A brief history of Journalism

Journalism 1 + 2 + New Media© 2012 - Prof. Holly Johnson

Humans were born to gossip Primatologist Robin Dunbar theorizes changes in food

sources allowed early humans to walk upright Environment changes made it possible to feed many

individuals in one area increasing social interactions. Distances between food sources forced long separations of

group members Grooming is key way of keeping track of group members Groups exceed number groomable (150) so have to find

other way to keep track of one another – gossip/language evolves

Written Language - Hieroglyphics 3300BCE - The ancient Egyptians and various

other cultures created hieroglyphic languages to record stories.

Cuneiform 3000BCE – The earliest written language is

discovered in Sumeria. It is now called CUNEIFORM.

First Alphabetic Writing - 800BCFrom cuneiform and other pictographic

language an alphabetic language where symbols stand for consonant sounds evolves. The earliest written alphabet is ancient Aramaic. It is the precursor to modern day written Arabic.

Ancient Greek– 600BC Gossip Songs Epic poetry Hand copied manuscripts

2000 years pass…

Advent of the printing press Gutenberg, 1456 Used to print bibles

First periodical was issued in Latin Semiannual – distributed at book fairs Mercurius Gallobelgicus (Cologne, 1592)

Before Newsweek, People and Time….there was Mercurius Gallobelgicus

First regularly published newspaper in English The Oxford Gazette – 1665 Begun while the English Court was at Oxford

because of the plague in London When the court returned to London the paper

went too

American newspapers in the Colonial Period In the British colonies, printing was regulated

by the Press Restriction Act which required that the printers name and place of pub. Be included on each printed doc.

First printer in the colonies was Stephen Day at Cambridge, MA in 1638. Day himself does not seem to have been a printer. He was a locksmith in Cambridge, Eng., and, in 1638, contracted with the Reverend Jose Glover, a wealthy dissenting clergyman, to set up the first printing press in the colonies. Although Glover died on the sea voyage, Day and Glover’s widow set up the press in Cambridge, Mass., and by March 1639 it was in full operation.

American newspapers in the Colonial Period 1662 Massachusetts law forced printers to

have a license which contributed to suppression of the press

Benjamin Harris’s Publick Occurences both Foreign and Domestick – 1690 suppressed for content and license

First real colonial newspaper 1721 – James Franklin’s New England CourantThe authorities of Boston become enraged because James constantly makes fun of them. He gets thrown in jail and has to pretend his younger brother Ben is the real publisher. Ben runs the press while James is in jail in 1723. When James gets out he doesn’t thank Ben for running things in his absence. Ben breaks his apprenticeship (a serious offense) and sails to NY but the only printer there doesn’t need any help.Almost broke, Ben heads to Philadelphia. His boat from NY gets caught in a hurricane. He has to walk three days across NJ. But Philadelphia is a land of freedom for the 17 year old printer.

By the American Revolution papers were abundant

89 papers in 35 different communities published during the 1770s

The Stamp Act - 1765 Most newspapers at the time of the American

Revolution were anti-royalist because the opposed the Stamp Act which taxed newsprint

Newspapers could only use paper that had received a stamp indicating the tax had been paid making it easy to suppress papers by denying them the stamp.

Truth and responsibility in reporting? Early US papers were NOT focused on reporting things in a

fair and balanced way, they were used as a way to slam the opposition party’s positions or to persuade people to their views

After the Jefferson administration the industry became more independent and less partisan, owned by private enterprises with real editors rather than party hacks

Political machines and propaganda When he became president, Andrew Jackson

started his own newspaper and press. He funneled both government printing business (leaflets etc.) and information to it, forcing the other Washington papers out of business.

Andrew Jackson -Spin doctor in Chief from 1829-1837

A typical newspaper post Revolution By mid 1800’s typical newspapers were weekly or semi

weekly, short and aligned with one or the other political party (Whigs and Federalists).

Other than local news, much of the reporting was simply copied from other papers, sometimes verbatim (now considered plagiarism).

