Mass Moments reminds us that on this day – March 4, 1872 – the first edition of the Boston Globe “hit the streets” as a newspaper intended by its owners to be  “of the first class.” Funded by six wealthy Bostonians – it was intended as not just a business venture but a cultural one as well. The first year nearly ended in failure. The surviving investor –  Eben Jordan of department store fame and experience – brought in a young Charles H. Taylor as manager who later became a partner. The rest – as they say – is history. 

      …in 1872, a brand-new newspaper hit the streets of Boston. Costing four cents, the Globe had twice the number of pages as most competitors for the same price. But even at a bargain price, the “semi-literary” paper with reports on Sunday church sermons, art exhibits, and new books attracted few readers. Within a year, only one of the six original investors remained— Eben Jordan, founder of the Jordan Marsh Department Store. Believing the paper could be a commercial success, he hired Charles H. Taylor to make it into one. With financial backing from Jordan and the ability to respond to changing trends, Taylor turned the paper around. By the 1890s, it had become the dominant paper in New England.