The naval mutinies of 1797 placed a select number of provincial newspapers at the very forefront of one of the greatest news stories to hit a maritime nation while at war. With hostile invasion fleets seemingly ready to leave the port of Brest and the Texel, the ordinary seamen of the British navy suddenly refused to obey their officers. In one swift move, the nation's first line of defence had been removed.

To report the passing events of the various naval mutinies, the provincial press of the eighteenth century relied primarily upon a series of local correspondents. For the most part, these were readers of those same newspapers who had shown a willingness to provide a brief written account of local events. Normally, these correspondents were submitting news of somewhat less importance. As often as not, those living near naval ports were providing information on the arrival and departure of warships, changes in dockyard procedure and the promotion and movement of various officers. At other times however, they were reduced to the more mundane, sending in reports of local marriages or sudden and unexpected deaths. However, the important point to remember is that none of these correspondents were professional journalists, simply amateurs who were sending in their impressions of particular events. Given a situation in which a random group of self-selected individuals were sending in material that was frequently a product of their own impressions, it is hardly surprising that error, partiality or confusion was often the result.