The Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser – Newfoundland, John Ryan, 1810

In Newfoundland, no newspaper could be published without the consent of the governor. After persistent pressure from local merchants, Governor John Holloway finally approved the establishment of a newspaper. This approval was conditional upon the newspaper refraining from publishing anything critical of Great Britain.

Following his relocation from New Brunswick, John Ryan (1761–1847) was granted authorization to set up Newfoundland’s first press in 1807. He printed Newfoundland’s first newspaper, The Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser. 

Holloway and his successors were apparently well pleased with Ryan, as they consistently denied permission for the establishment of any rival publication. Even John Ryan’s son, Michael, failed to obtain permission to establish a second newspaper there.

The Royal Gazette remained Newfoundland’s sole newspaper until 1815, when Alexander Haire and Robert Lee founded the Newfoundland Mercantile Journal.