WCC COMM 101 CHAPTER FOUR-NEWSPAPERS LUTHER

1. Chapter 4
Newspapers and
Yellow Journalism

2. NEWSPAPERS
•What is the “penny press?”
• In 1833 came the introduction of one cent newspapers
(the first was The New York Sun)
• A large readership created a large audience to sell to
advertisers
• The advent of the penny press also brought along a new
kind of newspaper; one that was full of police and crime
stories, entertainment news, and human interest stories.
This is when the newspaper took a more populist turn
and less of an elite business and political approach. In
essence, the birth of the modern newspaper
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3. NEWSPAPERS
•What is “yellow journalism”?
• A type of journalism typified by sensationalism, sex,
violence and heavy use of illustrations, color and
cartoons
• Sensationalism = the use of exciting or shocking
stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in
order to provoke public interest or excitement
• Fueled by the populist approach of the penny press,
named for “The Yellow Kid”, a popular cartoon
character of the time
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4. NEWSPAPERS & YELLOW JOURNALISM
•Most famous example is that of the
sinking of the Maine and how it was
exploited by newspaper magnate
William Randoph Hearst in his New
York World newspaper
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5. NEWSPAPERS & YELLOW JOURNALISM
•Recent research suggests that the explosion may
have been an accident, involving a spontaneous
combustion fire in the coal bunker. Some
conspiracy theorists have even suggested that
sensational journalist William Randolph Hearst
may have set the explosion in order to precipitate
a war. While historians will never know exactly
what happened the night the Maine went down, it
is clear that the incident was a significant force
that propelled the United States into the Spanish-
American War.
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6. INTERNET KILLED THE
NEWSPAPER STAR
•What does this Daily Show clip say about
modern journalism and how it relates to
“yellow journalism”?
•How would you describe the tone and
approach to this story? How might a
program like The Daily Show enhance
viewers’ media literacy as a result of this
tone and approach?
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7. What does this Daily Show clip say about modern
journalism and how it relates to “yellow journalism”?
•WHILE STUDENTS ARE STILL BEING
TAUGHT “REAL” JOURNALISM, THERE’S
A DISCONNECT BETWEEN EDUCATION
AND THE “REAL WORLD”
•WHY DOES THE DAILY SHOW
REPORTER SEEMINGLY MOCK THE
STUDENTS AND THEIR STUDIES?
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8. What does this Daily Show clip say about modern
journalism and how it relates to “yellow journalism”?
•IT’S ALIVE AND WELL IN OPERATIONS LIKE
GAWKER WITH THEIR MAJOR FOCUS ON
CLICKABILITY & SENSATIONALISM, NOT
“TRUTH”
•USE OF DECEPTIVE HEADLINES REQUIRED
FOR PEOPLE TO EVEN BE INTERESTED
•“NOWADAYS IT’S NOT IMPORTANT IF A
STORY’S REAL, THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY
MATTERS IS WHETHER PEOPLE CLICK ON IT.” ~
Neetzan Zimmerman
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9. How would you describe
the tone and approach to this story?•THE SHOW MOST OFTEN USES SATIRE TO
EXPLORE CURRENT ISSUES, ALMOST ALL
MEDIA-RELATED – THE SHOW GETS THE
AUDIENCE TO PAY ATTENTION TO IMPORTANT
ISSUES BY MOCKING THEM
•OFTEN FEATURES PEOPLE BEING
SHOCKINGLY HONEST
•THE DAILY SHOW IS A “MEDIA WATCHDOG”
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10. How might a program like The Daily Show enhance
viewers’ media literacy?
•BY TAKING A CRITICAL, AND YET STILL
ENTERTAINING, APPROACH TO
EVALUATING MEDIA/NEWS AND HOPING
IT ALL HAS INTELLECTUAL RESONANCE
AFTER WE LAUGH AT IT
•THE DAILY SHOW USES SATIRE TO
ENCOURAGE VIEWERS TO NOT SIMPLY
ACCEPT MASS MEDIA/NEWS PASSIVELY
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11. How might a program like The Daily Show
enhance viewers’ media literacy?
•12% of online Americans cited The Daily
Show as a place they got their news. This
audience share was on par with that of USA
Today (12%) and The Huffington Post (13%)
among 36 different news outlets Pew
Research Center asked about in a 2014
survey. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/08/06/5-facts-
daily-show/
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12. INTERNET KILLED THE NEWSPAPER STAR
•DO YOU GET THE REFERENCE OF
THE TITLE OF THE STORY?
•Released in 1979, the song “Video
Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles
directly referenced a then-current shift in
culture and mass media
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