Highlights from the history of journalism, from Mark Twain and Lois Lane to All the President's Men and Good Night, and Good Luck
Five myths about reporters
30 slang terms for "reporter"
THE BIRTH OF JOURNALISMThe Rise and Fall of America's First Newspaper
1690: Benjamin Harris published the first and only issue of Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick.
The Zenger Trial & Freedom of the Press
1735: Freedom of the press was strengthened in the colonies when John Peter Zenger, jailed for libel for after printing accusations of official corruption, was acquitted.
Patriotism, Propaganda & the Revolutionary War
1729: Ben Franklin took over the Pennsylvania Gazette, making it the boldest and best paper in the colonies.
1765: The Stamp Act imposed a heavy tax on printed matter. Editors protested and colonists united in forcing repeal.
Revolutionary debate heated up. Editors grew bolder, exerting political influence and exhorting military action.
By 1775 Isaiah Thomas, publisher of The Massachusetts Spy, was demanding independence from England.
1776: The Declaration of Independence first appeared publicly in the Pennsylvania Evening Post and was reprinted in 20 other colonial papers.
1791: The Bill of Rights provided that "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech or of the press."
NEWS IN THE 19TH CENTURYEmergence of the Penny Press
Innovations in printing: cheaper paper and faster presses made printing newspapers affordable and available like never before, especially in growing urban areas.
1833 Benjamin Day began selling the New York Sun for a penny a copy, pioneering the idea of "mass media."
A new kind of newspapering aimed at the interests of the common citizen.
The Rise of the Modern Newsroom
The biggest and best newspapers began hiring and training reporters to cover news in a professional way.
The Golden Age of Yellow Journalism
Yellow journalism: sensational stories, lavish use of pictures, comics, features, crusades, publicity stunts and rumors.
Excesses reached a climax as editors William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (The World) battled for supremacy in New York, by then the nation's media center.
Hearst, Pulitzer and the Spanish-American War: Sensational coverage of the Cuban rebels' fight for freedom from Spain inflamed readers and pressured politicians. War was declared; circulation skyrocketed.
NEWS IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Radio and TV brought an end to newspapers' media monopoly.
Radio: the first medium to provide a 24-hour stream of news coverage.
TV journalism came of age in the 1960s (1963 nonstop coverage of the Kennedy assassination).
