Comm455/History of Journalism

Coffeehouses in London in the 18th century were the prominent form of spoken news. Each coffeehouse even had its own individual focus — from politics, to art, and even shipping news. One particular shop, Lloyd’s, remains standing even today. Albeit with a very different purpose. In the late 17th century, Lloyd’s attracted ship officers, traders, merchants, […]

Sensationalism has manifested in multiple forms of journalism over time.  In the 1830s, there were the penny papers.  In the 1880s and 1890s, it shown through in the yellow journals.  In the 1920s, tabloids became dominant in sensationalist use. Each of these forms of journalism utilized sensationalistic tactics to cater to and draw their audiences […]

100 years ago, Lake County Independent was the local newspaper that predominantly covered news for Lake County, Illinois. In the early 1900’s, these newspapers were much simpler than today’s. Local news were really local. So much so that the sample of newspapers were only a few pages long, and it seems to talk about people […]

War reporting sets public opinion ablaze. “You furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war.”— William Randolph Hearst And thus, war reporting was born. The American public is bombarded with war reports. Some call for protests, others for support and all call for attention. The weapon of choice in this information war is photographs, or photojournalism to be more precise. […]

A morning glory, hold up, armed robbery and a passing of the note are all common ways that criminals rob people. Moreover it was the “traditional way” that criminals robbed people. That is until technology exploded and transactions as we know it of purchasing in brick-and-mortar are gearing more towards online shopping and even online […]

The big stories of the weekend included the disappearance and death of actress Misty Upham and the finding of human remains in the case of the missing University of Virginia student, Hannah Graham. Upham has been confirmed dead while the human remains are tested for relation to Graham. Upham was a Native American actress most […]

On this day in history in 1947, Congress began its investigation into Communist influence in Hollywood in what was known as the beginning of the “Red Scare.” The Cold War was heating up and the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union were becoming increasingly suspicious of each other’s motives. In Washington, conservatives […]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/07/world/ebola-virus-q-and-a/ There has been so much talk of the deadly virus Ebola. Many people think that if Ebola spreads in the U.S., it will destroy the country. People also bring up the fact that it will be worse than AIDS. Surprisingly, some people think that if the U.S. bans flights from Liberia, that would prevent Ebola from […]

On January 1, 1777, Journal de Paris became the first French daily newspaper. Its founders modeled it after the London Evening Post, in hopes of creating similar success and increasing the velocity of information and news in the community. The stories covered each day ranged, but were often focused on reporting literary news, evening shows […]

The Cable News Network, or CNN as it is colloquially known is an American cable and satellite news channel owned by the Turner Broadcasting System. Founded in 1980, the network is known for being the first ever 24-hour news channel. CNN has centers in New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, but primarily broadcasts […]

Objectivity is a term that arose in the field of journalism in the early 20th century, when journalist bias first started to come into question. Objectivity appeared as an extension of the realist thought that appeared in the late 19th century. Realism presented the idea that journalists should simply discover and report the facts, and the truth would […]

  Sensationalism has existed as long as sex and conflict. Today, we see the media sensationalizing all kinds of stories, from Anthony Weiner’s scandal to Kim Kardashian’s wedding photos. Unfortunately, it seems sensationalism in the media has gotten to a point of nausea. While there is a plethora of exaggeration and silliness, sensationalism does serve […]