The American Journalism History Reader presents important primary texts—news articles and essays about journalism from all stages of the history of the American press—alongside key works of journalism history and criticism. The volume aims to place journalism history in its theoretical context, to familiarize the reader with essential works of, and about, journalism, and to chart the development of the field.

The reader moves chronologically through American journalism history from the eighteenth-century to the present, combining classic sources and contemporary insights. Each century's section begins with a critical introduction, which establishes the social and political environment in which the media developed to highlight the ideological issues behind the historical period.