had to be secured to sustain a fledgling newspaper operation. Once underway, the frontier editor had to coax payments from delinquent subscribers and advertisers and contend with an irregular postal service, which was the primary source of news from the outside world. The editors who succeeded were those who found sound business solutions to the many obstacles.