HISTORY OF Journalism Samantha Jasich

The Early Years 1608 First English reporter in the colonies, Captain John Smith, leader of the Jamestown settlement, publishes his newsletter, Newes from Virginia 1690 First American Newspaper, Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick, is published in Boston 1721 The New England Courant, published by Ben Franklin’s older brother James, is first to offer readers literature in addition to news (this was the newspaper that Ben Franklin wrote in as Mrs. Dogood) 1729 Ben Franklin makes the Pennsylvania Gazette the best newspaper in the colonies, with the largest circulation, most pages, highest income from advertising, and the most literary columns 1783 First daily newspaper, the Pennsylvania Evening Post, appears 1814 Congress says that at least two newspapers in each state and territory must print laws passed for the nation 1851 The New York Times is founded

Ben Franklin When Ben was 15, his brother founded The New-England Courant, which was the first truly independent newspaper in the colonies. His brother denied Ben of writing for his paper and in return he adopted the pen name “Mrs. Silence Dogood” – a middle aged widow The letters were published and were the talk of the town. No one knew who she was. Ben’s brother eventually found out it was him and was furious. Ben Franklin left and fled to Philadelphia.

The Change of Information Mid-1840s Telegraph used to convey news at a distance 1861-1865 Hundreds of photographers are issued passes to cover the Civil War. Reporters in the field develop the summary lead to make sure that the main point of their story gets through by telegraph. Papers begin to bulletin highlights of the war action as headlines. 1870-1900 Population of the United States doubles; city population triples; number of daily newspapers quadruples Editorial staff at big-city daily newspapers grows and becomes more specialized, with an emphasis on reporting More women work at newspapers, as correspondents, editors and writers Telephones and typewriters change the way work is done in the newsroom Cables linking the United States to England and parts of Asia make news gathering faster Newspaper publishing becomes a major business in the United States 1890s Sensationalism, known as yellow journalism, is used to win papers more readers

YELLOW JOURNALISM Newspapers sensationalized (exaggerated) the truth to sell more papers. Reporters provided false information to readers in order to make the news seem more exciting than it actually was. The term was originally coined to describe the journalistic practices of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst proved himself worthy of the title. THE USS MAINE The explosion of the American battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, ensured that the U.S. would not be content to watch the Cuban spectacle from the bleacher seats any more. Two hundred and sixty crew members died in the blast, and a Navy board of inquiry examined the cause of the explosion. Many New York newspapers, including the Times, Tribune, Herald and Evening Post, counseled patience and peace for the time being. However, both the World and the Journal jumped on the jingo bandwagon, concurrently publishing a "suppressed cable" that said the explosion was not an accident. The cable was later discovered to have been manufactured. Unfortunately, the World would be linked forever in history with Hearst's Journal under the banner of "yellow journalism" for the role it played in exacerbating the conflict. However, the conscious disregard for the facts was an aberration for Pulitzer, and his later correspondence revealed that the episode haunted him for the rest of his life. 

Early 1900s 1900-1925 Political cartoons offer commentary on the news in many newspapers 1907-1909 United Press Association and the International News Service compete with the Associated Press in gathering news from around the world 1917 Ethnic papers reach a peak with 1,323 foreign-language publications 1910-1914 Number of newspapers in the United States reaches a high, with 2,600 dailies and about 14,000 weeklies published 1920s Radio and movies begin to compete with newspapers and magazines for people’s time and attention Many newspapers begin to include political columns 1930s Personalized or “gossip” columns appear for the first time in papers Picture magazines such as Life become extremely popular and provide greater opportunities for photojournalists 1930s-1940s Newsreels shown 1950s People begin to turn to television for the news

1960s-1990s 1960s “Underground” and alternative papers and magazines rebel against and criticize established papers and the country’s political and social structure Variety of newspapers serving the Latino community are founded 1960-1990 Investigative reporters uncover information about the activities of the government and other groups and offer interpretations of events and issues, such as organized crime, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and Iran-contra 1970s-1980s Computers begin to change the process of producing a newspaper 1980s Number of daily papers decreases because of increase in the price of newsprint and in supply costs, rising pay, loss of advertising to television, and general decline in advertising Four press associations or news agencies - the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse – provide more than 90 percent of all international news 1990s Reporters are able to file stories from around the world immediately using lap-top computers and modems or via satellite  

