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Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism. Chapter 8. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern
Journalism
Chapter 8
“A lifetime champion of women and the poor, Nellie Bly pioneered what was then called detective or stunt journalism. Her work inspired the twentieth-century practice of investigative journalism—from Ida Tarbell’s exposés of oil corporations in the early 1900s to the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting...”
Newspapers Today
Newspapers have historically acted as chroniclers of daily life. Inform and entertain
In the digital age, the industry is losing papers and readers. 2007—Total newspaper ad revenues fell 7%
overall, despite 20% increase in online ad sales. Losses raise big concerns for future of
newspaper’s.
The Evolution of American Newspapers
Colonial papers Benjamin Harris: Publick Occurrences (1690)
Inflammatory by standards of the times Not a newspaper by modern standards Banned by the colony after one issue
John Campbell: the Boston News-Letter (1704) Reported on mundane events that took place in
Europe months earlier James Franklin: the New England Courant (1721)
Stories that interested ordinary readers
Colonial Papers (cont.) Benjamin Franklin: the Pennsylvania Gazette (1729)
Historians rate among the best Run with subsidies from political parties as well as
advertising John Peter Zenger: the New-York Weekly Journal
(1733) Arrested for seditious libel Jury ruled in his favor, as long as stories are true. Decision provided foundation for First Amendment.
By 1765, about thirty newspapers in American colonies
Partisan Press
1784—first daily newspaper Two types: political and commercial Parties shaped press history.
Anti–British rule Political agendas shaped newspapers.
Partisan press forerunner of editorials Commercial press forerunner of the modern business
section Circulation in hundreds, not thousands Readership: the wealthy and educated
Penny Press
1833—Benjamin Day’s New York Sun Local events, scandals, and police reports Blazed the trail for celebrity news Fabricated stories
Human-interest stories Ordinary individuals facing extraordinary
challenges Success spawned wave of penny papers.
Penny Press (cont.)
1835—James Gordon Bennett’s New York Morning Herald Bennett first U.S. press baron World’s largest daily paper at the time Model for Dickens’s Rowdy Journal
Penny papers increased reliance on ad revenue. 1848—formation of the Associated Press (AP)
Wire services around the country
Penny Press Contributions
Developed a system of information distribution Modern technology to mass-produce and cut
costs Wire services
Promoted literacy among the public Middle- and working-class readers could afford
the papers and were attracted to true-crime and human-interest stories.
Empowered the public in government affairs Articles about politics and commerce
Yellow Journalism
Pulitzer and Hearst Brazen Sensational, overly dramatic
Crimes Celebrities Scandals Disaster Intrigue
Provided roots for investigative journalism Exposed corruption in business and government
Pulitzer and the New York World
Hungarian immigrant Bought the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Touted as a “national conscience” 1883—bought the New York World
Pro-immigrant and working class Sensational stories Advice columns and women’s pages Antimonopoly Manufactured events and staged stunts
E.g., Nellie Bly around the world in 72 days Legacy: Gave money to start Columbia U’s graduate
school of journalism and launched the Pulitzer Prizes
Hearst and the New York Journal
Expelled from Harvard
Had taken reins of San Francisco Examiner
Bought the New York Journal with his inheritance Ailing penny paper owned by Joseph Pulitzer’s brother Raided Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World for editors, writers, and
cartoonists
Imitated Pulitzer’s style Pro-immigrant Bold layout Sensational stories Invented interviews, faked pictures, encouraged conflicts
Hearst served as model for Charles Foster Kane.
Competing Models of Print Journalism
Objectivity Ochs and the New York Times, 1896
Distanced itself from yellow journalism Focused on documentation of major events More affluent readership Lowered the price to a penny, so middle class read
as marker for educated and well-informed Inverted-pyramid style
Answer who, what, where, when (sometimes why and how) at top
Less significant details at bottom
Limits of Objectivity
• Can news ever be objective?
• Are facts alone enough?
• What do we need from newspapers?
Interpretive Journalism
More analysis 1920s editor and columnist Walter
Lippmann Ranked press responsibilities
Supply facts for the record Give analysis Advocate plans
1930s: Depression and Nazi threat to global stability helped analysis take root.