In addition to news stories there might be poetry or fiction, or (especially late in the century) humorous columns

The rise of the great newspapers In the 1850’s technology advanced and new

massive presses that could print thousands of copies of a paper every hour increased potential circulation

The emergence of “illustrated” newspapers (still mostly weeklies) suggested the possibility of merging articles with images

The New York Herald The New York Herald – Founded 1835 – Under James Gordon

Bennett began the modern concept of a newspaper Charged a penny rather than the usual 6 cents Topped 40,000 circulation within 15 months of opening First paper with a city staff covering regular beats In 1838 Bennett organized the first foreign correspondent

staff (six men in Europe) and placed domestic correspondents in key cities (including Washington)

He also used fast offshore boats to rush foreign news from incoming ships

Papers that followed the Herald Other papers saw Bennett’s success and followed his

example New York Tribune – 1841 – more liberal (Karl Marx was

briefly the London correspondent), crusaded for unionism, abstinence and abolition. Lead the way with technology.

The New York Times – 1851 – Established the principle of balanced reporting and high-level writing. Also known as the “Old Gray Lady” and “The paper of record.”

Wire services originated in 1848 with the creation by six large NY papers of a news cooperative to provide coverage of Europe.

Civil War Reporting for the war drove competition

between papers The short, crisp style of journalism was born

because reporters had to send stories via telegraph or by rail

New York was THE center of news Midwestern papers developed with much

more local focus, but New York remained the hub of news activity and international coverage for decades.

Western papers DID contribute two major forces in American journalism. After building fortunes with western newspapers, in the first 25 years of the1800’s William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer established two more NY papers. William Randolph

Hearst – established the New York Journal newspaper

Joseph Pulitzer established the

New York World newspaper

Yellow Journalism Hearst and Pulitzer competed by printing

more and more sensationalist stories known as “yellow journalism” named after a Pulitzer cartoon called “The Yellow Kid.”

This kind of journalism became looked down upon and was followed by “muckraking” – journalists who would hunt down and deliver sensational stories that were directed toward the public good (not just sensational to sell papers)HUNGRY, FRANTIC FLAMES. They Leap Madly Upon the Splendid Pleasure

Palace by the Bay of Monterey, Encircling Del Monte in Their Ravenous Embrace From Pinnacle to Foundation. Leaping Higher, Higher, Higher, With Desperate Desire. Running Madly Riotous Through Cornice, Archway and Facade. Rushing in Upon the Trembling Guests with Savage Fury. Appalled and Panic-Striken the Breathless Fugitives Gaze Upon the Scene of Terror.

- The Examiner (owned by Hearst)

20th century – Investigative Reporting Muckraking turns to investigative reporting Upton Sinclair – a muckraker – publishes his

book The Jungle in 1905 uncovering the unsanitary

conditions of the meat packing industry and leading to passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

“All day long the blazing midsummer sun beat down upon that square mile of abominations: upon tens of thousands of cattle crowded into pens whose wooden floors stank and steamed contagion; upon bare, blistering, cinder-strewn railroad tracks and huge blocks of dingy meat factories, whose labyrinthine passages defied a breath of fresh air to penetrate them; and there are not merely rivers of hot blood and carloads of moist flesh, and rendering-vats and soup cauldrons, glue-factories and fertilizer tanks, that smelt like the craters of hell-there are also tons of garbage festering in the sun, and the greasy laundry of the workers hung out to dry and dining rooms littered with food black with flies, and toilet rooms that are open sewers.”

-The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

Ida Tarbell

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: Tarbell wrote a 19 segment series published articles in McClure's Magazine criticizing Rockefeller, president of Standard Oil, and his monopoly in the oil business. She dug into public documents all over the country to uncover the the shady business dealings of the oil industry and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller’s personal use of strong arm tactics to eliminate rivals. He responded to these attacks by describing her as "Miss Tarbarrel” but significant damage was done to his reputation.

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly: A pseudonym for Elizabeth Cochrane, a reporter whose journalistic style told the stories of ordinary people. Her information was often obtained by going undercover. She is most well known for faking her own insanity just to get into New York's insane asylum on Blackwell's Island*.

