Today’s mass media has been molded by hundreds of years of reporting, journalism, and personal

Reporting to gain sensationalism rather than pure facts, yellow journalism had been especially prominent in the 19th century in America (“U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism”). The two competing publishers who conceived yellow journalism, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, wrote “…profit-driven coverage of world events, particularly developments in Cuba” (“U.S Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism”). The Spanish colony of Cuba’s revolutionary steps intensified when the 1890’s hit, Hearst and Pulitzer both selling stories focusing on the Cuban struggle for independence, emphasizing the harshness of Spanish rule (“U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism”). These stimulating stories proved to be false, yet continued until their peak in 1898 when a U.S. battleship sunk in Havana harbor of Cuba (“U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism”). Kindling more anti-Spanish opinion, yellow journals claimed that the sinking was a Spanish plot, despite the witnesses concluding that the explosion was on board (“U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism”). Once investigators uncovered the cause of the explosion-a mine in the harbor-yellow journalists seized their opportunity and declared war, ultimately contributing to the start of the Spanish-American war through creating public support (“U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism”).

The American journalist and politician Clare Boothe Luce spoke out to a group of journalists to make her statement on the press. The time Luce’s speech was presented, it was 1960; a much different time from how press runs today. Back in the sixties, press was presented in the form of newspapers or by word of mouth, whereas today press appears on a computer screen. In Luce’s speech she states, “It is- to use the big word- the pursuit of and the effort to state the truth.” (L.39). This statement concludes that the author views the whole point of the press to tell the truth. Whether the topic is on the food industry or on economics, press brings information to the people in an honest fashion. Back in this time Clare used many rhetorical

William Randolph Hearst was born April 29,1863 in SanFrancisco, California. His father was a multimillionaire geologist who

In the late 1800’s, Julius Chambers checked herself into a mental asylum undercover as a mental patient and began composing one of the first forms of muckraker journalism, which exposed the abuse inmates were subjected to within these asylums. After Julius Chambers infamous account of the asylums, muckraker journalism spread like wildfire, leading to exposed political corruption and social scandals. Since the muckraker movement, news has become exceedingly relevant in people’s lives to get information regarding sports, the world, science, entertainment, etc. However, as news has evolved its values have changed with the times to provide their subscribers news best akin to their interests and values. News today values tragedy and oddity while

Many people received their information only by newspaper or radio and there was a sense of pride knowing that journalists were sharing truthful information with the public.

Edward R. Murrow’s reporting style, established in both radio and television, has had a profound and lasting effect on broadcast journalism and the newscast format. In addition to developments like the news round-up, one major innovation of Murrow’s continues to play a crucial role in news reporting, particularly of the 2016 election, and that is the compilation and employment of previous media products, such as radio and television recordings, and news publications, in order to conceptualize, analyze, and lampoon a contemporary political figure, as exemplified by Murrow’s report on Joseph McCarthy. The preservation of this reporting style throughout media’s transitions, television’s in particular,

News reporting in the United States has moved and developed through several successive periods. It begins in the early stages of American history during the colonial period where news was not nearly as important as it is today. We have seen news reporting in the Party Press Era where politics heavily influenced newspaper content. News then reached a greater audience with the establishment of the Penny Press, which also created more relevant newspaper content. In the late 1800s, news reporting in the United States experienced over-dramatization and sensationalism during the Yellow Journalism period.

Publishing visionaries Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst dominated the American journalism industry in the mid 1890s, whilst competing for circulation in a bitter rivalry, widely considered as the greatest newspaper war in history. Their revolutionary advances in the use of sensationalist material within print gave birth to the concept of ‘yellow journalism’, compiled of a ‘toxic formula - one part news to one part hype’ (Streitmatter, 2011). This would have a monumental impact on society of the period and still has an enduring influence on the current world of journalism today. Their commitment to a fresh brand of crude and vicarious storytelling helped to evolve newspaper journalism by pushing its very limits, thus redefining news media. However, whilst both men are regarded as the leaders of this radical and far-reaching practice, only Joseph Pulitzer can be credited as the father and creator of the concept, which influenced Hearst rendering him the follower of the great publisher.