Important people

Margaret Fuller First American female foreign and war correspondent. Described in her time as “the most remarkable and . . . greatest woman” in America, Fuller opened many doors for women journalists. When she joined the New York Tribune as literary critic, she was the first woman on the paper’s staff. Only two years later she fulfilled a lifelong dream of traveling to Europe as a writer. While there she commented on social change, interviewed political and artistic leaders, and covered current events. Not all of what she witnessed survived. Both Fuller and her papers were lost at sea in a shipwreck on her return home.

(Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman) Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman) World-traveling reporter. Bly got her first newspaper job in Pittsburgh after writing an angry letter in response to an article titled “What Girls Are Good For.” She later gave up her Pittsburgh columns on society, theater, and art for more daring reporting for the New York World. On one assignment she posed as a patient to investigate conditions in an insane asylum. On another, she traveled around the world in 72 days to beat a record of 80 days for the trip. Readers were able to trace her trip in a board game issued by the World.

Ernie Pyle Perhaps the best-loved reporter of all time. Pyle covered the human side of the news in a folksy, chatty style. With his wife, Jerry, he traveled the United States and the world in search of stories about ordinary heroes. During World War II, Pyle mixed with soldiers in Europe and the Pacific and followed them into battle. His columns home gave readers a glimpse of war from what he called “the worm’s-eye view.”

Joseph Pulitzer Pulitzer bought the St. Louis Post for about three thousand dollars in 1872. In 1876 Pulitzer was allowed to practice law in Missouri. He started a law practice, but he gave it up in 1878 after purchasing the troubled St. Louis Dispatch and combined it with the Post. Aided by his brilliant editor in chief, John A. Cockerill, Pulitzer launched crusades against lotteries, gambling, and tax dodging; led drives to have streets cleaned and repaired; and sought to make St. Louis more civic-minded. The Post-Dispatch became a success. In 1883 Pulitzer, then thirty-six, purchased the New York World from businessman Jay Gould, who was losing forty thousand dollars a year on the paper. Pulitzer made the down payment from Post-Dispatch profits and made all later payments out of profits from the World. Even as Pulitzer's eyes began to fail in the 1880s, he carried on a battle for readers with William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the New York Journal. In New York, New York, he promised that the World would "expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils and abuses" and "battle for the people with earnest sincerity." He concentrated on human-interest stories, scandal (behavior that causes loss of faith in a person), and sensational material. Pulitzer's World was a strong supporter of the common man.

William randolph hearst U.S. newspaper publisher. Hearst in 1887 took over the struggling San Francisco Examiner, which he remade into a successful blend of investigative reporting and lurid sensationalism. After buying the New York Morning Journal (later New York Journal-American) in 1895, he fought fierce circulation wars with other papers and helped bring about the era of yellow journalism, employing circulation-boosting strategems that profoundly influenced U.S. journalism. Distorted reportage in Hearst papers fanned public sentiment against Spain that led to the Spanish-American War. He served in Congress (1903–07) but ran unsuccessfully for other offices. In the 1920s he built a grandiose castle in San Simeon, Calif. At the peak of his fortune in 1935 he owned 28 major newspapers, 18 magazines, radio stations, movie companies, and news services. Extravagance and the Depression weakened him financially, and by 1940 he had lost control of his empire. He spent his last years in virtual seclusion.

Anna Quindlen Voice of the baby boomers. Even as a “little kid,” Quindlen wanted to be a writer. After working for her high school paper and the New York Post, she landed a job at the New York Times. Quindlen’s “Hers,” “Life in the 30s,” and “Public & Private” columns in the New York Times  were extremely popular. They captured her generation’s concerns about various social, political, and personal issues and won her the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1992.

Source http://www.wnylrc.org/documentView.asp?docid=138 http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/roughriders/jour.home.html http://www.onlineconcepts.com/pulitzer/yellow.htm http://www.writesite.org/html/famous.html