The pressMass media during the 1900s

The penny press eraBy 1835,the united states was making newpaper history.

Newspapers had freed themselves from government control over content,and there were more newspaper readers than in any other country.

At about this point in history the average citizen was reading two or more newspapers a day.This era,commonly called the era of “the penny press”, is considered by many historians as the beginning of mass communication in the USA.

The modern beat system of news coverage, where a reporter covers specific sources, such as the police station, was also developed during this period.

Many of the present day newspapers started during this time.

Yellow journalism eraAs newspapers became more successful in the late 1800s and

early 1900s, newspapers businessmen such as William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer built empires.

Competition between newspapers increased and led to the era “yellow journalism”.

Although yellow journalism generally has to do with an era of sensationalism, where crime, social scandals, and sex are used to sell papers, the term really refers to a comic strip- one of the first to appear in any newspaper.

The comic strip appeared in Pulitzer’s new York world newspaper and included a character called the yellow kid,printed in yellow ink..

During this time, Hearst and Pulitzer used their papers to promote their own causes and attack their enemies.

Hearst and pulitzer

Competition among newspapers

Yellow press

More newspapers

Ad and the yellow kid

Jazz journalism eraThe yellow journalism era was followed by the era of “jazz

journalism”.This started in 1920, when Hearst and Pulitzer extended yellow

journalism into tabloid journalism with an enphasis on sex, violence,muerder.and celebrity affairs.(tabloid newspapers are generally half the size of a normal newspaper.)

Popular ads of the day were for soaps and various creams, ointment,and tonics that would supposedly cure about anything.

Papers used screaming headlines, large photos, and short,punchy texts to persuade readers.

The original tabloids put a heavy emphasis on blood. However, when supermarket sales became a major outlet,this was replaced by more acceptable fare:”tearjerker”stories,celebrity gossip,psychic tales, religious anecdotes,and various bizarre accounts.

Responsible journalism eraAfter the era of jazz journalism many people

were ready for more correct and responsible news reporting

A man called Alolph Ochs believed that a newspaper didn’t have to resort to sensational crimeand sex to sell papers.He bought the New York times and told readers that his paper would change.

After that,some other new York papers followed him and the era of “responsible journalism”started.

Watergate scandal In 1972 the president Richard Nixon had won the reelection in this

year.As he began his second term, it seems that everything went right but

suddenly things changed. Nixon’s troubles began during the 1972 campaign.

The democratic party had its headquarters in a building in washington D.C called Watergate.

One night five of Nixon’s assistants stole important documents containing information of the opposite party.

The men were arrested for burglary but Nixon never admitted knowing about this.

Many people thought that Nixon knew about this and was covering the truth.

He was taken to court and was accused of hiding information.After all this trouble, he had to resign and vice president Ford

replaced him.

Tv and radioBy the 1960s, radio and tv news had cut into

the circulation of newspapers.TV also changed readership patterns.Before tv,most people picked up their afternoon newspaper after work.Now they turn on tv news at this time and prefer to read a morning newspapers over breakfast.

Consequently, the afternoon newspaper lost favor.

Pentagon papers The Pentagon Papers were top-secret documents detailing the decisions and

policies behind the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (1965-1973). The government knew that bringing this information to light would undermine

the public's confidence in their government . Feeling that the public had a right to know what went on behind the scenes of the war, The New York Times announced that they were going to publish the Pentagon Papers. Daniel Ellsberg, who helped write this exhaustive, top-secret study for the government, had tried to get the report to the Times. His efforts to get these papers to the New York Times, and the government's efforts to find and stop him, represented a vicious cat and mouse game for many weeks. Ellsberg was finally able to get the papers to a reporter, but he was subsequently arrested for treason, which can carry the death penalty.

Fortunately for him, the government had resorted to illegal and highly questionable activities in perusing him, and when this came out during the trial, the judge threw out the charges.

Both the New York Times and The Washington Post then published Pentagon Papers. While this was a victory for freedom of the press, the revelations undermined the public's confidence in pursuing this ill-fated war -- a war which in essence we ended up losing

Mass media as fourth state The mass media are often criticized by left-wing critics of reproducing the

dominant burgeous culture. From the political-economic point of view,they are criticized for representing the

interest of the owners. However,from the perspective of other researchers,the mass media are often

seen as fulfilling the important role of fourth estate,the guardians of democracy,defenders of the public interest. Carlyle was the first person who talked about the fourth estate.He said that the press was the new fourth estate,added to the three existing estates running the country:priesthood,aristocracy and commons.

The german philosopher Habermas said that a public sphere was between society and the state,and that the public organizes itself as the bearer(portador)of public opinion.

Habermas has seen the public sphere as an area of informed,public and reasoned debate,to which the emergence of independent press was crucial.

However,after the first half of the 19th century,the situation changed:the public sphere became dominated by strong state and a press which represented organized economic interest.The media became the manipulator of public opinion, giving the public the role of passive spectators and consumers.