Newspapers!

November 14, 2008

ν HUNGRY, FRANTIC FLAMES. They Leap Madly Upon
the Splendid Pleasure Palace by the Bay of Monterey,
Encircling Del Monte in Their Ravenous Embrace From
Pinnacle to Foundation. Leaping Higher, Higher, Higher,
With Desperate Desire. Running Madly Riotous
Through Cornice, Archway and Facade. Rushing in
Upon the Trembling Guests with Savage Fury. Appalled
and Panic-Striken the Breathless Fugitives Gaze Upon
the Scene of Terror. The Magnificent Hotel and Its Rich
Adornments Now a Smoldering Heap of Ashes. The
"Examiner" Sends a Special Train to Monterey to
Gather Full Details of the Terrible Disaster. Arrival of the
Unfortunate Victims on the Morning's Train—A History
of Hotel del Monte—The Plans for Rebuilding the
Celebrated Hostelry—Particulars and Supposed Origin
of the Fire.
 The First Mass Medium
ν Renaissance Europe
ν Johannes Gutenberg, 1439
ν Printing press
ν Handwritten newsletters
ν First English newspaper
ν London Gazette of 1666
ν First newspaper in the colonies
ν Publick Occurences Both Foreign and Domestick
in 1690
The Revolutionary War
ν Propaganda
ν Keep colonists informed and focused on the
goal of breaking away from England
ν Other newspapers tried to keep the colonies
loyal
Early Problems
ν Expensive to create
ν Low literacy rate
ν Propaganda
ν No freedom of the press
Technology Improvements
ν Better printing presses
ν Cheaper ink/paper
ν Better photography
The Civil War
ν First time reporters traveled with armies
ν Sent back detailed reports of battles and
movements
ν Some tension with Generals
ν Why?
Yellow Journalism
ν Journalism that downplays legitimate
news in favor of eye-catching headlines
that sell more papers
ν Pulitzer vs. Hearst
ν New York - “Gilded Age”
ν Exaggerations of Spanish cruelty in Cuba
ν Hard to say how much influence they actually
had in starting the war
Muckrakers
ν Investigative reports who exposed
societal issues
ν Slums, prisons, factories, insane asylums,
sweatshops, mines, child labor and food
processing plants
ν Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
ν Ralph Nader, Unsafe At Any Speed
Modern Newspapers
--Paper Raid Activity--
Discussion Questions
ν What types of stories did your newspaper
primarily cover?
ν What sort of bias does your newspaper
have? (does not have to be political)