The first newspaper published in the United States appeared in Boston on September 25, 1690. Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic consisted of 3 pages nearly covered with news and a fourth blank page, where readers could handwrite their own observations to share with the person to whom they passed along the newspaper.1 Who said social media was modern?
The newspaper was short-lived. Having fled England 4 years earlier after jail time for publishing a seditious pamphlet, Benjamin Harris failed to obtain a license to publish Publick Occurrences and thus ran afoul of the colonial government as well. The first US newspaper was suppressed before the week was out.1
None of the news contained in Publick Occurrences was less than a month old.1 Today, I can read an email message or tweet from a European ophthalmologist seconds after he or she sends it. This connectivity facilitates CRST’s ability to bring together voices from across the United States and all over the world to educate our readers. An example is this issue’s series on corneal cross-linking, a procedure long performed in Europe but only recently available to US surgeons outside of clinical trials.
We have strengthened our global approach by having Laura Straub join me as editor-in-chief of CRST. Laura launched CRST Europe in 2006 and will continue as editor-in-chief of that publication as well. She has worked for BMC, which produces these titles and more content within and outside of ophthalmology, since 2004 and brings an intense drive for success and a passion for cataract and refractive surgery to CRST. We hope you enjoy this issue!
Gillian McDermott, MA
Editor-in-Chief
1. Burns E. Infamous Scribblers: the Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism. Cambridge, MA: PublicAffairs; 2006.
