Media History: Newspapers and the Mass Press
Summary
TLDRThe video explores the evolution of mass media, beginning with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of affordable newspapers like the penny press. It details how technological innovations reduced production costs, making news accessible to the general public. The rise of yellow journalism, investigative reporting, and the impact of key figures like Benjamin Day and William Randolph Hearst are discussed. It also covers major journalism milestones like the Watergate scandal, the challenges faced by local newspapers in the digital age, and the rise of platforms like Craigslist that transformed the industry.
Takeaways
- ⚙️ The mass press started with the Industrial Revolution, transforming newspapers with steam-powered presses and machine-made paper, drastically lowering production costs.
- 📉 Before this revolution, newspapers were expensive, costing 6 cents per copy and sold via yearly subscriptions for $10-$12, unaffordable for most workers.
- 📰 In 1833, Benjamin Day founded the New York Sun, setting the price at one penny per copy, marking the beginning of the Penny Press era.
- 👦 The Penny Press expanded circulation dramatically but relied on cheap child labor, which created ethical issues.
- 🎭 Yellow journalism, known for sensational stories on crime, celebrities, and scandals, emerged in the mid-to-late 1800s, named after the popular comic character 'Yellow Kid'.
- 👨💼 Newspaper moguls like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer used sensationalism to gain readership and wield political influence, exemplified by Hearst’s role in pushing the U.S. toward the Spanish-American War.
- 🔍 Amid the rise of yellow journalism, investigative journalism also emerged, exposing corruption and abuse of power, with notable muckrakers like Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell.
- 🏛️ Objective journalism gained prominence with the New York Times under Adolf Ochs, offering fact-based reporting for an upscale, well-educated audience and becoming known as the 'paper of record'.
- 💻 In the 2000s, newspapers faced declining revenues due to online classifieds like Craigslist and competition from digital advertising platforms like Facebook and Google.
- 📉 Local newspapers are in crisis, leading to news deserts in the U.S., which threatens local journalism, civic engagement, and increases risks of unreported corruption.
Q & A
What impact did the Industrial Revolution have on the newspaper industry?
-The Industrial Revolution introduced steam-powered presses and machine-made paper, significantly lowering production costs and enabling mass production of newspapers. This transformed the newspaper industry, making papers more affordable and accessible to the general public.
What was the 'penny press' and why was it significant?
-The penny press was a wave of cheaply produced newspapers, costing just one cent per copy, initiated by Benjamin Day's New York Sun in 1833. It made newspapers accessible to the working class, marking the birth of the mass press.
How did yellow journalism affect the newspaper industry in the late 1800s?
-Yellow journalism, characterized by sensationalized and dramatic stories, gained popularity in the late 1800s. It increased newspaper sales but also drew criticism for prioritizing profit over journalistic integrity. This style was epitomized by the rivalry between William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World.
Who were the muckrakers and what role did they play in journalism?
-Muckrakers were investigative journalists from the late 1800s to the early 1900s who exposed corruption and illegal activities by powerful institutions. Notable muckrakers like Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell published groundbreaking reports that led to significant social and political reforms.
What was the significance of Upton Sinclair’s work in the early 1900s?
-Upton Sinclair's investigative journalism, particularly his book *The Jungle*, exposed unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking industry. His work led to public outcry and forced the U.S. government to pass laws improving workplace safety and working conditions.
How did the New York Times distinguish itself from yellow journalism under Adolf Ochs?
-Under Adolf Ochs, the New York Times focused on accurate, fact-based reporting, avoiding sensational headlines. It became known for its objective journalism and served a more upscale, educated audience, earning a reputation as the 'paper of record.'
What was the role of local newspapers in their communities during the mid-20th century?
-Local newspapers served as informational hubs for their communities, offering not only news but also classifieds, birth and death announcements, and local events. They were a crucial source of information and engagement for residents.
How did Craigslist and other online platforms impact the newspaper industry?
