Overall,
Whitefield can be said to have succeeded in his mission to spread his
message through newsprint and the printed word. One way in which this
can be seen is through the relationship of Whitefield and Benjamin
Franklin, the latter of whom was one of the largest supporters of
Whitefield, despite disagreements over theology (Gragg, 1978).
Franklin recognized in Whitefield at once, between his skills as an
orator and his new and unprecedented persona, that he was bound to be
a profitable commodity. As a result, Franklin’s coverage of
Whitefield was extensive. Indeed, “Franklin carried accounts of his
services, reprints of his works, or advertisements for his books and
pamphlets – sometimes all three – in forty-five of sixty issues
of the paper printed during the evangelist’s fourteen months in the
colonies" (Lambert, 1993, p. 538).
A simple glance at Franklin’s Pennsylvania
Gazette can illustrate this point. For
example, on April 17, 1740, Franklin devoted the
entire first page and a half to “A Letter from the Rev. Mr. GEORGE
WHITEFIELD, to the Inhabitants of Maryland, Virginia, North and
South-Carolina,” in which Whitefield exhorts slave owners to
improve their treatment of their subjects (p. 1).
Franklin then proceeds to dedicate another half-column to
Whitefield’s activities and his coming schedule. Likewise, on May
1, 1740, Franklin devoted the entire first page and half to
Whitefield’s defense against a rival preacher, and then proceeds to
publish yet another schedule of Whitefield’s activities (p. 1).

(Source: http://goo.gl/LGZHp)
Indeed, Franklin devoted so much coverage to Whitefield
and his ministry that he eventually came under attack by those
anti-revivalists who felt that Franklin was neglecting his commitment
to fair and unbiased news coverage. One opponent of Whitefield
expressed his concern when he was challenged by the aforesaid
preacher, commenting that colonial “printers would not publish
anything for revival opponents, and that the press was shut against
them" (Lambert, 1993, p. 544).
While Whitefield denied any print conspiracy, the fact that he had to
deny such allegations is telling in itself. Colonial printers were
indeed dedicating significant resources to publishing Whitefield’s
material. However, when one looks at sales numbers, he can hardly be
surprised to find that this was the case. Franklin himself claims
that he “tripled the number of titles issuing from his press” (Lambert, 1993, p. 529) by
printing Whitefield’s material. In fact, according to Franklin’s ledgers, Whitefield’s works
generated more revenue than his own Poor
Richard’s Almanac, which was one of the
most popular printed items of the day (Lambert, 1993).
References
Franklin, B. (1740, April 17). The
Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved from
http://www.bpl.org/electronic/history.asp
Franklin, B. (1740, May 01). The
Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved from
http://www.bpl.org/electronic/history.asp
Gragg,
L. (1978). A mere civil friendship: Franklin and Whitefield. History
Today, 28(9),
674-579. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/5ggfA
Lambert, F. (1993). Subscribing for
profits and piety: The friendship of Benjamin Franklin and George
Whitefield. William and Mary Quarterly, 50(3), 529-554.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2947365