The History of Journalism
in America
Communication in Early America
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Face to face
Speeches
Publications from England
Messages arriving on horse
Books
Popular songs
Letters
Pamphlets
Nature of Colonial Newspapers
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Short and infrequent
First Half of 1800s
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Newspapers
became
more
political
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Helped
create a
cultural
identity
First Half of 1800s
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The Penny Press
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Daily publication for 1 cent
Newsboys sold on street
Reporters hired
The Penny Press: Content
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Sensationalism
Prostitute murder
coverage in New York
Herald, 1836
Article excerpt
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The Penny Press Continued
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Fabrication
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The Moon
Hoax
Second Half of 1800s
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Reporting during the
Civil War
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Censorship and limited
access to battlefield
Problems with
accuracy
Illustrations and Photos
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Papers became illustrated
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Although, artists were often not “on the scene” when they
made their sketches
Illustrations and Photos
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The Civil War was widely photographed
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Although, there are questions as to whether
photos were staged
Mathew Brady
Late
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th
19
Century Journalism
Competition between newspaper owners
William Randolph Hearst (The New York Journal and
Joseph Pulitzer (New York World)
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Yellow Journalism
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Sensational coverage of events
Dramatic language
Use of banner headlines
Pre-Pulitzer
headline
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Yellow Journalism (1890s)
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Many claimed that
Hearst’s
sensational
treatment sparked
the SpanishAmerican War
Yellow Journalism
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Investigative reporting
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Reporters went
undercover to expose
social ills
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Nelly Bly’s Mad House
story
The Progressive Era (Late 19th century)
Muckraking
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Investigative reporting – “raking
the muck”
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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
The Progressive Era – Late 19th Century
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Documentary Photography: also considered
a muckraking medium
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Jacob Riis exposed social problems: child labor,
immigration, poor conditions in tenement housing
Jacob Riis: “Five Cents Lodging, Bayard Street,” c. 1889
Jacob Riis: “Blind Beggar,” c. 1890
Early
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th
20
Century Journalism
Emergence of
the tabloids
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Shocking photos
and headlines
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Often some
fabrication of
story, but the
public realized
there were
embellishments
Journalism During WWII
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“Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima”
(1945), Joe Rosenthal
Live radio reports
Newspaper
reporters
accompanied
troops
War
photographers
Journalism During WWII
Buchenwald (1945), Margaret Bourke-White
Growth of Television
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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
Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s
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TV Coverage of Civil Rights Movement
Pictures created a sense of “immediacy” and
“truth”
Charles Moore for Life magazine
Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s
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Coverage of the Vietnam War
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Called a “television war” because TV news
showed combat situations and wounded soldiers
(see Morley Safer coverage)
Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s
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Coverage included protests, including 1970 Kent State
protest, where four students were shot by the National
Guard
Media and Social Change in the 60s and 70s
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Adversarial (and investigative reporting)
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The Pentagon Papers, 1971
Watergate, 1972-1974
Journalism Today
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24-hour news sources
Internet news sites
Bloggers offering commentary
Citizen Journalism
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Public, participatory
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Members of the public play an active role in
collecting, reporting and analyzing events
Types: mobile cameras, blogging,
collaborative sites