-Craigslist and other free online platforms significantly reduced newspapers' classified ad revenue by offering a cheaper or free alternative for listings like jobs, rentals, and personal ads. This led to major financial losses for newspapers, contributing to their decline.
What is the 'news desert' phenomenon, and why is it concerning?
-News deserts refer to U.S. counties with one or no local newspapers, a growing problem as local papers shut down. This lack of local journalism is concerning because it could lead to increased corruption and reduced civic engagement, with fewer reporters covering local events and governance.
What legacy did the Watergate scandal leave for journalism?
-The Watergate scandal, uncovered by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, highlighted the power of investigative journalism in holding powerful figures accountable. Their work led to President Nixon's resignation and set a high standard for investigative reporting.
Outlines
⚙️ The Rise of the Penny Press and Mass Production in Journalism
The Industrial Revolution drastically transformed journalism in the mid-1800s, with new technologies like steam-powered presses and machine-made paper reducing production costs. This paved the way for affordable newspapers like Benjamin Day’s *New York Sun*, priced at one penny per copy, marking the rise of the ‘penny press’. Previously, newspapers were accessible only to the wealthy, but Day's innovation democratized access to news, leading to a wave of cheap, mass-produced papers and intense competition in the industry. However, the use of child labor to sell these papers on the streets was a dark consequence of this drive for profit.
📰 Yellow Journalism: Sensationalism Takes Over
The term ‘yellow journalism’ originates from a popular comic strip character, the Yellow Kid, and represents a style of news focused on sensationalism—dramatic stories about crime, scandals, and celebrities. This type of journalism thrived in the late 1800s, and major publishers like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer heavily relied on it to compete for readership. Despite its focus on scandal, yellow journalism also gave rise to investigative journalism, exposing corruption in powerful institutions. Cartoon critiques from the era, like *Puck* magazine, often highlighted the role of profit in driving sensational reporting.
💼 The Birth of Investigative Journalism
Amidst the sensationalism of yellow journalism, investigative journalism began to take root. Journalists, often referred to as 'muckrakers,' sought to expose corruption and abuse of power within powerful institutions. Notable figures like Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell led investigations that resulted in significant societal reforms. Sinclair’s work on the meatpacking industry spurred the government to implement better safety laws, while Tarbell's investigation of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company led to the U.S. government breaking up the monopoly in 1911.
🕵️ The Rise of Objective Journalism and The New York Times
As a reaction to yellow journalism, a new style of objective journalism emerged in the late 1800s, aimed at providing factual and high-quality reporting. Adolf Ochs, owner of *The New York Times*, pioneered this approach by focusing on fact-based stories and objective analysis, targeting well-educated readers. His leadership solidified *The Times* as a trusted source, avoiding sensational headlines and building a reputation for accuracy and credibility. This style laid the foundation for modern journalism, distinguishing between news reporting and opinion sections.
📉 The Decline of Newspapers in the Digital Era
The rise of the internet in the early 2000s, particularly websites like Craigslist, began to undermine the revenue model of local newspapers, which traditionally depended on classified ads. Social media platforms like Facebook further eroded newspapers' advertising revenue. As newspapers struggled to transition to a digital-first model, many introduced paywalls to compensate for the loss in revenue. However, the inability to convince enough people to pay for subscriptions led to the closure of many local papers, contributing to the rise of 'news deserts'—areas without reliable local news coverage.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Industrial Revolution
💡Penny Press
💡Yellow Journalism
💡Investigative Journalism
💡Muckrakers
💡New York Times
💡Craigslist Effect
💡News Deserts
💡Watergate
💡Objective Journalism
Highlights
The mass press begins with the Industrial Revolution, transforming newspapers through steam-powered presses and machine-made paper.
Benjamin Day's New York Sun, launched in 1833, set the price at one penny per copy, initiating the 'Penny Press' model.
The Penny Press revolutionized news distribution, making newspapers accessible to the working class and growing circulations to hundreds of thousands.
