The
Salem Mercury was a newspaper that was published by
John Dabney and Thomas Cushing. It began production around 1786 and ended in 1790 after the name of the paper was changed. It printed weekly on Tuesday onto demy sheet, four columns to a page, and predominantly on Long Primer type. Editors took great care in ensuring the intellectual quality of the content published. The editors were ardent friends to the Union of the States and advocates for the
US Constitution. The first paper then issued by Cushing in 1790 had the title
The American Eagle, and was designated as "Number 1, in 1790." The next paper was entitled "
The Salem Gazette, Number 2 in 1790." This numbering pattern and name continued until the beginning of 1791, where the numbering was changed to contain the full number of issues since the first number of the
Mercury. The name
Salem Gazette continues to this day. In June, 1796, the
Gazette was published as a semi-weekly paper on Tuesday and Friday. Cushing resumed publication of the
Gazette on July 25, 1797. William Bentley's columns were never published again, most likely due to political tensions between Cushing and Carleton. Thomas Cushing left the paper in 1822 due to poor health and relinquished the paper to Caleb Cushing and Ferdinand Andrews. Five years later, Caleb Cushing departed, leaving the paper under the sole ownership of Ferdinand Andrews, who later sold the paper to Caleb Foote. In 2006, the
Salem Gazette was resurrected under the banner of
GateHouse Media, and currently operates as a free weekly newspaper focusing on culture, daily life and human interest in Salem. New editions of the paper are distributed on Fridays. The paper prints approximately 13,000 copies per week. The first editor of the new Salem Gazette was Bill Woolley. ==See also==