<![CDATA[The idea of "political reporting" wasn't born until the 1830s, when James Gordon Bennett bought the New York Herald in 1835. Before founding the Herald, Bennett was often cited as the "first real Washington reporter." In the late 1820s, he sent regular dispatches from Washington, D.C., to the New York Enquirer. His writing was unique because it provided colorful, aggressive, and often critical accounts of figures like John Quincy Adams rather than just reprinting dry government documents.]]>