The use of child labor, often from immigrant families, was a common and controversial practice in selling newspapers.
The 1899 newsboy strike was a pivotal moment, as thousands of newsboys fought for higher pay, emphasizing the importance of labor unions.
Before movies, radio, or television, newspapers were the primary source of news and entertainment for the working class in the late 1800s.
Yellow journalism, characterized by sensationalized stories about crime, celebrities, and scandals, emerged in the late 1800s.
The rivalry between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer epitomized the sensationalism of yellow journalism, influencing American politics.
The roots of investigative journalism, aimed at exposing corruption and abuse of power, were born out of the yellow press era.
Upton Sinclair's investigation of the meatpacking industry, published as 'The Jungle,' led to government reform and workplace safety laws.
Ida Tarbell's exposé on John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company led to the U.S. government breaking up the oil monopoly in 1911.
Adolph Ochs transformed the New York Times in 1896, focusing on objective journalism and factual reporting over sensationalism.
The objective journalism model, pioneered by the New York Times, became standard practice by the mid-1900s, focusing on accuracy and analysis.
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's investigation of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s exposed corruption at the highest levels of U.S. government.
The rise of digital platforms like Craigslist in the 2000s led to the 'Craigslist effect,' causing local newspapers to lose classified ad revenue.
The loss of local newspapers and the rise of 'news deserts' could lead to higher levels of local government corruption due to a lack of investigative journalism.
Transcripts
[Music]
the mass press really begins with the
Industrial Revolution which began in
Europe and then spread rapidly in the
United States in the mid 1800s
transforming the country from one based
primarily around agriculture to large
scale industrial
production industrialism based on new
methods of large scale mass production
transformed the newspaper steam powered
presses replaced the mechanical press
and machine-made paper replaced
expensive handmade paper these
Innovations not only dropped the cost of
production but also enabled a huge
ramping up of volume in the production
of papers before the Industrial
Revolution the average newspaper cost 6
cents per copy and was sold through
yearly subscriptions at $10 to12 which
was way more than a week salary for even
highly skilled workers so newspapers at
the time really were mostly for the
affluent but in
1833 printer Benjamin Day founded a
newspaper called the New York sun and
set the price at just one penny per copy
with no
subscriptions da paper grew rapidly in
popularity and inspired a wave of cheap
mass production papers that we now call
the penny press since they cost just one
cent per copy other papers followed
day's Penny press model like James
Gordon Bennett the New York heral and
horse gy of the New York Tribune many
historians view the penny press as the
birth of the mass press their
circulations Grew From just thousands to
tens of thousands and eventually
hundreds of thousands of papers per day
the mass press created intense
competition and young children often
from poor immigrant families were
employed to sell papers on the street
their dependency on child labor was one
of the uglier realities of the drive to
make profits and beat out the
competition Hey listen pit and Heist
have to respect the rights of the Wen
boys of New
York that's
right that work pretty good so what
else tell them that they can't treat us
like we don't exist
[Music]
pull a turn they think we're nothing are
we nothing we stick together like the
trolley workers and they can't break us
up pull turn H they think they got us do
they got us we're a union now the news
boys Union we have to start acting like
a
union even though we ain't got hats or
badges we're a union just by saying so
and the world will
know maybe you've seen the 1992 Disney
movie The Newsies starring a young
Christian Bale Newsies tells a
dramatized story of the 1899 news boy
strike in which thousands of News Boys
organized a successful strike for higher
pay these News Boys worked extremely
hard and often worked late into the
night or were up Before Sunrise and
their stried help Force newspaper owners
to increase their
wages here you can see some real life
newes of the time not so much singing
and
dancing so why was there such a demand
for newspapers well remember in the mid
to late 1800s there were no movies no
television and no radio there were books
and a variety theater called Vaudeville
was a popular form of entertainment but
news newspapers were the main form of
daily news and entertainment for
millions of people especially workers in
this new industrialized
Society get
[Applause]
your get your
