Franklin published the New England Courant, one of the oldest and the first truly independent American newspapers, and the short lived Rhode Island Gazette.
After being replaced by Samuel Kneeland as its printer he established The New-England Courant in Boston in 1721 with wife, Ann, and brother, Benjamin, working alongside him.
[8] In response, Thomas Walter, a Boston preacher, countered by writing a scathing piece entitled, "The Anti- Courant".
[9] Franklin, by means of his New-England Courant, boldly criticized Boston's religious orthodoxy on two fronts.
To this end he printed humorous and provocative essays with the intention of reforming the towns social mannerisms.
Among them was the publication of essays by "Silence Dogood", which, unbeknownst to James, were actually authored by his younger brother, Benjamin Franklin.
Secondly, he openly criticized what was assumed to be the dangerous procedure of smallpox inoculation, while some prominent ministers, like Cotton Mather, supported the measure, while most of the citizenry of Boston were fearful of the practice.
[11] Starting in 1727, James printed and published eight editions of the Rhode-Island Almanack, sometimes under the pseudonym "Poor Robin".