COMS 200 – February 11 th
READING NOTES (Lecture notes to follow)
The New Journalism – Michael Schudson
The emergence of reporting played off against the industrialization of the
newspaper
In New York, most papers were direct descendants of the Penny Press
The World and The Journal represented “the new journalism”
o They both chose to be entertaining
The Penny Press chose to be factual
When telling stories is taken to be the role of the newspaper, journalism has
an “aesthetic” function
Election results, stock market value emphasize “the truth value of news”
Enjoyability and consummatory value is what is most important for most
papers
News serves to create satisfying aesthetic experiences for readers to
interpret their own lives and relate them to the nation they belong to
According to Mead:
o Previous description of news (above) is the proper function of
newspapers
o Newspaper acts as a guide to living by selecting and framing facts
Alternative model
o Newspaper is uniquely defined as a genre of literature to the extent
that the facts it provides are unframed
o “Pure” information
o “Information” is a product of fully developed capitalism
o “Understandable in itself”
o Information is incompatible with story-telling
Alvin Gouldner
o News is “decontextualized” communication
o All is spelled out, nothing left to implicit or tacit understanding Informational ideal in journalism associated with
o 1 - Fairness
o 2 - Objectivity
o 3 - Scrupulous dispassion
o Information newspapers are seen as more reliable
Journalism as Entertainment: Joseph Pulitzer and The New York World
Turning point for St. Louis journalism
o Morning Globe hired Joseph McCullagh as editor
o He stressed news rather than opinion
o Concentrated on local police, court, society, and street reporting
Pulitzer bought St. Louis Post and Dispatch
o Publisher
o Editor
o Business manager
o Paper became more audacious by promoting Democratic party
o Carried statistics of trade from the Merchants’ Exchange, the produce
markets, and the waterfront
o Aims of paper: foster the development of St. Louis as a business center
and as an attractive place to live
o Pulitzer’s great innovation
Development of the newspaper crusade
Pulitzer bought the New York World
o Increased circulation immensely
o Pulitzer believed the success to be due to his editorial position
o Sold advertising space at fixed prices
Pulitzer rationalized newspapers’ business practice and the relations
between newspapers and advertisers
o This rationalization helped the World adapt to the changes in the
social organization of business
Biggest reason for the paper’s rapid circulation
o Sensationalism How extravagantly should news be displayed?
Sensationalism means self-advertisement
Everything, including news, should and could be advertising
for newspapers
Printed more ads than any other paper
Self-advertisement
o Anything about newspaper layout and policy
o Designed to attract the eye
o Illustrations
New York Daily Graphic
o First American daily to use illustrations regularly
o The fun of looking at pictures drove the Daily Graphic out of business
Self-advertisement: larger, darker headlines
o Screaming headlines often used
Melville Stone: newspaper had 3 functions
o Inform
o Interpret
o Entertain
th
Sunday papers rare in early 19 century
o Special Sunday editions with war news
Made it easier for papers to start making Sunday papers
Newspapers responded to the changing experience, perceptions, and
aspirations of urban dwellers
o Enlargement of the “entertainment” function
o Expansion of the “use-paper” rather than the newspaper tips for
urban survival
Geographic mobility daily round of movement from home to work and
back again
o Improved urban transportation
o Movement of middle-class into the suburbs
o Subways made mass suburban living possible o The poor lived in the center of the city, middle class lived farther out
Consequences of geographic mobility on newspapers
o People were no longer responsible for driving they could read on
the bus
o The World’s change to a sensational style adaptation to the needs of
commuters
Reduced page sizes
Bigger headlines
Use of pictures
Development of “lead” paragraph
COMS 200 – Lecture 15
th
February 11 – New Systems of Reportage
Penny Press
o Early 19 century: start to see Penny Press. Before that, newspaper
were expensive, targeted to people who could afford them
Political papers owned by political parties
Business pape
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