Literary Forms of Journalism Literary journalism
Also called “new journalism” Fictional storytelling techniques applied to nonfictional
material 19th century: Mark Twain, Stephen Crane,
Theodore Dreiser 20th century: Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, Joan
Didion, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson• Advocacy journalism
Reporter promotes particular cause or view Precision journalism
Pushes news in the direction of science
Newspapers Undergo Change
USA Today Color Mimics broadcast news in use of brief news
items Online journalism changes the news
landscape. January 1998: The Drudge Report broke
Lewinsky story before Newsweek. Reduced standards for journalistic accuracy?
Newspapers Play Different Roles
Smaller nondaily papers promote social, economic harmony in community. Consensus-oriented journalism: carry stories on
local schools, social events, town government, property crimes, and zoning issues
National and metro dailies practice different style. Conflict-oriented journalism: front-page news
defined as events, issues, or experiences that deviate from social norms
Minority Newspapers
African American Freedom’s Journal (1827–1829), New York’s Amsterdam
News Spanish-language
New York’s El Diario–La Prensa merged with Los Angeles’ La Opinión in 2004.
Vital to marketing and publicity campaigns, growing fast Asian American
The World Journal: serves Chinese immigrants nationwide Native American
Begun with Cherokee Phoenix (1828)
The Underground Press
Inspired by socialists, intellectuals from 1930s, 1940s Dorothy Day, I. F. Stone
Mid to late 1960s saw explosion in alternative newspapers. Worked to challenge mainstream depictions of
news Village Voice: one of the first, most enduring
alternative papers Circulation of 250,000 today
Figure 8.1
Economic Demands vs. Editorial Opportunities
Newshole = 35 to 50% of paper Remaining space devoted to advertising
Newsroom staff Publisher and owner Editors Reporters Photographers Copy editors
Wire services and feature syndicates important sources of material Staff cannot possibly produce enough or cover the
world.
Ownership, Economics, Technology, and Innovation
Decline in readership End of competing newspapers in cities Joint operating agreement (JOA)
Two newspapers keep separate news divisions while merging business and production operations.
In 2007, JOAs were still in place in 10 cities. Newspaper chains
Gannett nation’s largest Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. multinational
What Gannett Owns
Newspapers• 85 daily papers and 900nondaily publications– USA Today– USA Weekend– Asbury Park Press (N.J.)– Detroit Free Press– Rochester Democrat andChronicle (NY)– Arizona Republic (Phoenix)– Cincinnati Enquirer– Courier-Journal(Louisville, Ky.)– Des Moines Register (Iowa)– Honolulu Advertiser– Indianapolis Star– News Journal(Wilmington, Del.)– Tennessean (Nashville)– Army Times PublishingCompany (newspapers)– Newsquest plc (newspaperpublishing, United Kingdom)
– Texas-New MexicoNewspaper Partnership(41%, communitynewspapers)
Television• Captivate Network(advertising-basedtelevision in elevators)• 23 TV stations– KARE-TV (Minneapolis)– KNAZ-TV (Flagstaff, Ariz.)– KSDK-TV (St. Louis)– KTHV-TV (Little Rock, Ark.)– KTVD-TV (Denver)– KUSA-TV (Denver)– KXTV-TV (Sacramento,Calif.)– WATL-TV (Atlanta)– WBIR-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.)– WCSH-TV (Portland, Me.)– WGRZ-TV (Buffalo, N.Y.)– WJXX-TV (Jacksonville)
– WKYC-TV (Cleveland)– WTLV-TV (Jacksonville)– WTSP-TV (Tampa)– WZZM-TV (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Internet• CareerBuilder (40%)• Classified Ventures(24%, online contentpublishing)• Planet Discover• ShopLocal.com (42%)• Topix.net
Magazines and Printing• Clipper Magazine (directmail advertising)• Gannett Healthcare Group(periodical publishing)• Gannett Offset (commercialprinting)
Electronic and Digital Technology
Hundreds of newspapers have developed online versions of their paper product. Online newspapers flexible
Unlimited space Links to related articles Archives Multimedia capabilities Free of charge
“Now, like hundreds of other mid-career journalists who are walking away from media institutions across the country, I’m looking for other ways to tell the stories I care about. At the same time, the world of online news is maturing, looking for depth and context. I think the timing couldn’t be better.”
—Nancy Cleeland, on why she was leaving The Los Angeles Times, posted on The Huffington Post,
2007
Journalists Face Risks Abroad
By mid-2008, more than 125 reporters had died in Iraq.
“The danger is omnipresent for journalists in Iraq. There are few places to take refuge.”
—Joel Campagna, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2006
The Newspapers’ Survival
Can newspapers compete with television and the Internet?
How can print journalism adjust its business model to survive?