Comm455/History of Journalism

In the 3rd chapter of Discovering the News, Schudson discusses two types of journalism in the 1890’s that influenced the journalism standards we see today. These two types of journalism are “journalism as entertainment,” and “journalism as information.” Schudson starts out by asking two important questions about these two types of journalism. “What is it […]

During a recent class discussion,  I addressed a classroom full of peers concerning an important element of Mitchell Stephens book “A History of News.” The chapter revolved around the intricate question of whether or not news becomes better with better technologies–and if not then what exactly are we losing. Essentially, Stephens argues that from the mid twentieth century […]

The relationship between propaganda and journalism could be characterized as somewhat ambivalent. That is to say that, it is good for circulation and bad for credibility; it is great for stirring up patriotism and bad for creating a global image in the modern day.  First, it is very important to distinguish between propaganda and yellow journalism. […]

On April 24, 1704, the “Boston News-Letter” made made its debut as the first continually published newspaper in North America. It was a one page sheet printed front and back and issued weekly. A local bookseller and postmaster named John Campbell was the first publisher. The paper originally contained news mostly on Brittish news and […]

Journalists and Historians alike often attribute the rise of sensationalism to the war between Hearst and Pulitzer. For it was during this time in the late19th to early 20th centuries that newspaper editors were looking for ways to sell more papers. The story is classic: the elder Joseph Pulitzer makes something of himself by building the St. […]

                      The American Civil War was a watershed event in the history of American journalism. Mitchell Stephen’s book “A History of News” says that the “Civil war does more for the development of American Journalism than any other event.” In a war that is regarded as […]