Apology for Printers provides a glimpse into what a hub of information Ben Franklin became during the enlightenment. He uses a humorous tone to dispel the many misconceptions his readers have about how he operates his newspaper, something he jokes warrants an annual reminder as authors and readers alike are quick to displace feelings onto the middleman, the printer. Besides explaining the inherent nature of opposing opinions in the printing business, Franklin touches on Kant’s idea of public vs. private. Any other trade at the time involves a separation between the two that allows for transactions between “people of all persuasions.” The printer does not have that luxury however because his business is the business of opinions, providing the nexus of the enlightenment: public discourse.
We know Franklin retains his ability to express private opinions through the use of pseudonyms, but what about the freedom to print anything in his paper? As Franklin writes in another article, “it is a bad thing to have a bad name” because it taints a reader’s perception for all subsequent publications. For example, many Americans today shy away from Fox News because they believe it publishes with a wildly conservative slant that makes stories seem entirely different than if they were broadcast on their preferred network, such as CNN. Franklin maintains that he employs a “vast unconcernedness as to the right or wrong opinions” that he publishes because if printers took a stance, it would put an end to free writing. On the other hand however, he continues: “printers do continually discourage the printing of great numbers of bad things, and stifle them in the birth.” As usual, (and fittingly for a printer), Franklin does not take a firm stance on the issue, but presents both sides and still leads his reader to conclusions. A certain conclusion here is that the extent to which the printer filters his paper and the reader narrows his sources of information limits or expands the enlightenment process for the individual, because a narrow window of information blocks out a lot of debate.
