... at least, these are highlights according to me. We may not get a chance to discuss all of this in class, but if it's here, it could be on the midterm. I'm just saying.
Newspapers:
Inklings of Free Speech in the colonies: John Peter Zenger beats the “seditious libel” rap in 1735
Penny Press, NY Sun, 1833: Supported by advertising, the “news hole” is determined by how much advertising got sold.
The AP is created in 1848. Cause: The telegraph (introduced 1844). Effect: “Objectivity” in journalism. (Also: Timely national news everywhere.)
The Civil War gives us the byline (Union Army wants to know who wrote what: Big Brother is watching!) and the inverted pyramid. (Transmitting stories over telegraph wires that could go down any time means: Get the essentials as quickly as possible, so if the line goes down, you at least got the Five Ws in there.)
1890s: Yellow Journalism-- William Randolph Hearst gives us color comics, half-tone photos, and the Spanish-American War. (“You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”)
1890s & 19-aughts: “The Quality Press”: NY Times (1896), Wall Street Journal (1889), Christian Science Monitor (1908)
1923: American Society of Newspaper Editors and the “Canons of Journalism”: Responsibility; Freedom of the Press; Independence; Sincerity, truthfulness, accuracy; Impariality; Fair Play; Decency.
Newspaper chains—starts in the 19th Century (Hearst, Scripps, et al). 80 percent chain ownership when the textbook comes out. 2006, Gannett buys Florida State University’s student newspaper.
Types of newspapers, according to our book: Dailies (local, national); weeklies; alternative papers; “ethnic” press.
Newsroom diversity and chain ownership: Are these still relevant questions?
Magazines:
Blow up in the late 19th Century, boosted by several trends—three of them government policies:
1. Public education—more people can read
2. Postage Act of 1879 lowers shipping costs—for magazines!—to a penny a pound: Selling subscriptions to individuals becomes viable.
3. Rural Free Delivery: Even if you live in the sticks, you can get mail—including magazines.
4. Magazines discover the lesson of the Penny Press: The profits come from advertisers, not consumers. (Later, radio and TV extend this—the content is free to consumers.)
Magazines rule—they are the national media for a few decades (1890s until the 1920s). Then radio kicks their ass. The penny-press model stops working so well for the biggest mags—Life, Saturday Evening Post—because the advertisers have moved on to broadcast. (Without enough ads, they lose money on every copy.) But it takes decades for them to actually fold.
Special Interest Magazines: Latina, Filipinas, Latvian Dimensions, Lefthander. You can’t get this anywhere else (attracts readers)—and you can’t get this group of readers anywhere else (attracts specific advertisers).
Editorial Independence:
Advertisers call the shots: Ask for “complementary copy,” and expect generally sympathetic treatment
Sources/subjects call the shots: Stars want to approve photos, layout—and even the copy.
OK? Not OK? Say why…
Hmmm....I commented on here a minute ago and I guess it didn't post? Strange.
ReplyDeleteI dislike the idea of a star or celebrity being able to having power in the editing process. I just think that they are the subject, not the editors. I find it to be an overstepping of boundaries. Also, there is potential for those of greater influence (stars, celebrities, politicians, etc.) to edit out content which would make them look bad and hence alter the impact of the story on readers. Its not possible for a person to have a subjective view of themselves as, say, an editor could.
With that being said, although I dislike this idea I understand it. Journalists and media professionals can increase their likelihood of having 'important' or relevant connections in the future by playing nice with the person they interviewed or photographed.