Download - Newspaper Medium
Newspaper Medium
Short History
• Roman: 100 BCE• European: 1600s (Oxford Gazettee)• American:1690s (Used in the American
Revolution, protected by First Amendment in 1790)
• Penny Press made it mass communication medium in New York Sun, 1833.
Benjamin Day Penny Press
• Human interest stories: crime, entertainment, court, police…
• Larger audience: NY literacy conditions• Cheaper price• Reporters wired stories via telegraph• Sold advertisement• Motto: The Sun shines for all.
Wire Service
• 1856 New York Associated Press: Six large NPs: The Sun, Harold, Tribune created news gathering and distribution organization
1900: Associated Press1907: United Press1909: International News Service
Yellow Journalism
• 1883 Joseph Pulitzer: New York World• Populist approach to news• Activist coverage style: social problems,
disaster news, giant headlines• Heavy use of illustrations, cartoons, color• Left its marks on current NP style
Types of NP
• National Daily NPs: – Wall Street journal– Christian Science Monitor– USA Today
• Large Metropolitan Dailies (at least 5 times a week)– Boston Globe (multiple editions throughout day)
– Chicago Daily– Houston Chronicle
Types of NP
• Suburban & small-Town Dailies• Weeklies & Semiweeklies• Ethnic Press:
– Spanish, Black, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arab– NY: ethnicities serving 50 languages
• Alternative Press: – free distribution– Anti war, anti racism– Village Voice, Boston Phoenix,
• Commuter papers: free for commuters/younger generation
Readership
• Original Readership (56 mil/day)• Pass-along readership (132 mil/daily)
(200 mil/weekly)
NPs & Advertising
• Ad medium: recognized by advertisers• Ads prosper NPs• Annual U.S. ad spending in NP:– $94.71 per person– 253.75/household
• Decision based on:• Reach: 50% of Americans read daily paper• Better Demographics: better educated, income,• Ad space: 65% of NP space
Outside Content
• News service: news content, national, state, international,
• Feature Syndicates: clearinghouse for columnists, essayists, cartoonists.
Changes
• Nature of medium and its relationship with audience is changing.– Loss of competition– Convergence– Conglomeration’s Hypercommercialism– Readership evolution
Loss of Competition
• Medium in decline:1. Number of newspapers in decline– Fewer cities with competing papers
2. Concentration of ownership:– Chain ownership has become common– JOA: Joint Operating Agreement: weaker NPs
merge w/ Stronger NPs provided editorial & reporting remains separate.
Editorial Diversity Concern
• One NP = One editorial voice• Truth flows from multiple voices• Public is best served antagonistic voices• Political, cultural, and social debate???
Conglomeration
• Pressure to produce profit• Hypercommercialism:• Blurring between ads & news• Loss of journalistic mission– front page ads– Content conform to commercial interest– Promoting businesses operations
Internet Convergence
• Questions of Convergence w/ internet:• Online NPs• Unsure future whether people will read it• How to charge for content?• How to measure readership?
Readership
• Older people readership• Younger people net readership