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

Radio kills the print star? 1895 – Marconi sends first transatlantic radio signal By the 1930’s radio competes withprint for coverage of the news

Newsreels and radio By the 1930’s newspaper has serious

competition from newsreels (film) and radio Number of small papers go out of business,

larger ones consolidate especially during the depression

Newspaper chains develop 1950’s TV news cuts into the action

Edward R. Murrow

Already famous for his radio career in the 1940s, Murrow led news into television as well. As CBS News Vice President and Director of Public Affairs, Murrow wanted to return to reporting in 1951. Although he was wary of television, he made the transition with "See It Now" the first television newsmagazine. Murrow also interviewed celebrities in their homes in the popular "Person to Person." This show surprised some people who preferred the more serious Murrow. The serious Murrow took on the Red Scare and McCarthy in 1954.*

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

Walter ChronkiteOnce turning down the opportunity to be a Murrow boy, Cronkite was named a CBS anchor for the 1952 Democratic and Republican conventions. This new job coined the term "anchor." Cronkite's popularity grew after the 1950s and CBS started the first half-hour show with Cronkite as the anchor.* One of the most famous news anchors in history, Chronkite is best known for the moments he broke from the script and delivered his own opinion on air particularly on grave topics.

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

Woodward & BernsteinIn 1972 and 1973, Bob Woodward worked with fellow Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein on stories that led to the resignation of President Nixon in 1974. Supported by The Washington Post Editor Ben Bradley, the pair submerged themselves in investigating the Watergate break-in. Eventually, their investigations of the break-in revealed a scandal involving the Committee to Re-Elect the President and Nixon himself. Many of the high-ranking committee members and members of Nixon's administration were indicted on federal charges of burglary and disrupting Democratic Party activities. In 1973, Woodward and Bernstein won the Pulitzer Prize for their stories.*

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

Hunter S. Thompson

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

Originally a sports journalist, worked for Rolling Stone during the late 1960s and 1970s and has published several books. He is called the father of gonzo journalism, because of his manic writing style and twisted lifestyle – including the use of practically every recreational drug known to man.*

Gonzo journalism is characterized by the author inserting him or herself into the action and reporting on it from that perspective, often with a warped angle due to drug use.

1980’s – Rupert Murdoch = FOX NEWS Rupert Murdoch - Murdoch became one of the world's media giants during the global media revolution of the 1980s. He merged 20th Century Fox Film Corporation with several independent television stations to form the Fox Television Network in 1985; Fox was the first new television network in the United States to be created since the 1950s. Today, Murdoch is still one of the most powerful and influential individuals in the global media market.

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

1980’s – Oprah WinfryOprah Winfrey - In 1984, Winfrey moved to Chicago and began hosting "A.M. Chicago," an ABC affiliate's morning public affairs show. Within three months, her show had outscored the ratings of the popular national talk show hosted by Phil Donahue. Winfrey changed the format of daytime talk show television by providing a platform for honest, sincere discussions of sensitive and sometimes controversial topics. Her nationally syndicated "Oprah Winfrey Show" was one of the most popular shows of the 1980s and lasted into the next century.*

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

1980’s – Barbara Walters

Barbara Walters - Walters worked two years as the "Today Show's" first official female co-host. She was part of the news team sent to report on President Richard Nixon's historic visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972. In 1984, ABC wanted her to return to her anchor desk as co-host of the newsmagazine "20/20."

*Text courtesy of History of American Journalism at ehub.journalism.ku.edu

MTV merges music and television into video

The first seeds of convergence media are sewn by MTV in the 1980’s.

1980’s Color added to USA Today Layout becomes more prominent – news has

to look good to compete

Experiments in Design

Journalism Aims to Keep Up

•Internet

• TV

• Radio

• Newspaper

• MP3

• Phone

Convergence

*

What is convergence?Convergence is the intersection of:

Mobile Journalism Mobile journalism is the name for the new specialty of

journalism in which reporters photograph, take and edit audio and video, write and package their articles for print and web. It requires numerous skills to succeed as a mojo.

Jobs you can get with a background in convergence media include: Publications Information Services Online Broadcasting Mobile Journalism News Research Public Relations Marketing and Sales

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