Chapter 4 outline: Newspapers

Chapter 4
Newspapers

n  Journalism in the Making

Ø  Wrestling with commercial
interests & political powers

Ø  Evolution of free press

Ø  Battling censorship
and commercialism

Ø  Social responsibility & ethics

n  Newspapers Emerge

Ø  Corantos, early newsletters

Ø  John Milton: ‘Marketplace of ideas’

Ø  1690: 1st colonial newspaper

Ø  American publishers criticize British rule; Zenger case (1733) – Libel defined

Ø  First Amendment

n  Diversity in the Press

Ø  Newspapers reflected diverse political views

Ø  Native American press:
Cherokee Phoenix

Ø  African American press:
Freedom’s Journal,
North Star (Frederick Douglas)

n  The Penny Press

Ø  1800s: better printers

Ø  Growing literacy

Ø  New York Sun: 1st low-cost daily mass newspaper

Ø  Attracted advertisers

Ø  More content; less partisan

Ø  Rise of telegraph & AP

n  Following the Frontier

Ø  Newspapers expanded westward

Ø  Coverage of Civil War (1861-1865)

Ø  Then, ‘New journalism’

n  Lively, sensational;
crusading against corruption

n  First newspaper photos

n   

n  Yellow Journalism

Ø  Late 1800s; rivalry between publishers Pulitzer & Hearst

n  Nellie Bly’s exposés

Ø  Hearst’s Journal  pushed U.S. into war vs. Spain?

Ø  Importance of advertising

Ø  Decline in journalists’ ethics

n  Responsible Journalism

Ø  Journalism grew as respectable profession

n  By-lines

Ø  Focus on social conditions

Ø  New York Times resisted sensationalism, stressed objectivity

Ø  Muckraking exposés and the Progressive era

n  Newspapers Reach Peak

Ø  Peaked as a mass medium between 1890 and 1920

Ø  2,000 U.S. dailies in 1900

Ø  562 American cities had competing dailies in 1900

Ø  Merges & chains cut numbers

Ø  Hurt papers’ quality, diversity

n  Professional Journalism

Ø  Rise of journalism schools

Ø  World War I and II

n  Censorship

Ø  Competition from radio, TV

Ø  Fewer than 30 cities
with two newspapers

Ø  Rise in community papers

n  The Watchdogs

Ø  Journalists keeping an eye on government mistakes

Ø  Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights, Vietnam War (Pentagon Papers)

Ø  Watergate coverage led
to Nixon’s resignation

n  In the Information Age

Ø  Newspapers surviving despite economic downturn

n  Print and digital audiences are growing

n  Revenues & circulation upswing

n  Less profits than in the past

n  In the Information Age

Ø  Facing challenges

n  Ad competitors (Craig’s List)

n  Free news online (Google, blogs, Facebook)

n  Charging fees for online reading? (NYTimes)

n  Citizen journalists

n  Technology Trends

Ø  Newsgathering, CAR

Ø  Convergence

Ø  Production, printing

Ø  Online & mobile newspapers

n  Customized papers; ‘Daily Me’

n  Kindle and cell phones

n  Twitter and blogs

n  The News Landscape

Ø  Mass audiences still exist for traditional sources

Ø  Wall St. Journal and USA today

Ø  Some papers online only

Ø  Joint operating agreements

Ø  Suburban, alternative papers

Ø  News services, syndicators

n  Turning the Pages

Ø  Newspaper sections

n  International, national, local

n  Editorial and commentary

n  Sports, business, lifestyles, entertainment, comics

n  Classified advertising

Ø  Trend: less ‘hard’ news

n  News Websites, Citizen News & E-Newspapers

Ø  Mobile device usage

Ø  Newspaper websites attract 110 million visitors a month

Ø  Preference for leisurely consumption

Ø  E-readers increasing news distribution

n  Chain Ownership

Ø  Vertical integration

Ø  Local market monopolies

Ø  Buyouts, break-ups,
acquisitions, bankruptcies

Ø  Conglomerates

Ø  Citizen news, local websites

n  Are contributors journalists?

n  Media Literacy

Ø  Monopoly paper may reflect single editorial perspective

Ø  Gov’t. has relaxed ownership restrictions

Ø  Cross-ownership now OK

Ø  Joint operating agreements
may preserve newspapers

n  Freedom of Speech

Ø  Newspapers more protected
than radio or TV in U.S.

n  Can take unpopular stands

Ø  Other countries: Journalists
censored, fired, even killed

n  1,000 killed in past 10 years

n  Murder of Daniel Pearl

n  Ethics

Ø  Accuracy, objectivity

Ø  Report without favoritism

Ø  Ethics linked to credibility

Ø  Newspapers correct errors

Ø  Some reporters plagiarize
or fabricate information

Ø  Anonymous sources

n  Right to Know vs. Privacy

Ø  Treatment of public figures

n  Report private behavior?

Ø  Libel: false and defamatory

n  Private citizens protected

Ø  Tabloid journalism

n  Sensational coverage

n  Pay sources for information

n  Being a Good Watchdog

Ø  With newsroom layoffs, less investigative reporting

Ø  Blogs’ watchdog role

Ø  How to define news

Ø  Editors as gatekeepers: helping people make sense of the ‘information glut’