Pap I'm here to shout it read all about
it get your paper
[Music]
read about the guy who murdered his
rival get the electric
chair read about a country's fight for
survival read about the
[Music]
count this desire for daily
entertainment fueled by growing
competition between Publishers would in
the mid to late 1800s create a new style
of Sensational journalism M yellow
journalism the term yellow journalism
stems from a popular cartoon that was
carried in newspapers at the time with a
character called the yellow
kid yellow journalism focused on overly
dramatic Sensational stories about crime
celebrities disasters scandals and
Intrigue the term yellow journalism is
actually still used today for example if
a new source is known for Orly dramatic
crude and Sensational headlines it might
get criticized as practicing yellow
journalism let's stop for a moment and
take a closer look at this cartoon from
Puck a popular Humor Magazine of the
era titled the Finn dle or end of the
century newspaper proprietor this image
was published in 1894 at the height of
the yellow press
era in the image we see dozens of her
buried newspaper reporters carrying
scandalous sounding
stories high spice sensation private
Scandal trashy gossip cheap
sensation damaging rumors thrilling
Expose and a term we hear quite often
these days with the internet and social
media fake
news yes people were worried about fake
news and misleading stories back then
too the reporters are tossing their
stories into the printing press as fast
as they can meanwhile the newspaper
owner is sitting pleased as his pile of
profit spills through the door of his
office
closet this cartoon is sterzing the
influence of money and profit in driving
the creation of Sensational and
scandalous news stories part of a
broader critique of the excesses and
greed of capitalism that was common at
the time this was after all the Gilded
Age where there was a growing gap
between the rich and the
poor the mass Penny press really did
make a handful of newspaper owners very
rich many of these earliest media Moguls
as they came to be called got rich from
selling Scandal filled newspapers to the
public in the 1890s newspaper owners
William Randolph Hurst and Joseph pzer
engaged in a bitter intense rivalry
their respective papers hurst's New York
Journal and polter's New York World
competed for readers by emphasizing
sensationalism in their reporting really
epitomizing the style of yellow
journalism their immense readership and
financial wealth gave them significant
power and influence over American
politics Hurst in particular is believed
to have helped push the United States
into war with Spain through exaggerated
and sensationalized coverage of Spanish
atrocities in Cuba all covered extensive
in his
newspaper yet the other Legacy of the
yellow press that is often forgotten is
that amid the drive to sell copies with
dramatic stories they also created the
roots of investigative journalism that
is news that investigates powerful
institutions like companies or
government officials to expose
corruption illegal actions and abuse of
power from the 1890s to the 1920s
reform-minded journalists carried out
major investigations of wealthy and
Powerful companies and
industrialists as they were out digging
for the truth they earned the nickname
muckrakers many of these mck raker
journalists were published in news
magazines like Harper or mlar popular
Progressive news magazines that sought
to expose corruption their serialized
Publications were also turned into
bestselling
books in 1906 Muk rcking journalist
Upton Sinclair exposed unsafe and horrid
working conditions in America's meat
packing
industry his reports were first
published in the popular socialist
newspaper appeal to reason and later
compiled into his book The Jungle which
became a best seller among the public
Sinclair's investigative journalism
raised public outcry putting pressure on
the US government which then passed laws
for greater workplace safety and better
working conditions in
factories in 1902 journalist Ida Tarbell
writing in mcc's magazine exposed the
ruthless and illegal business tactics of
John D Rockefeller the richest man in
America who owned the Standard Oil
Company her work was all the more
impressive given the time when few women
worked as journalists or in other
professions her investigations of the
Standard Oil company which was nicknamed
the octopus for its heavy control of the
oil industry and financial influence
over Congress led to such widespread
public outcry that the US government
declared the standard oril company an
illegal Monopoly and in 1911 broke it up
into 34 different
companies amid the yellow journalism of
the penny press there existed a growing
demand for a more professional newspaper
that reported information that was
useful to merchants professionals and
businessmen so in 1896 Adolf Oaks
purchased the New York Times a newspaper
founded in the 1850s and he rebuilt the
paper around providing highquality
