Newspapers and the Rise of Modern Journalism

Chapter 8

“Newspapers have a great future as news organizations on the Web and perhaps elsewhere. Sadly, today in America when a newspaper reader dies, he or she is not replaced by a new reader.” —Jeffrey Cole, director, Center for the Digital Future, USC Annenberg School, 2006

The Evolution of American Newspapers

 Colonial papers – Ben Harris:

Publick Occurrences

(1690)  Inflammatory by standards of the times – –  Not a newspaper by modern standards  Banned by the colony after one issue John Campbell: the

Boston News-Letter

(1704)  Reported on mundane events that took place in Europe months earlier James Franklin: the

New England Courant

(1721)  Stories that interested ordinary readers

Colonial Papers (cont.)

   Benjamin Franklin: the

Pennsylvania Gazette

(1729) – – Historians rate among the best Run with subsidies from political parties as well as advertising John Peter Zenger: the

New York Weekly Journal

(1733) – – – Arrested for seditious libel Jury ruled in his favor, as long as stories are true.

Decision provided foundation for First Amendment.

By 1765, about thirty newspapers in American colonies

Partisan Press

     1784 first

daily

newspaper Two types: political and commercial Parties shaped press history.

– – Anti-British rule Political agendas shaped newspapers.

  Partisan press forerunner of editorials Commercial press forerunner of the modern business section Circulation in hundreds, not thousands Readership: the wealthy and educated

Penny Press

 1833 Benjamin Day’s

New York Sun

– Local events, scandals, and police reports – – Blazed the trail for celebrity news Fabricated stories  Human-interest stories – Ordinary individuals facing extraordinary challenges  Success spawned wave of penny papers.

Penny Press (cont.)

   James Gordon Bennett’s

New York Morning Herald,

1835 – – – Bennett first U.S. press baron World’s largest daily paper at the time Model for Dickens’s

Rowdy Journal

Penny papers increased reliance on ad revenue.

1848: formation of the Associated Press (AP) – Wire services around the country

Penny Press Contributions

   Developed a system of information distribution – – Modern technology to mass-produce and cut costs Wire services Promoted literacy among the public – Middle- and working-class readers could afford the papers and were attracted to true-crime and human interest stories.

Empowered the public in government affairs – Articles about politics and commerce

Yellow

Journalism

    Pulitzer and Hearst Brazen Sensational, overly dramatic – – – – – Crimes Celebrities Scandals Disaster Intrigue Provided roots for investigative journalism – Exposed corruption in business and government

Pulitzer and the New York World

    Hungarian immigrant Bought the

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

– Touted as a “national conscience” – Promoted the public good 1883 bought the

New York World

– – – – Pro-immigrant and working class Sensational stories Advice columns and women’s pages Anti-monopoly – Manufactured events and staged stunts  E.g., Nellie Bly around the world in 72 days Legacy: Columbia U’s graduate school of journalism and launched the Pulitzer Prizes

Nellie Bly

(Elizabeth Cochrane)

 First investigative reporter?

 Faked insanity to get into hospital   Prostitution story Made Pulitzer’s

World

journalism a trendsetter for

Hearst and the New York Journal

     Expelled from Harvard Had taken reins of

San Francisco Examiner

Bought the

New York Journal

with his inheritance – – Ailing penny paper owned by Joseph Pulitzer’s brother Raided Joseph Pulitzer’s

New York World

and cartoonists for editors, writers, Imitated Pulitzer’s style – Pro-immigrant – – – Bold layout Sensational stories Invented interviews, faked pictures, encouraged conflicts Hearst served as model for Charles Foster Kane.

Competing Models of Print Journalism

 Objectivity – – Ochs and the

New York Times

, 1896   Distanced themselves from yellow journalism Focused on documentation of major events  More affluent readership  But lowered the price to a penny, so middle class read as marker for educated and well-informed Inverted-pyramid style  Answer

who, what, where, when

top (sometimes

why

and

how

)

at

 Less significant details at bottom

Limits of Objectivity

Can news ever be objective?

Are facts alone enough?

What do we need from newspapers?

Interpretive Journalism

 More analysis  1920s editor and columnist Walter Lippmann – – Facts for the record Analysis – Advocate plans  1930s Depression and Nazi threat to global stability helped analysis take root.

Literary Forms of Journalism

    News critic Jack Newfield – Journalistic impartiality as “a figleaf for covert prejudice” Advocacy journalism – Reporter promotes particular cause or view Precision journalism – Pushes news in the direction of science Literary journalism – Also called “new journalism” – Fictional storytelling techniques applied to nonfictional material  19 th century: Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser  20 th century: Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson

Newspapers in the Age of Immediacy

Can newspapers compete with television and the Internet?

Newspapers Undergo Change



USA Today

– Color – Brief, almost broadcast-length copy  Culture changes – – Less reading Multi media “news” sources   Talk shows, films, rap music

The Drudge Report

broke Lewinsky story  Reduced standards for journalistic accuracy?

The “Other” Presses

 Native American newspapers  African American  Immigrant  Spanish-language – – Vital to marketing and publicity campaigns Growing fast  The underground press – Media of far Left and far Right

Economic Demands vs. Editorial Opportunities

   Newshole = 35 to 50 percent of paper – Remaining space devoted to advertising Newsroom staff – – – – – Publisher and owner Editors Reporters Photographers Copy editors Wire services and feature syndicates important sources of material – Staff cannot possibly produce enough or cover the world.

Ownership, Economics, Technology, and Innovation

    End of competing newspapers in cities Decline in readership Joint operating agreement (JOA) – Two newspapers keep separate news divisions while merging business and production operations.

Newspaper chains – – Gannett nation’s largest Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. multinational

Media Giant

Convergence in the Newsroom

 Several papers trying converged newsroom – Online newspapers flexible  Unlimited space  Links to related articles  Archives  Multimedia capabilities  Free of charge

Journalists Face Risks Abroad

 By mid-2006, more than 70 reporters had died in Iraq.  “The danger is omnipresent for journalists in Iraq. There are few places to take refuge.” —Joel Campagna, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2006