History of American Journalism- The 1930’s

Rebecca SessionsMedia 301

February 15, 2012

“Age of the Columnists”• Regular editorials became

popular• 35mm photography and

photojournalism became widely used

• Newsreels began to peak America’s interest

• Radio journalism became the primary way in which news and entertainment were delivered

Media Personalities• Walter Lippman- editor of The

New Republic, helped President Wilson write his Fourteen Points

• Edward R. Murrow- broadcaster, most famous for his radio report from Vienna discussing the annexation of Austria

• Walter Winchell- gossip columnist, radio personality, “Good Morning, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea.”

• Henry Luce- creator of the business magazine, Fortune, in 1930

• Dorothea Lange- photographer, most famous for her photos of the Dust Bowl, Great Plains, and rural America

• Margaret Bourke-White- one of her photographs was used as the cover for the first Life magazine

• Huey Long- politician from Louisiana, used journalism to build up his support system, shot in 1935

1930’s Politics• Franklin Delano

Roosevelt was elected as president in 1932

• Roosevelt introduced the New Deal, which was supposed to help stimulate the American economy

• He was elected as president four times

• Adolf Hitler’s European domination became more known to Americans during the early 1930’s

• Hitler’s goal was German world domination

Society during the 1930’s• The Great Depression was full

blown during the 1930’s• One in four American workers

had difficulty in making ends meet

• Roosevelt’s New Deal created new jobs to help stimulate the economy and employment

• It was during this time that John Steinbeck wrote the novel The Grapes of Wrath

• Amos ‘n’ Andy, a popular radio show, provided Americans with African-American comic relief during a time of hardships

• Victor Fleming directed The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind which were released in 1938.

Important Media Moments• President Roosevelt had “fireside”

radio chats to help promote his New Deal

• The German airship Hindenberg crashed while landing in Lakehurst, N.J. on May 6, 1937. Herb Morrison was the radio reporter from Chicago that was covering this story as it happened right in front of him.

• Edward Morrow and William Shirer reported about Austria’s annexation on March 13, 1938. This was the beginning of broadcast news correspondents. They were referred to as “Murrow and his boys”.

Journalism Trends• Charles Lindbergh Jr. went

missing on March 1, 1932. The infant was found dead a month later. Richard Hauptmann was convicted of the murder and was executed in 1936. This was said to be the “trial of the century”.

• Telegraph and Telephone lines were added to the list of responsibilities help by the Federal Communications Commission in 1934.

Sources• Article- History of American Journalism- The

1930’s• http://www.infoplease.com/spot/

hindenburg1.html• http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?

entrycode=amosnandy• Google Images