substantial and accurate reporting to
distance his papers reporting from the
yellow press Oaks is New York Times
intentionally avoided Sensational
headlines and favored documented
fact-based reporting the times wrote
about Foreign Affairs business business
deals Court reports political
developments as well as things like
theater and book reviews targeting an
upscale well-educated
readership the New York Times under
Oak's leadership pioneered this new
style of objective journalism in which
reporters focus on facts and Analysis
relegating opinion to a special oped or
opinion
section this objective model follows the
inverted pyramid style of Journalism
putting facts and information first and
answering the who what when where how or
why in the beginning of the article
followed by less important details or
analysis building a reputation for
accuracy and Prestige the New York Times
became known as the paper of record
meaning historians archist lawyers and
others use the paper as a daily
reference for important stories of a
given day in history today the times is
the most prestigious newspaper in the US
us and one of the most influential news
organizations in the world covering us
and Global News it remains known as the
paper of record I myself start most days
out by reading the New York Times
although online in digital
form no matter what you're interested in
you're likely to find something about it
in the newspaper
[Music]
by the mid 1900s most newspapers had
taken on the objective style of
reporting trying to appeal to the
growing middle class other mass media
media like radio and TV would provide
the drama and Intrigue that yellow
journalism once offered leaving
newspapers to focus more on news
reporting journalism as a profession
also experienced a kind of Golden Era
while journalists of the past often saw
themselves as merely reporting the words
and information from officials
journalists in the 1960s and 1970s
increasingly took on major
investigations and started to see their
role as a check on the power
powerful perhaps the most famous story
among investigative journalism is
Watergate the Scandal that took down a
US
president when two young City reporters
for the Washington Post Bob Woodward and
Carl Bernstein heard about a break-in at
the Democratic party national
headquarters at the Watergate Hotel they
began what would turn into a three-year
investigation which found that President
Richard Nixon a republican had paid a
group of men to to break into the
Democratic party national headquarters
at night in order to try to steal their
election strategy and dig up dirt on the
Democrats so that Nixon could try to win
reelection in a televised farewell last
night President Nixon acknowledged that
because of the Watergate Affair he no
longer has a strong enough base in
Congress to continue with any
Effectiveness he and his family are
expected to leave by air for their home
in California later this morning and we
expect to see their departure from the
White House I'm Barbara Walters with Jim
Harts good morning good morning Jim and
we will have uh full of details on this
momentous story in just a moment a story
that many of us are still having trouble
believing actually
occurred here is part of what the
president said in his resignation speech
last
night I have never been a
quitter to leave office before my ter is
completed is abhorent to every Instinct
in my
body but as president I must put the
interests of America
First
therefore I shall resign the presidency
effective at noon
tomorrow President Nixon was forced to
resign in disgrace over the Scandal and
to this day is the only US president
forced from Office the Fearless
journalism of Woodward and Bernstein was
portrayed in the 1976 Academy
award-winning film All the President's
Men
Woodward Burstein you're both on the
story I don't
up Redford I'm Bob Woodward of the
Washington Post Mr Markham are you here
in connection with the Watergate
burglary I'm not
here Hoffman hi this is Carl barnstein
of the Washington Post and I was just
wondering if you can remember
All the President's Men the story of the
two young reporters who cracked the
Watergate
conspiracy part of watergate's legacy is
that today the word gate is often used
to Signal a scandal from the serious to
the silly like deflate Gate Bridge gate
gamergate and many
others while Americans would turn to
television for much of their national
news in the second half of the 20th
century newspapers remained the better
Rock of American journalism especially
at the local
level yet starting in the early 2000s
newspaper started losing major sources
of their revenue in a process called the
Craigslist effect to understand what
happened let's first explain the revenue
model for
newspapers you can think of a newspaper
as a kind of bundle a little bit of
everything a newspaper would have local
National and international news sure but
it would also have a whole bunch of
other stuff a sport section travel
guides home decor tips relationship
