Campbell Chapter 8

1
Newspapers and the Rise of Modern Journalism

• Chapter 8
• All the news thats fit to print

2
So what about newspapers?

• Why are newspapers important?
• What makes them different from other forms of
  information?
• What makes them better than other forms of
  information?
• Why do we care about newspaper (or why should we)?

3
The Evolution of American Newspapers

• Colonial Papers
• Ben Harris Publick Occurrences (1690)
• Inflammatory
• Banned by the colony after one issue because it
  was critical of the British rule and reported
  that the King of France had an affair with his
  sons wife.
• John Campbell the Boston News-Letter (1704)
• Reported on mundane events that took place in
  Europe months earlier)

4
Colonial Papers (cont.)

• James Franklin (Bens Bro) the New England
  Courant (1721)
• Stories that interested ordinary readers
• Papers in the colonial period were not objective,
  they were very biased and fought hard for their
  political party.
• Benjamin Franklin the Pennsylvania Gazette
  (1729)
• Historians rate among the best
• Run with subsidies from political parties as well
  as advertising

5
John Peter Zenger William Cosby

• John Peter Zenger the New York Weekly Journal
  (1733)
• A guy named William Cosby became the Governor of
  N.Y. Cosby
• He squandered public finances
• Created his own paper to print flattery of him
• Zengers paper ran articles that were openly
  critical of Cosby
• Zenger refused to give up the authors
• Cosby had Zenger arrested and charged with
  seditious libel

6
What is seditious libel you might ask?

• Well basically
• A statement is seditious if it "brings into
  hatred or contempt" the Queen or her heirs, or
  the government and constitution, or either House
  of Parliament, or the administration of justice
• Or if it incites people to attempt to change any
  matter of Church or State established by law
  (except by lawful means), or if it promotes
  discontent among or hostility between British
  subjects.
• A person is only guilty of the offense if they
  intend any of the above outcomes. Proving that
  the statement is true is not a defense. It is
  punishable with life imprisonment.

7
The landmark trial the First Amendment

• Zenger sat in jail for 10 months awaiting trial
• The judges for the trial were handpicked by Cosby
• And the jury was told how to find the defendant
• Zenger was represented by Andrew Hamilton
• Hamilton gave a passionate defense
• Jury ruled in Zengers favor, said as long as
  stories are true then they cant be libelous
• Decision provided foundation for the First
  Amendment
• The right of the democratic press to criticize
  public officials

8
Partisan Press (Political Papers)

• Parties shaped press history.
• Anti-British rule
• Political agendas shaped newspapers.
• Circulation in hundreds, not thousands
• Readership the wealthy and educated
• 6 cents a copy

9
Penny Press (Industrial Revolution)

• 1833 Benjamin Days New York Sun
• Day sold his paper for 1cent
• The middle class could afford to read
• Local events, scandals, and police reports
• Blazed the trail for celebrity news
• Human-interest stories
• Ordinary individuals facing extraordinary
  challenges
• Penny Papers became the norm

10
Penny Press Contributions

• 1848 formation of the Associated Press (AP)
• Six newspapers got together and decided to share
  information
• Developed a system of information distribution
• Modern technology to mass produce and cut costs
• Wire services
• Promoted literacy among the public
• Empowered the public in government affairs
• Articles about politics and commerce

11
Yellow Journalism (Sensationalism)

• Joseph Pulitzer William R. Hearst
• Compare Yellow Journalism with today tabloids
• Sensational, overly dramatic
• Crimes
• Celebrities
• Scandals
• Disaster
• Intrigue
• Provided roots for investigative journalism
• Exposed corruption in business and government

12
Pulitzer and the New York World

• Bought the St. Louis Post Dispatch
• Touted as a national conscience
• Highlighted sex sin
• 1883 bought the New York World
• Pro-immigrant and working-class
• Sensational stories
• Advice columns and womens pages
• Anti-monopoly - against Standard Oil, ATT
• Manufactured events and staged stunts
• Legacy Left 2 million to establish Columbia
  Universitys graduate school of journalism and
  launched the Pulitzer Prizes

13
Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane)

• Writer for Pulitzer
• First investigative reporter?
• Faked insanity to get into hospital
• Covered womens prisons baby trafficking
• Made Pulitzers New York World a trendsetter for
  journalism
• Broke the record for traveling around the world

14
Hearst and the New York Journal

• Expelled from Harvard
• Had taken reigns of San Francisco Examiner
• Bought the New York Journal with his inheritance
• Ailing penny paper owned by Joseph Pulitzers
  brother
• Raided Joseph Pulitzers New York World for
  editors, writers, and cartoonists
• Imitated Pulitzers style
• Pro-immigrant
• Sensational stories
• Invented interviews, faked pictures, encouraged
  conflicts (Some say he started the Spanish
  American War)
• Hearst served as model for Charles Foster Kane
• He owned 40 papers, 13 magazines, 8 radio
  stations and 2 film companies
• The film Citizen Kane was about Hearst

15
Competing Models of Print Journalism

• Objectivity
• Ochs and the New York Times, 1896
• Distanced themselves from yellow journalism
• Focused on documentation of major events
• Established itself as an affluent paper
• Informational paper, stock and business news,
  legal news, politics, and theatre and books
  directed at intellectuals
• Then lowered the price to a penny, so
  middle-class read as marker for educated and
  well-informed
• Became the strongest paper around as a result

16
Inverted Pyramid Style

• Started with Lincolns secretary of war, Edwin M.
  Staton
• Who, what, when, where, why (and sometimes how)
• Most important information at the top, least
  important at the bottom
• Many news stories are still written this way
  today

17
Objectivity

• Neutral attitude toward the issue or event
• Searching out opposing viewpoints
• Can news really ever be objective?
• Are facts alone enough?
• What do we need from newspapers?

18
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

19
Literary Forms of Journalism

• Advocacy journalism
• Reporter promotes particular cause or view
• Literary journalism
• Also called new journalism
• Fictional storytelling techniques applied to
  nonfictional material
• 20th century Truman Capote In Cold Blood
  Hunter S. Thompson Hells Angels

20
Newspapers in the Age of Immediacy

• Can newspapers compete with television and the
  Internet?

21
Newspapers Undergo Change

• Culture changes
• Less reading
• Multi-media news sources
• Talk shows films
• The Drudge Report broke Lewinsky story
• Reduced standards for journalism accuracy?

22
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 nations largest
• Rupert Murdochs News Corp. multinational
• Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal and the
  lagging paper is now doing much better

23
Convergence in the Newsroom

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

24
Newspapers and Democracy

• Of all mass media, newspapers have played the
  longest and strongest role in sustaining
  democracy.
• Watchdog Journalism
• 350 journalists have died trying to report
  stories over the last 15 years

25
What about other mediums?

• Do you think that other mediums can do as good of
  a job at checking the major powers in our
  society?
• What makes newspapers better or worse than other
  sources?
• Do you care that newspapers might be coming to an
  end?