Chapter 8
Newspapers
Despite the importance of newspapers in daily life, in today’s digital age the industry is
losing both papers and readers at an alarming rate.
The Evolution of American Newspapers
* The first written news accounts, or news sheets, were probably posted items distributed
by local rulers and governments. The earliest known news sheet, Acta Diurna, was
developed by Julius Caesar and posted in Rome in 59 B.C.
Colonial Newspapers and the Partisan Press
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The first newspaper produced in North America was Publick Occurrences, Both
Foreign and Domestick, published in 1690 by Boston printer Benjamin Harris.
In 1704, the first regularly published newspaper appeared in American coloniesthe Boston News-Letter
1721: New England Current published by James Franklin
1733: New-York Weekly Journal
John Peter Zenger (Zenger case) would later provide a key foundation for the
First Amendment to the Constitution- the right of a democratic press to criticize
public officials
By 1765, about 30 newspapers operated in the American colonies. (The gradual
rise of political parties and the spread of commerce also played a significant role
in the development of these early papers.)
The Penny Press Era: Newspapers Become Mass Media
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The Industrial Revolution spawned the conversion from expensive handmade to
inexpensive machine-made paper. When cheaper paper combined with increased
literacy, penny papers soon began overtaking the six-cent papers.
Human interest stories: News accounts that focus on the daily trials and
triumphs of the human condition, often featuring ordinary individuals facing
extraordinary challenges.
Wire services: Began as commercial organizations that relayed news stories and
information around the country and the world using telegraph lines, radio waves
and digital transmissions.
Yellow Journalism: Emphasized profitable papers that carried exciting humaninterest stories, crime news, large headlines, and more readable copy. (This era
(the 1800s) is generally regarded as the age of sensationalism, the direct
forerunner of today’s tabloid papers, reality TV, and TV magazine shows.
Joseph Pulitzer (The Post-Dispatch) vs. William Randolph Hearst (New York
Journal)
“Objectivity” in Modern Journalism
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Objective Journalism: Modern reporters strive to maintain a neutral attitude
toward the issue or event they cover; they also search out competing points of
view among the sources for a story. (Remember: There may be more than two
sides to a story.)
The Limits of Objectivity in Journalism
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Interpretive Journalism: Tries to explain key issues or events and place
them in a broader historical or social context.
The Press-Radio War
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The newspaper industry became increasingly annoyed by broadcasters who
took their news directly from papers and wire services.
Mainstream newspapers attempted to copyright facts reported in the news and
even sued radio stations.
In 1933, the American Society of Newspaper Editors supported the idea of
interpretive journalism, resolving to “devote a larger amount of attention and
space to analytical and interpretive news and to presenting a background of
information which will enable the average reader more adequately to
understand the movement and the significance of events.”
Literary Forms of Journalism
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Advocacy Journalism: An approach in which the reporter actively promotes a
particular cause or viewpoint.
Precision Journalism: By applying rigorous social science methods, such as
using poll surveys and questionnaires, they could achieve a valid portrait of social
reality.
Literary Journalism: Sometimes dubbed “new journalism,” adapted fictional
storytelling techniques to nonfictional material and in-depth reporting.
Contemporary Journalism in the TV and Online Age
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In 1980 the Columbus Dispatch became the first paper to go online. (By 2006,
more than 2500 U.S. papers were offering some kind of computerized news
service.
The arrival of the colorful USA Today in 1982 radically changed the look of most
major U.S. dailies.
Consensus vs. Conflict: Newspapers Play Different Roles
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Consensus-oriented Journalism: Carries articles on local schools, social events,
town government, property crimes, and zoning issues.
Conflict-oriented Journalism: National and metro dailies practice this. Frontpage news is often defined primarily as events, issues, or experiences that deviate
from social norms.
Ethnic, Minority, and Oppositional Newspapers
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The first black newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, operated from 1827 to 1829 and
opposed the racism of many New York newspapers.
New York’s El-Diario-La Prensa has been serving Spanish-language readers
since 1913
The Cherokee Rose Bud was founded in 1848 by tribal women in the Oklahoma
territory.
Alternative newspapers developed in the mid to late 1960s (also called the
underground press). These papers questioned mainstream political policies and
conventional values. They often voiced radical viewpoints and were erratic in
meeting publication schedules.
Newspaper Operations: Economic Demands vs. Editorial Duties
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Newshole: Space left over after ad positioning which accounts for the remaining
30 to 50 percent of the content of daily newspapers
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Feature syndicates: Commercial outlets that contract with newspapers to provide
work from the nation’s best political writers, editorial cartoonists, comic-strip
artists, and self-help columnists
Ownership, Economics, Technology, and Innovation
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Between 1970 and 1990, yearly circulation flattened out at just over 60 million
copies per day. By 2005, though, only 54 millions copies circulated each weekday
and 57 million on Sunday, down also from 62 million in the early 1990s
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Newspaper Chains: Companies that own several papers throughout the country.
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By the early 2000s the top 13 chains circulated more than one-half of all the
nation’s daily papers
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Many newspapers companies, instead of investing in investigative reporting to
spur readership, have directed much of their profits to buying radio and TV
properties.
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Modern computer technology began radically revolutionizing newsrooms in the
1970s.
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Hundreds of newspapers responded to the 1996 Telecommunications Act by
developing online versions of their paper product.
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In the 1980s came the development of street papers. (These papers typically sell
for fifty cents to three dollars, and the proceeds mostly go to the homeless. The
cover such topics as the political and economic factors that contribute to the
homelessness…)
Democracy
Of all mass media, newspapers have played the longest and strongest role in sustaining
democracy. As a venue for the expression of ideas and the distribution of information,
newspapers keep readers abreast of issues and events in their community, their nation,
and their world.