The History of Journalism in America

1. The History of Journalism in America

2. Communication in Early America • Face to face • Speeches • Publications from England • Messages arriving on horse • Books • Popular songs • Letters • Pamphlets

3. Nature of Colonial Newspapers • Short and infrequent

4. First Half of 1800s • Newspapers became more political • Helped create a cultural identity

5. First Half of 1800s • The Penny Press • Daily publication for 1 cent • Newsboys sold on street • Reporters hired

6. The Penny Press: Content • Sensationalism • Prostitute murder coverage in New York Herald, 1836 Article excerpt

7. The Penny Press Continued • Fabrication • The Moon Hoax

8. Second Half of 1800s • Reporting during the Civil War • Censorship and limited access to battlefield • Problems with accuracy

9. Illustrations and Photos • Papers became illustrated • Although, artists were often not “on the scene” when they made their sketches

10. Illustrations and Photos • The Civil War was widely photographed • Although, there are questions as to whether photos were staged Mathew Brady

11. Late 19th Century Journalism • Competition between newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst (The New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) • Yellow Journalism • Sensational coverage of events • Dramatic language • Use of banner headlines Newsies

12. Pre-Pulitzer headline

13. Yellow Journalism (1890s) • Many claimed that Hearst’s sensational treatment sparked the Spanish-American War True?

14. Yellow Journalism • Investigative reporting • Reporters went undercover to expose social ills • Nelly Bly’s Mad House story • Blackwell Island

15. The Progressive Era (Late 19th century) Muckraking • Investigative reporting – “raking the muck” • Term coined by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt • More reliance on facts and authoritative sources • Ex: Ida Tarbell reported “The Rise of the Standard Oil Company,” criticizing John D. Rockefeller

16. The Progressive Era – Late 19th Century • Documentary Photography: also considered a muckraking medium • Jacob Riis exposed social problems: child labor, immigration, poor conditions in tenement housing

17. Jacob Riis: “Five Cents Lodging, Bayard Street,” c. 1889

18. Jacob Riis: “Blind Beggar,” c. 1890

19. Early 20th Century Journalism • Emergence of the tabloids • Shocking photos and headlines • Often some fabrication of story, but the public realized there were embellishments

20. Journalism During WWII • Live radio reports • Newspaper reporters accompanied troops • War photographers “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” (1945), Joe Rosenthal

21. Journalism During WWII Buchenwald (1945), Margaret Bourke-White

22. Growth of Television • In 1941, CBS had 15 hours of weekly programming, including two 15-minute newscasts • By 1950, four networks had emerged: CBS, NBC, ABC and The Dumont Company The Today Show, 1952

23. Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s • TV Coverage of Civil Rights Movement Pictures created a sense of “immediacy” and “truth” Charles Moore for Life magazine

24. Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s • Coverage of the Vietnam War • Called a “television war” because TV news showed combat situations and wounded soldiers (see Morley Safer coverage)

25. Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s • Coverage included protests, including 1970 Kent State protest, where four students were shot by the National Guard

26. Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s • Adversarial (and investigative reporting) • The Pentagon Papers, 1971 • Watergate, 1972-1974

27. Journalism Today • 24-hour news sources • Internet news sites • Bloggers offering commentary

28. Citizen Journalism • Public, participatory • Members of the public play an active role in collecting, reporting and analyzing events • Types: mobile cameras, blogging, collaborative sites