1. American Journalism
A History
By Jackie Scott

2. America’s First Newspapers
• 1690- Publick Occurences,
published in Boston by
Benjamin Harris. The British
Colonials oppressed the paper
after just one issue on a
technicality because they
didn’t like what it printed.
(Reported on sex scandal
involving King of France).
• 1704- The Boston News Letter
started by John Campbell
became the first continuously
published newspaper.

3. Government Criticism
• Early newspapers had to step carefully. Any government
criticism was considered “sedition” which means the stirring
of rebellion and could result in jail time.
• Under this system, the press operated under the idea that
“the greater the truth, the greater the libel.”

4. Government Criticism
• In 1735 New York Weekly
Journal’s publisher John
Peter Zenger was charged
with “seditious libel” and
thrown in jail after
criticizing the governor of
New York.
• The courts ruled in favor of
Zenger, establishing the
truth as a solid defense
against libel.

5. Early Newspapers helped Promote
the Revolutionary War
• The leaders of the revolt
used the press to incite
the public to join their
cause.
• Almost all newspapers
favored the Revolution
because they felt the
Colonials suppressed the
rights and freedoms of
the press.

6. 1791- The Bill of Rights
• After the Revolutionary War was
won, the leaders of the new country
put into place the Bill of Rights,
granting the press more freedoms
than ever before.
• “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition to the
Government for a redress of
grievances.”
-First Amendment to the
United States Constitution

7. The Partisan Press
• The period following the
Revolutionary War early
U.S. leaders fought bitterly
over how the new
government should be run.
• Partisan newspapers
backed opposing views and
attacked their opponents
fiercely.
• They mixed news and
opinion indiscriminately.
• This period was known as
the Partisan Press

8. The Partisan Press
• http://www.newseum.org/digital-classroom/video/45-
words/default.aspx

9. The Penny Press
• New technology brought
about the cylinder press,
capable of printing 4,000
copies of a newspaper in
an hour.
• This reduced costs to 1
cent a paper creating the
first truly mass media
papers.
• Thus the “Penny Press”
was born paving the way
for modern newspapers.

10. Birth of the Modern Newspaper
• In 1835, The New York Herald
became the first “modern
newspaper” It was:
• Free of government/ party
control
• Had simple wording, making it
easy to read for the public
• Organized in a modern pattern
covering regular beats (or topics)
and news.
• First found in D.C.
• It was like the penny papers but
more profitable

11. Advances in Technology
• The steamboat, the Pony Express
and the railroads in the mid 1800’s
made news cheaper and allowed
information to travel faster.
• 1861- reporters began using the
telegraph as a means of covering
the news during the Civil War.
• This led to the invention of the
inverted pyramid (modern “hard”
news style. It allowed information
to be transmitted information to
be submitted quickly, but at a
cost. The fewer words used the
better.

12. Civil War brought many firsts
• Inverted pyramid
style
• Objectivity
• Photojournalism
• Press credentials
• War
correspondents

13. Yellow Journalism
• By the end of the 19th century, newspapers were the nation’s
main source of information.
• As huge newspaper empires grew, so did competition and
circulation wars
• “Yellow journalism” used sensationalism as a way to increase
readership: loud headlines on sin, sex, rumors, even fake
stories (think the National Enquirer)

14. Famous “yellow” Journalists
• Joseph Pulitzer-
• owned the St. Louis Post Dispatch and
took over New York World
• Crusader for hard news but liked to
sensationalize
• At first, demanded accuracy from
reporters
• The prestigious Pulitzer prizes, are now
awarded to journalists every year.
• Founder of Columbia University School of
Journalism1861- reporters began using
the telegraph as a means of covering the
news.

15. Famous “yellow” Journalists
• William Randolph Hearst-
• Owner of the San Francisco
Examiner, bought New York Journal
• Loved politics and planned to run for
president
• Competed against Pulitzer
• Paper emphasized crime, sex,
scandals and violence

16. Famous “yellow” Journalists
• Nellie Bly a.k.a.Elizabeth Cochrane-
• Used publicity stunts to create news or
expose injustice
• Once had herself committed in order to
investigate conditions in an insane
asylum
• Pulitzer once sent her in a hot air balloon
to travel around the world like the Jules
Verne novel “Around the World in 80
Days”.

17. Muckraking
• The end of Yellow journalism
ushered in the “golden age” of
journalism.
• Muckraking: Investigative,
socially conscious reporting
• Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle leads
to new, much more stringent
food and drug laws

18. Muckraking
• Industrialization led to
slums and terrible
conditions for the poor.
Journalists exposed these
problems and helped
start sweeping reforms:
• Better working
conditions
• Sanitation
• Laws to protect people
• Honest government
• Regulation of big
business

19. Birth of the Radio/ Broadcast
• 1901- first wireless signal sent
across ocean by Gugliemo
Marconi
• 1912- first radio broadcast
• 1920- first radio station-
KDKA in Pittsburg
• 1926-27- national radio
networks- NBS and CBS
• 1930- FDR’s fireside chats

20. Birth of Television
• 1939 first TV broadcasts
made, but WWII delays
progress
• By 1950’s powerful
networks emerge.
• Edward R. Murrow is the
first network news “star”
• Challenged Senator
McCarthy’s communist
hunts.
• He set the standard for
later news anchors

21. Newspapers Decline
• It was hard to compete with
TV’s speed and visual appeal
• Newspapers strike back with:
• Tighter, more concise writing
• Better formatting
• Improved design
• In-Depth reporting
• Shorter stories
• Lots of color and graphics

22. Investigative Journalism
• The Pentagon Papers
proved U.S. government
had lied to the public
about Vietnam War
• 1972, Washington Post
reporters broke the
Watergate story that led to
President Nixon’s
resignation.

23. The Internet
• In 1990’s the Internet first
made its appearance.
• Now it is the number one
news source in the world
while other news media
continues to decline.
• News is now available 24/7
in various formats.
• The only solution to the
decline of newspapers Is
convergence.

24. The End of the Newspaper?
• http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4901034n

25. The Good News
• The way we deliver and receive news is changing but
Journalism isn’t dead.
• The public will ALWAYS require news.
• Journalism is going to survive, but in different forms.
• Convergence is key