History of American Journalism. Benjamin Harris 1690 First newspaper published in America Publick Occurrences was the paper Only one edition printed.

History of American Journalism

Benjamin Harris 1690

• First newspaper published in America• Publick Occurrences was the paper• Only one edition printed

John Peter Zenger 1734

• Newspaper editor put on trial for criticism of government • His acquittal forms the basis of the 1st Amendment and

our right to argue against our leaders in print

Stamp Act 1765

• Decree by the King of England• Established tax on newspaper per page• Result was the increase of size for papers

Penny Press 1833

• Benjamin Day sold his newspaper for 1 penny• New York Sun gained a large circulation

Associated Press 1848

• Telegraph wire allows for a network of papers• This network forms the basis of the modern AP wire

service still crucial in journalism

James Gordon Bennett

• 1860 his New York Herald becomes the largest selling newspaper in the world

• Established the use of “beat reporters” crucial in his success

Joseph Pulitzer 1883

• His paper the New York World is first to use cartoons and regular sports coverage

• Greatly broadens the appeal of papers and its readership

William Randolph Hearst

• 1895 most notorious example of yellow journalism• Helps to push America into the Spanish American War• “You provide the pictures, I’ll provide the war”• Famous for his controversial and sensational journalism

style

Adolph Ochs

• Editor in 1896 of the New York Times who made the famous paper

• His motto was “ONLY THE NEWS FIT TO PRINT”• Established an objective style of reporting that was the

standard for a century in America

KDKA Nov. 2, 1920

• First commercial broadcast use of the radio• Pittsburgh, Pa (still on the air)• Covered the presidential race

Radio Press War 1930-34

• Conflict between radio and papers over content access• Government stepped in and demanded that newspaper

share information with radio news• Result was that papers began to establish their own radio

stations

Dorothy Day 1933

• Established the Catholic Worker• Famous for a new style of journalism called “crusading”

in which her paper fought injustice with its stories

Dewey Defeats Truman

• Most famous error in newspaper history• Chicago Tribune printed the wrong winner in the election

of 1948• Highlights the rush to report the news first which is even

worse today

Edward Murrow

• Tv journalist for CBS• Set the gold standard for excellence• Featured in a recent film entitled Good Night and Good

Luck - his signature sign off

Village Voice

• The original alternative paper established in New York’s Greenwich Village

• Presented a different perspective and featured marginalized figures

Walter Cronkite

• CBS TV anchor for over two decades starting in 1962• Covered the assasination of JFK• His shift about the Vietnam War swayed much of

America

NPR and PBS

• Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 eventually led to the establishment of these two important public networks

• PBS has set the standard for children’s programming• NPR remains one of the few viable radio news outlets

60 Minutes

• First TV news magazine show in primetime• Became the most popular show in America in 1981 and

throughout much of the 1980s• Made TV news a VERY profitable form of programming

and led to 20/20 , 48 Hours, Dateline, etc

Watergate Scandal

• 1972-1973 the Washington Post did a series of articles on President Nixon’s involvement

• Defined the style known as “Investigative Journalism”• Inspired a generation of youngsters to go into reporting• Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein admired for not

backing down even to the president

CNN

• First 24 hour news source• Creates a desire for up to the minute reporting

USA Today

• Established in 1982 as a national paper• Highly visual – with lots of color and graphics so more

like tv• Gains a huge circulation through its placement in hotels

and McDonald chains

Worldwideweb 1993

• Creates a new outlet for immediate news• Allows consumers to begin to contribute to the news• Changes the economic model for delivering the news

FOX news

• The main news source fo conservatives• Shifts news from objectivity toward a clear and

transparent stance on issues/politics• Offers more opinion than factual reporting as a 24 hour

news outlet

Blogging 1999

• Creates a new source of information• Allows people to be “citizen journalists”• Often comments on news provided by traditional media

Daily Show 2003

• “Fake news” – a show on Comedy Central that satirizes people in the news and other news sources

• Won 18 Emmys over the past decade• Very popular among young viewers and a main source of

news for many college students

The Year the Paper Died

• 2009 over 100 newspapers go out of business• Caused by economic downturn and losses in both

circulation and advertising revenue