Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern

Journalism

Chapter 3

“U.S. newspapers have lost readers as well as their near monopoly on classified advertising, much of which has shifted to popular Web sites like craigslist.com. By early 2010, newspapers’ advertising revenues seemed to be in freefall, along with their stock price. Industry observers began asking, ‘Can this mass medium survive much longer?’ ”

Newspapers Today

Newspapers have historically acted as chroniclers of daily life. Inform and entertain

In the digital age, the industry is losing papers and readers.

Losses raise big concerns for future of newspapers.

The Early History of American Newspapers

Colonial papers Benjamin Harris: Publick Occurrences (1690) Benjamin Franklin: Pennsylvania Gazette

(1729) John Peter Zenger and the Popular Party: the

New-York Weekly Journal (1733)

Partisan Press

Critiqued government Disseminated views of different political parties

that sponsored newspapers Offered updates on markets Reported ship cargoes from Europe Directed at wealthy, educated readers Evolved into modern:

Editorial pages Business sections

Penny Press

1833—Benjamin Day’s New York Sun Local events, scandals, police reports, serialized

stories Blazed the trail for celebrity news Fabricated stories

Human-interest stories Ordinary individuals facing extraordinary

challenges Success spawned wave of penny papers.

Changing Business Models

1835—James Gordon Bennett’s New York Morning Herald Bennett first U.S. press baron, completely

controlled paper’s content World’s largest daily paper at the time Targeted middle- and working-class readers

Penny papers increased reliance on ad revenue.

News Wire Services

Commercial and cooperative organizations Relayed news stories around world by telegraph Began with Associated Press (AP) in 1848 Later used radio waves, digital transmissions

Increased speed of news distribution Set the stage for modern U.S. journalism

Provided more people greater access to information

Yellow Journalism

Pulitzer and Hearst Overly dramatic

Crimes, Celebrities, Scandals, Disaster, Intrigue Exposed Corruption

In business and government Developed elements of modern journalism

Investigative reporting Advice columns Feature stories Journalism awards

Competing Models of Print Journalism in 1800s

Story-driven model Dramatized important events Characterized penny papers, yellow press

“The facts” model Favored impartial approach Characterized six-cent papers

Objectivity in Modern Journalism

Ochs and The New York Times, 1896 Distanced itself from yellow journalism Focused on documentation of major

events Attracted more affluent readership

through marketing Lowered price to a penny, attracting

middle-class readers

Objectivity in Modern Journalism (cont.)

Inverted-pyramid style Developed by Civil War correspondents Answered who, what, where, when, why, how

first (top) Placed less significant details later (bottom)

Limits of objectivity Prevents readers from obtaining a fuller

picture of events

Interpretive Journalism

Explains key issues or events Places news in broader historical or social

context Developed partly in response to poor

reporting of causes of World War I Provides more analysis than objective

model

Lippmann and interpretive journalism

Press should remain objective but also 1) Supply facts for the current record 2) Give analysis 3) Suggest plans on the basis of both

Timeline Began in 1920s Debate over role of newspapers and

radio,1930s Op-ed pages become popular in 1950s

Literary (New) Journalism Fictional storytelling techniques applied to

nonfictional material Timeline

Originated in 1930s–40s Gained popularity in 1960s (Rolling Stone)

Journalists working in this tradition include: Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, Hunter

Thompson, Jon Krakauer, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

Technology Age Changes

USA Today (1982) First newspaper to use color Mimics broadcast by using brief news

items Writers use present tense for

immediacy

Online Technology Changes

Online journalism reshapes news process Readers find news through sites like

Google Real time updates Stories stay in public eye longer Trivial stories get more emphasis

Categorizing News And U.S. Newspapers

Smaller local papers Focus on consensus Promote social, economic harmony in community Publish weekly Use consensus-oriented journalism

Regional and national papers Use conflict-oriented journalism Front-page news defined as events, issues, or

experiences deviating from social norms

Ethnic and Minority Newspapers

African American Freedom’s Journal (1827–1829), Amsterdam News,

Chicago Defender Spanish language

New York’s El Diario–La Prensa merged with Los Angeles’ La Opinión to create ImpreMedia.

Asian American Sing Tao Daily serves Chinese immigrants nationwide.

Ethnic and Minority Newspapers (cont.)

Native American Cherokee Phoenix (1828), Native American

Times Arab American

Arab American News, Aramica

The Underground Press

Inspired by socialists, intellectuals from 1930s, 1940s New wave of critics and artists in the 1960s

Mid to late 1960s saw explosion in alternative newspapers Critiqued government and social institutions Challenged mainstream depictions of news Village Voice: most enduring alternative paper

Economics: Money In

Majority of revenues derived from advertising Large dailies devote one-half to two-thirds of

pages to ads. Ads range from expensive full-page spreads

to classifieds. Newshole refers to space left for front-page

news, regional stories, features.

Economics: Money Out

Salaries and wages for staff Economic downturn and industry consolidation

have caused layoffs Staff expected to do more jobs

Independent bureaus are closing

Wire services Feature syndicates

Challenges Facing Newspapers

Declining readership Decreasing number of cities with

competing daily newspapers Joint operating agreements (JOA)

Newspaper chains Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

multinational Congress exploring nonprofit models to

keep papers alive

Challenges Facing Newspapers (cont.)

Going digital By 2010, more newspapers moving bulk of

operation online, while dramatically decreasing news staff

Some print papers folding Rising blogs

Now considered major source of news that rivals print papers

Competing citizen journalists

Newspapers in a Democratic Society

The survival of a free press is not certain As more newspapers fold or consolidate, what

will fill this void? Where will citizens outside of the mainstream

obtain information vital to them? How will diverse opinions and ideas be heard?

“…Reporting is absolutely an essential thing for democratic self-government. Who’s going to do it? Who’s going to pay for the news? If newspapers fall by the wayside, what will we know?”*

*John Carroll, “News War, Part 3,” Frontline, PBS, February 27, 2007, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ newswar/etc/script3.html.