City's first newspaper published in 1822

Editor's note: Sunday, April 24, 2022, marks 200 years since the first publication of the Sandusky Clarion — a predecessor to the Sandusky Register. SANDUSKY — The Sandusky Clarion was founded in 1822 — specifically, April 24, 1822, to be exact. The direct ancestor to the Sandusky Register, it was printed on a heavy, coarse paper, much different than the paper in your hands today. It was also text-heavy, void of any photos since it was still 15 or more years before a practical photographic process would be developed. The Clarion, under editor/owner David K. Campbell, expanded its publishing schedule and became a daily newspaper in 1848, "carrying telegraph news and banknote lists," according to a news article in the Register in 1972. Campbell sold his interest in the newspaper in 1851 when it was rebranded the Daily Register. What Campbell founded, and subsequent publishers nurtured, were the seeds to great success. For 200 years, we've told the story of our community. But this newspaper can also be traced to the start of American journalism and the Great American experiment. We are a direct descendant of the nation's Founding Fathers, particularly Benjamin Franklin. Five decades before the American Revolution, while still a teenager and as an indentured servant to his brother, a newspaper editor, Franklin was an original anonymous blogger using a fictitious name to engage readers of his brothers' newspaper, The New England Courant. As "Silence Dogood," young Franklin wrote letters published in the Courant, portraying himself as the destitute widow of a veteran of the French and Indian War, railing against King George. "It may not be possible in the first place to inform your readers that I intend once a fortnight to present them, by help of this paper, with a short epistle, which I presume will add somewhat to their entertainment," the first of 14 letters written by Franklin, as Dogood, opens. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," the "Federalist Papers" and other early print handbills represented the early battles of the press with defined pro-independence and pro-King George biases clearly stated and always promoted. Newspapers evolved over time, and the Register strives to be free of bias on its news pages and thoughtfully persuasive on its opinion pages. But, more than anything else, we seek to be the clearinghouse for the best, most accurate information about our readers and their communities — fair, balanced, thoughtful, engaging, important and for the benefit of everyone who calls our area home, above all. We strive to serve the community and be watchdogs for what is right and good. Continuing the tradition By the 1830s, The Clarion was thriving as part of the Penny Press Era of journalism in America. Steam-powered presses reduced the cost to publish a daily newspaper: from 5 cents to just 1 cent, making it more accessible and no longer a daily read just for wealthy people or people gathered at taverns, where a "reader" would share articles aloud with patrons. The Register's modern era begins in 1869, when Isaac Foster Mack, known simply as "I.F." Mack, bought the newspaper. Described as "wielding a saucy pen," Mack's descendants owned the newspaper until 2019, when Ogden Newspapers purchased it, which is described at the company's website. "Founded on Sept. 22, 1890 with H. C. Ogden's launch of the Wheeling News (West Virginia), Ogden Newspapers has since grown to over 60 daily newspapers, along with a number of weeklies and a magazine division — stretching from New York to Hawaii. "Throughout that time, the company has been committed to excellence in journalism through service and leadership in their communities. "Newspapering has changed over time — long gone are the days of hot lead typesetting and linotype machines — but our core values as a company have not. We believe local newspapers should not only report the news of the day, but also tell the stories of their communities, and of the people who live there. We take writing the first draft of history seriously. "How people consume news has changed, but Ogden's mission stays the same. Our newspapers have found new ways to serve their communities, creating robust online communities. These keep all of our readers, both print and digital, well informed and engaged with local happenings. Our rich heritage of newspapering combined with a company-wide commitment to high journalistic standards, position us to continue to uphold the values of excellence and service for decades to come." In the three years since Ogden purchased the Register, it has proved to be a good steward of our tradition. "We are proud of the support our newspapers are able to provide their communities and local businesses," company president and CEO Bob Nutting said. "We constantly strive to preserve the best of our newspaper's century old traditions while adapting to the modern innovations that will help carry them into the future."