Comm455/History of Journalism

Professor Steve Klein is a professor of journalism at George Mason University who has worked as a journalist, media consultant, and sports content specialist during his lengthy career in the field. He specializes in cross-platform communication and has served as coordinator for the Electronic Journalism minor. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, […]

On Tuesday, May 29th 1453, after a seven-week siege, the city of Constantinople, then under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire, fell to Ottoman forces commanded by 21-year old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed. Mehmend defeated the army of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos who was 28 years his senior. The city’s fall marked the end […]

Corporations like Verizon and Pepsi Co. are creating their own news sites to promote their agendas and are using trendy site names like SugarString and GreenLabel to make the outlets seem like alternative online news sources. Both companies have contracted popular magazine called Complex Media to create and run the sites for them. The sites […]

On September 11, 1714, after 14 months of siege, Barcelona fell to Spanish forces fighting for the Borbon king Phillip V; thus sealing the fate of the, then independent, Principality of Catalonia as one of Spain’s conquered communities. Following years of industrialization and rapid economic growth, in 1913 Catalonia was able to assert itself and […]

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 […]

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 […]

  Thomas Paine was an influential British American political theorist who authored one of the most influential essays in American history known as Common Sense. The pamphlet, written in 1776, inspired Patriots to declare independence from Britain. His ideas were entrenched in Enlightenment-era classical liberalism and were the prevailing ideology behind the patriotic cause.   […]

Once upon a time, in the early 1920’s, 40 percent of the radio stations in the United States were operated by non-profit, non-commercial broadcasters. New kids on the block, NBC and CBS decided that this was not good for their profit-model, so they pressured Congress to regulate the airwaves. Congress, ever receptive to corporate interests, […]

Cylinder seals were used by the ancient Mesopotamians to press cuneiform writing onto clay tablets and were the precursor to moveable type. They were invented around 3500 BC in the city of Susa, what is now modern day southwest Iran. The cylinders were used as an administrative tool for officiating documents. A person’s seal was […]

The Gazette van Detroit or the “Newspaper of Detroit” is America’s “only Belgian paper.” But that doesn’t mean it isn’t popular. The Gazette has a loyal readership of Flemish subscribers in the America and Belgium alike. The paper started its weekly distribution in 1914 in Detroit, Michigan and later became a biweekly and monthly publication. […]