MMC-2000 Lecture Notes - Fall 2015 Lecture 5 - Muckraker, Gannett Company, New York Journal-American
Free Press foundations
So “the press” is protected: why does this matter? Why is a press important?
Not an issue before the 17th century
Printers required church and gov’t funds
John Milton pamphlet for puritan view on divorce, they wouldn’t print it, wrote Areopagitica,
1644, which laid out what would become philosophical foundation for freedom of the press
Self-righting principle/market place of ideas, truth is self-evident, all ideas should be
shared and the best ones will be accepted by people
Censorship shows doubt in the truth, truth will not prevail if put up against lies
Anyone’s ideas should be shared
Influences founding fathers and stuff, philosophical basis for 1st amendment
Communication Act of 1934 requires broadcast to act in “public interest (FCC as the police)
Why is a free press crucial in democracy?
Press as 4th estate
Medieval world, 3 estates were nobility, clergy, commoners
The people’s eyes and ears in the gov.
Public information to participate in gov.
Protect people from gov.
Social responsibility theory
During WW2, scare of how mass media spread fascism, thought that or communism may come
to US
If press does its job, this shouldn’t be a fear, truth will prevail
Hutchins commission, pamphlet written about what press should do to prevent this
A suggestion of how things should be, special protection provided to the press in 1947
“The Press” is also a business
Competing interests/purposes
Brief history of Newspapers
Acta Diurna (1st century Rome)
“Acts of the Day”
Read in a public square, sometimes tacked up, who was getting married, wars, games
First newspaper, sorta
First to recognize that every day events in a culture were important to the citizens
Corantos and diurnals (17th century England)
Corantos – handout, printed in Holland in English, told English people (mostly businessmen)
what was up in Dutch Empire, for trade purposes
Diurnals – mid 17th century in London, weekly usually, mostly shipping info, sometimes political
Colonial Press - late 17th to mid-18th century
Publick Occurrences, both Foreign and Domestick, by Harris in Boston
Colonial gov, shipping, indian relations
Not to print every day, pass along readership, end up in bars or taverns
Back page was left blank to be written on, update it
Only able to publish it once, since one story criticized colonial gov, out of business
Boston News-Letter - 1704
First sustained newspaper
John Campbell – postmaster of Boston, tended to be a snoop, read almost every letter
that came in, government position
Very dry, informational, focused on business people and property owners
Boston Gazette – 1719
William Booker
Second sustainable newspaper
First example of media competition, appeal to readers, competition for stories, multiple
voices now heard
Different perspective
New England courant - 1721
James Franklin
Document Summary
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