Newspapers

1
Newspapers

• Reflection of a Democratic Society

2
Inventing the Modern Press

• Martin Luther and John Calvin
• published newspaper-like broadsheets in the 1500s
• Newspapers first appeared in England in the
  1620s.
• Publick Occurrence
• first newspaper in the American colonies (1690)
• Boston News Letter
• first to publish multiple issues (1704)

3
Benjamin and James Franklin

• James started the New England Courant in 1721
• first newspaper published without approval of the
  British government
• 16-year-old Benjamin takes over after James is
  jailed.
• Benjamin Franklin purchased the Pennsylvania
  Gazette in 1729
• featured first political cartoon
• introduced the weather report as a regular
  feature

4
The Penny Press
Newspapers for the People

• Before 1830s, papers contained shipping news and
  political essays.
• designed primarily for the wealthy elite
• underwritten by political parties
• expensive, as much as 6 cents a day
• Average worker might make 85 cents a day
• available only by annual subscription, paid in
  advance

5

• Penny Press (cont.)
• September 3, 1833Benjamin Day begins publishing
  the New York Sun
• papers motto was It shines for all
• inexpensive, sold for a penny or two on the
  street
• derived the name penny press
• profits came primarily from advertising revenue
• invented the concept of news

6
A Modern Democratic Society

• Increase in number of papers in just a decade
• In 1830650 weeklies and 65 dailies in the United
  States
• In 18401,241 weeklies and 138 dailies
• Changes wrought by industrial revolution
• Shift from rural to urban, agricultural to
  industrial society
• People working for wages, purchasing consumer
  goods
• Penny pressprovided means for advertising these
  goods

7
Pulitzer, Hearst, and the
Battle for New York City

• Joseph Pulitzer came to the United States from
  Austria in 1864 to fight in U.S. Civil War
• in 1878, bought the St. Louis Post and Dispatch
• in 1883, bought the failing New York World
• boosted circulation from 15,000 to more than
  250,000 in 3 years
• credited with shaping the modern front page
• featured prominent stories above the fold
• reached out to women and immigrant readers
• established Pulitzer Prize

8

• William Randolph Hearst
• began career as editor of the San Francisco
  Examiner
• purchased the New York Journal
• used ideas developed by Pulitzer in his paper
• fierce battle between Pulitzer and Hearst
• Yellow journalismshocking, sensationalistic
  reporting derived from the Pulitzer-Hearst
  rivalry
• name derived from popular Yellow Kid comic
• featured in both Pulitzers and Hearsts papers.

9
The Newspaper Business

• Newspaper Conglomerates
• 1,500 daily newspapers
• down 25 percent from 100 years ago
• Chainscorporations that control a significant
  number of newspapers or other media outlets
• Before World War II80 percent of newspapers were
  owned independently
• Today80 percent owned by chains

10

• Gannett
• chain with the largest circulation (USA Today)
• owns more than 90 daily newspapers
• combined circulation of approximately 7.3 million
  
• goals as high as 30 to 40 percent profit

11
National Newspapers

• USA Today (1982)
• McPaper serving up News McNuggets
• lost more than 800 million in first decade
• is found everywhere
• changed the look of newspapers industry-wide
• forced the industry to reconsider news priorities
• 2.3 million daily circulation

12

• The Wall Street Journal
• retains old-fashioned look
• last major paper to start using color
• uses pen-and-ink drawings over photos
• the definitive source of financial news
• heavy national and international news coverage
• daily circulation of 2 million

13

• The Christian Science Monitor (1908)
• owned by the Christian Science church
• started by Mary Baker Eddy
• started in response to yellow journalism
• appeal to the literate, concerned and moral
  citizen
• cover serious issues, especially international
  stories
• downplays news about medicine and health
• 72,000 daily circulation

14
English-Language
International Newspapers

• International Herald Tribune (1887)
• published in Paris, distributed in 180 countries
• Financial Times
• owned by Pearson companies
• primarily a business newspaper
• The Wall Street Journal
• publishes European and Asian editions

15
The Metropolitan Press

• The New York Times
• most influential newspaper in United States
• 1.1 million daily subscribers
• one third of them live outside of New York City
• bought by Adolf Ochs in 1896
• nicknamed Gray Lady
• on October 16, 1997, used color photos on front
  page

16

• The Metropolitan Paper (cont.)
• The Washington Post
• Watergate created a national reputation
• reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and
  editor Bill Bradlee
• reputation tarnished by Janet Cooke
• published fictitious news story about
  eight-year-old heroin addict, Jimmy
• scandal still hangs over the paper

17

• The Metropolitan Paper (cont.)
• The Los Angeles Times
• gaining national reputation as solid paper
• mainstreamingquoting nonwhite and nonmale
  sources in stories that arent about minority
  issues
• can cause confusion with reporters
• policy established to reach out to minority
  readers

18
The Tabloids

• Tabloid newspapers
• feature 11x14 inch format
• usually have a cover rather than a front page
• Broadsheet newspapers
• feature standard 17 by 22 format
• Examples of Tabloids
• The New York Daily News
• big photos, huge headlines, sensationalistic
  stories
• January 13, 1928 cover featuring Ruth Snyders
  execution
• The Denver Rocky Mountain News
• covered Columbine school shooting extensively

19
Community and Suburban Papers

• Community pressweekly and daily newspapers
  serving individual communities or suburbs
• rely on Web presence
• 1,100 daily, 1,200 nondaily community papers in
  United States
• loyal readers
• stories not being covered nationally

20
News and Society

• News characteristics
• timeliness
• proximity
• prominence
• consequence
• rarity
• human interest

21

• News and Society (cont.)
• Sources, advertisers and readers
• editors increasingly looking to appeal to
  advertisers
• surrounding news stories with similar ads
• Patriotism and the press
• 200692 journalists have died in Iraq since March
  2003
• 2006 alone32 killed in Iraq, 23 internationally
• targets deliberately murdered (Daniel Pearl)

22
The Alternative Press

• Alternative papersserve specialized audiences
• Freedoms Journal (1827)
• Black citizens were humans who were being
  treated unjustly
• North Star (1847)
• Frederick Douglass, editor
• pushed for end of slavery, black rights
• Chicago Defender (1905)
• profit as well as advocacy
• urged southern blacks to move north

23

• The Gay Press
• The Washington Blade (1969)
• promotes gay causes, highlights problems
• Gay City News (New York City)
• purchased by a straight-owned company in 2002
• targeted a gay audience for profit, no longer for
  only the promotion of gay culture
• Underground Papers
• attract young people
• being bought up by chains

24
The Future of Newspapers

• Are newspapers a dying medium?
• major urban papers losing circulation, staff
  cutbacks
• afternoon papers first casualty historically
• Falling circulation figures
• in 2005, circulation fell 2.6 percent for dailies
  
• it fell 3.1 percent for Sunday papers
• convenience factor still strong

25

• The future of newspapers (cont.)
• Newspapers and the Web
• breaking newsnews story that requires frequent
  updating
• Web allows for easy updating
• Breaking news online
• role of Dallas Morning News
• Oklahoma City Bombing, Clinton-Lewinsky stories
  broke online first
• advantages/problems of online publishing

26

• The future of newspapers (cont.)
• What the Web offers newspapers
• good at presenting interactive features on
  breaking news
• Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
• roughly 30 percent of people use Internet for
  news on a regular basis
• more turn to network sites rather than paper
  sites
• Importance of new technologies and formats
• podcasts
• PDA-designed versions
• blogs