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Our Founder Honored

Thomas Green He founded the country's oldest continuously published newspaper

Hartford Courant

September 03, 2010

We at The Courant are honored that the New England Society of Newspaper Editors has chosen our founder, Thomas Green, as the recipient of The Yankee Quill Award, which recognizes a lifetime contribution toward excellence in journalism in New England.

Mr. Green's pedigree in New England journalism is remarkable. He edited Connecticut's first newspaper, the Connecticut Gazette in New Haven, founded in 1755, and then founded the Connecticut Courant in Hartford in 1764. The Courant, which later took the name of its home city, is the nation's oldest newspaper in continuous publication.

Though Mr. Green was rightly honored in the "historical" category, he would not find today's high-tech newsroom completely alien. In his day, the newspaper office was a center of communication activity. It was where the post rider dropped off letters and journals; where residents came with ads or notices. That is still the case today, though much of the information comes electronically.

Also, Mr. Green was a printer who, to make ends meet, produced broadsides, pamphlets and even seed packets. His shop was also a stationer and bookstore where Hartford's people could buy books, quill pens and other writing necessities. Today, newspapers are exploring new revenue streams, even wine clubs, and asking journalists to learn different skills.

So Mr. Green would feel right at home, especially in The Courant's main conference room: The Thomas Green Room.