advice a pending columns and so much
more local newspapers functioned as a
kind of informational hub for their
communities birth wedding and death
announcements classified where people
could pay a fee and list an apartment
for rent or job listing put uh putting
up real estate for sale you name it
newspapers even offered a way to find a
date with classified sections like men
seeking women or women seeking men you
could pay by the line to put in a little
self- advertisement hoping to win a date
something like adventurous 30-year-old
self-employed single male looking for
funloving woman enjoys walks by the
beach hopeless romantic must love
cats so in 1999 Craig new Mark created
Craigslist a website where people could
for free post classifi apartments for
rent jobs Furniture electronics and yes
dating and romantic encounters too my
next guest may have the biggest idea of
all it was a website that changed the
lives of tens of millions of people some
folks even say he could be bringing down
the entire newspaper industry I love
guys like this the founder of Craigslist
Craig Newark welcome to big idea sir how
are you man hey I'm great glad to be
here but I want to S the point you do
your initial what would you call it
initially what were you doing what you
were launching what would you call it
initially it was just a little bit of an
a mailing list for events involving
technology and arts okay how does it
what I don't understand is how you okay
you're this guy and you're this kind of
interesting you know computer guy you do
this thing a little bit of a mailing
list for when did it start to become the
Everyman classified section for
apartments for jobs for girlfriends I
mean that's a that's a big gap in our
case there's been no single t uh Tipping
Point at the end of 97 when it was just
me I noticed that I was getting about a
million page views per month uh the
folks at Microsoft sidewalk now defunct
asked me about running banner ads I said
no by the way and decided not to uh but
it's been slow continuous growth you've
got the newspaper industry that their
their classified revenues are down 36%
some could look at you and say you're
going to take down newspapers that
basically newspapers are going to I want
to put something on your shoulds
newspapers going to go away because of
this crazy uh you know iconic class this
this guy who doesn't care about making
money and he's going to bring it to the
people and we're going to bring
newspapers crashing down because their
entire Revenue stream is built on
classified Craigslist was just one of
many new totally free websites and web
platforms that would take away the
revenue sources for
newspapers so the Craig effect refers to
how the internet with its extremely low
or free cost of production would kind of
unbundle the newspaper and really take
away many of its key sources of AD
Revenue the second wave of Revenue loss
came with the emergence of social media
platforms like Facebook many local
businesses depended on newspapers for
their advertisements but today
businesses of any size can easily and
more cheaply put ads on social media
platforms like Facebook or on websites
through Google's
AdSense to survive in the digital age
many newspapers have created pay walls
for their online news content which
enable people to read either five or 10
free articles per month but then require
a paid
subscription while this has helped some
papers create a new digital Revenue
model many papers just can't convince
enough people to actually pay for a
subscription
All In All by the 2010s local newspapers
were losing money and many were going
out of business this continues to be a
really worrisome Trend as local
newspapers create upwards of 50% of all
original news reporting in the United
States we're also seeing a new worrisome
Trend news
deserts these are us counties with just
one or no local
newspaper there are many in ative and
exciting new forms of Journalism and
news reporting online like utilizing
amateur shot video for Rapid on theg
ground coverage or interactive forms of
data journalism through things like
infographics these all help tell
complicated stories for the public and
many national and international news
sources are actually thriving also given
the large amount of false and often
misleading information that thrives on
social media many prestigious news
organizations like the New York Times
And The Washington Post are actually
doing quite well with millions of
digital subscribers willing to pay for
fact-based highquality
journalism yet as any local reporter
will tell you local journalism isn't a
kind of Crisis and there's no clear
solution in sight will people be willing
to pay for local digital news
stories ultimately without local
newspapers and reporters to cover local
business and government we could be
facing a new era of high levels of
corruption and abuses of power gone
unreported and we could also see a
continued decline in local Civic
engagement
[Music]
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