Campbell had been actively writing and sending "newsletters" of European occurrences to New England governors for a year or more and thought it would save trouble to print them for all.

[3] During its early years, the News-Letter was filled primarily with news from London journals describing English politics and the details of European wars.

[3] In 1768, as the controversies between the American colonies and Britain were mounting, Richard Draper merged The Massachusetts Gazette with The Boston Post-Boy, which began functioning as a Tory newspaper that gave voice to the Loyalist views.

At this time the royal colonial government directed Draper to include the inscription "Published by Authority" in the Gazette's heading.

His widow had shared his feelings, and when the young man she installed as editor, Robert Boyle, showed sympathy with the Revolution, she replaced him with John Howe.