The Journal of Commerce was a New York paper that actually superseded the penny newspapers. It was founded in 1827 by Arthur Tappan but edited by Gerard Hallock from 1828 to 1861. The publication remains in existence today as a weekly magazine.
Hallock was considered an innovator in how he gathered business news. He used two small schooners to cruise the waters outside of New York to find incoming ships and then come back to port with the news. When other New York papers followed, Hallock then moved to land, establishing a horse express from Philadelphia to New York that gave the Journal of Commerce news from Washington and the South a day ahead of other New York papers.
Despite its name, the Journal of Commerce initially was like most other New York newspapers, focusing its pages on coverage of politics and the government. And when politics and business mixed, businessmen and politicians went to the media to address the issues. For example, when President Andrew Jackson opposed the re-chartering of the Second Bank of the United States and clashed with its president, Nicholas Biddle, both turned to the media. Biddle believed that appealing to the public through the media would restore public confidence in the bank.