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Newspapers!

November 14, 2008

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HUNGRY, FRANTIC FLAMES. They Leap Madly Upon the Splendid Pleasure Palace by the Bay of Monterey, Encircling Del Monte in Their Ravenous Embrace From Pinnacle to Foundation. Leaping Higher, Higher, Higher, With Desperate Desire. Running Madly Riotous Through Cornice, Archway and Facade. Rushing in Upon the Trembling Guests with Savage Fury. Appalled and Panic-Striken the Breathless Fugitives Gaze Upon the Scene of Terror. The Magnificent Hotel and Its Rich Adornments Now a Smoldering Heap of Ashes. The "Examiner" Sends a Special Train to Monterey to Gather Full Details of the Terrible Disaster. Arrival of the Unfortunate Victims on the Morning's Train—A History of Hotel del Monte—The Plans for Rebuilding the Celebrated Hostelry—Particulars and Supposed Origin of the Fire.

The First Mass Medium ν

Renaissance Europe ν ν ν

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First English newspaper ν

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Johannes Gutenberg, 1439 Printing press Handwritten newsletters London Gazette of 1666

First newspaper in the colonies ν

Publick Occurences Both Foreign and Domestick in 1690

The Revolutionary War ν

Propaganda ν

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Keep colonists informed and focused on the goal of breaking away from England Other newspapers tried to keep the colonies loyal

Early Problems ν ν ν ν

Expensive to create Low literacy rate Propaganda No freedom of the press

Technology Improvements ν ν ν

Better printing presses Cheaper ink/paper Better photography

The Civil War ν ν

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First time reporters traveled with armies Sent back detailed reports of battles and movements Some tension with Generals ν

Why?

Yellow Journalism ν

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Journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more papers Pulitzer vs. Hearst New York - “Gilded Age” Exaggerations of Spanish cruelty in Cuba ν

Hard to say how much influence they actually had in starting the war

Muckrakers ν

Investigative reports who exposed societal issues ν

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Slums, prisons, factories, insane asylums, sweatshops, mines, child labor and food processing plants Upton Sinclair, The Jungle Ralph Nader, Unsafe At Any Speed

Modern Newspapers --Paper Raid Activity--

Discussion Questions ν

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What types of stories did your newspaper primarily cover? What sort of bias does your newspaper have? (does not have to be political)