The public might never have learned of the President’s actions without the investigative reporting of these two journalists of the Washington Post. The role of the press in bringing the scandal to light reminded the public of the importance of a free press in a democratic society. Additionally, they would categorically have become exemplars for other journalists. Thus, more journalists would work diligently on coveraging the true information of presidents to the public. Other journalists also gained advantages because of the Watergate. “ Watergate made investigative reporting fashionable, for a time. Leonard Downie, Jr. of the Washington Post wrote The New Muckrakers in 1976, profiling the new breed of investigative journalist spawned in that era. For instance, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele appeared in the book, won two Pulitzer Prizes, and became superstars in the newspaper world ”(Small 18).Journalism could be considered to reach its apogee during that time period.Without doubt, the Watergate scandal brought great positive effects to journalism. Be that as it may, the Watergate scandal’s negative effects were also enormous. It shifted media coverage of presidency from being a friendly conduit between the president and American citizens to being part an investigative prosecution of presidential misdeeds (Corrigan 3). In addition, a tensive relationship between the

While the intention of producing “Yellow Journalism” was to sell more papers through sensationalized headlines (PBS); In “Objective Journalism”; wire services, Associated Press, and Reuters, sought to provide readers with unbiased news in order to attract more customers. Journalism was introduced as a profession; Journalists formed professional associations and codes of ethics, one example is the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

The history of journalism in the United States has spanned from the first colonist crossing the Atlantic Ocean to today’s mass media. Even before we were a country we had printers and journalists writing and printing stories for the people. Looking back, we can divide journalism history into different time periods and see how news reporting developed over time. Some of these time periods include the Colonial Period which spanned from when the first Pilgrims came to America in the mid 1600’s till the 1760’s. Other periods include the Revolution period which picked up from the colonial period till the early 1780’s. The period of Westward Expansion lasted from the 1800 to the 1830’s, then there was the Civil War Period which spanned from the 1840’s till the 1860’s. Finally, the Interpretative Period which lasted from 1930’s and continues to today. Looking back at these time periods we can see what was considered “news” and what was “newsworthy”, the dominate issues of the periods, and how far we have come as a society from those issues.

What would plunge America into the Spanish-America was that “William Randolph Hearst wrote a story of America in a war with Cuba, which he said would not just sell millions of papers, but make him the head honcho of the newspaper business.” Although the journal is influence to future news stories, some modern critics have considered Yellow Journalism as disclosure of privacy. According to Vanaik, “Yellow journalism must be opposed, but it is astonishing that methods that restrict the democratic rights of freedom of the press and journalists, specifically the right of journalists to protect their sources, should be advocated to tackle problems which should and can be dealt with by methods when are not restrictive of basic liberties.”

During the late 19th Century yellow journalism was a popular way for publishers to sell newspapers. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst would use the sensational reporting known as yellow journalism, that all started with a cartoon character, to drive profit-selling headlines. This all started with a cartoonist named Richard F. Outcault and his cartoon strip called Hogan’s Alley, his cartoon strip was very popular with Pulitzer’s newspaper, New York World. To drive sales Hearst hired the cartoonist to work for his newspaper and a bidding war soon ensued. This battle would coin the term yellow journalism, due to Outcault’s character “the Yellow Kid”. Due to the fierce bidding war between Pulitzer and Hearst the term yellow journalism

William Randolph Hearst’s privileged upper class upbringing was a significant influence and factor in his rise to prominence in the American media during the late 19th and early 20th century. Before being expelled, Hearst was inspired by Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World newspaper and worked as an editor for the Harvard Lampoon at Harvard university. At age 24, his multimillionaire father bestowed his failing San Francisco Examiner newspaper to him in hope that it would reform his delinquent behaviours. The social problems of the Gilded Age (1870s -1900) created a social dynamic in the American public which Hearst was able to successfully build his newspaper the San Francisco Examiner into the most widely read newspaper in San Francisco. He adopted a sensational brand of reporting, which later was referred to as “yellow journalism” which used hyperbolic and misinformed speculations and half truths which headlined the front page of the paper. Through his use of sensationalistic and ‘yellow’ journalism William

Yellow journalism was a major issue in the late 1890s during the Spanish-American War. The purpose of yellow journalism is to use headlines and report sensational events that draws the attention of the audience in order to sell more newspapers, even if the facts used were not legitimate. Yellow journalism came to an end with the development of objective journalism, which reports facts that are not biased. With the rise of social media, yellow journalism and “fake news” are making a comeback and becoming a “norm” in modern society. The rise of social media is contributing to the amount of yellow journalism and fake news that is occurring, which is ultimately leading to party polarization.