5

CHAPTER

o
The story
of iournalism
Before you begin learning how to replrt and write stories,
take a tour of the heroes and history that brought us this far

IlI THIS CHAPTER:

6) Newsroom heroes,legends and lolklore
Highlights fi'om the history of journalisnr, frorn Mark Twain and Lois Larrc to "Citizetr Karrc."

8) The birrh ol iournalism

How newspnpers were estsblislrcd in Arnerica
-
and lrcw the fight for a free press led to war.

I0) News in the l9th century

Mass nrcdia dortrinated city sffeets, while
yellowjounnlistn gave reporters a bad rnnrc.

12 ) News in the 2oth century

Radio and television threaten the nrcdis
rrtorLopoly newspapers enjoyed for centuries.
14 ) Today's changing media landscape
The availability of news online has created new opportwities and challenges for journalists.

16 ) The student iournalists' news attitude suwey

Contpare your news cottsumption habits to those of htndreds of otlrcr students rntionwide.
6 THE STORY OF

Newsroom heroest
legends and folklore
Looking for a career that boasts a long' colorful tradition?
have been digging dirt'
Welcome to the world of journalism' where reporters
for centuries now. It's a
raking muck, making;;;eil;, and meeting deadlines
of "drunkards, deadbeats and
history full of tabloid trash, of slimy sensationalists'
described reporters)' In the 1970s, the intestigati'te reporting of Bob
bummers" (u, u Huruurd Uniut"ity president once Woothrard (left) and CarI Bernstein exposed the
Butit'sahistoryfullofheroes,too:menandwomenriskingtheirlivestotell Wateraate sca'ndal that forced President Nixorr to
stories of war una trug.dy' risking imprisonment
to defend free speech' And as resisnlThe exploits of those two Washington Post
in pop culture' too' ,rD\trrc became a p'opular book and movie,
you can see here, ,.pJ.,.,' hav" ;ecome beloved characters
occult hand'f piovirling inspiration to journalists everywhere'
turning up in movier, .o-it'
and TV shows as if guided by an

FIVE I}fEIIS
rIVE LEGENDANY'OUNNALIS-TS 30 SI.ENG TENMS ABOUT NEPORTERS
uln-nv nuPonrEn sHouLD KNow rON "REPONTER,' l. Female reporters are gutsy, idealistic,
I'IARK IWAItl (183s-le1o) jotter ink-stained wretch beautiful and single; male reporters are
Twain (real name: Samuel Clemens) ts best known
as the journo Pavement-Prowler surly, cynical loners who'll lie, cheat and
humorist who createcl Tom Sawyer and wrote a classic
scribe knight of the Pen ruin people's lives to get a juicV scoop.
novel, "Ihe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'" But Twain
scrivener headline hunter 2. Reporters routinely solve mysteries
honed his craft as a reporter in Nevada and California,
hoofer slang-whanger before the cops do, especially after their
writing columns, feature stories and travel
pieces that hound Fourth Estater
made him popular all across the countrv.
snoop bloodhound editors yank them off the stories.
stringer bull shooter 3. Reporters spend all of their time either:
legman ink slinger a) ambushing celebrities outside nightclubs,
l{ELtlE BtY 0864-1s22) newsie news grabber b) dodginq bullets in foreign hot spots, or
Called "the best reporter in America" in the late 1800s, scratcher nosy newsy c) shouting questions at crooked politicians
Bly (real name: Elizabeth Cochrane) pioneered inve$igative gazetteer PaPer stainer on the steps of CitY Hall.
journalism with her bold undercover adventures: getting news hack Paragrapher
4. Reporters celebrate big stories by drink-
herself locked up in a lunatic asylum, working in a sweat- news hen Pencil Pusher
ing whiskey bottles hidden in their desks.
shop to expose child-labor abuses and, in a famous
pen driver wordster
5. All reporters have a liberal bias.
publicitv stunt, traveling around the world tn 72 davs'

H-t. 1'lEt{Cl(Et{ (1880-1956)

Looking for biting, brilliantly quotable social commentary?

Mencken's your man. Whether ranting about politics
("Democracy is the art of running the circus from the
monkev cage") or people ("There's no underestimating
the intelligence of the American publtc') Mencken became
a journalism legend in the first half of the 20th centurv.
ERNESI HEI'IINGWAY (1Bee-1e61)
Where did this influential American novelist develop his
straiqhtforward prose style? Covering crimes and fires
for The Kansas Citr7 Star, where his editors' admonitions
to use short sentences, short paragraphs and vigorous
English "were the best rules I ever learned for the
business of writing," Hemingway later recalled.
HUNIER S. IHol'lPSol{ 0e37-20os)
Hey, we didn't say these were all exemplary role models;
we just said you should know about them. And for good
or bad, every reporter needs to ingest some of Hunter
Thompson's "gonzo journalism," a wacko blend of satire,
profanity and hallucinogenic exaggeration. Beware: This
stuff was dangerously excessive and crazily entertaining.
Visit IHE M0RGUE t0 read excerpts from these writers' works:
213
IWAII'l > 208 B[y > 2t0 I'IEN(KEN > 214 HEMINGWAY > IH0MP50N > 216
FIVE INSPIRATIONAI. BOOKS
EVERY REPORTEN SHOULD REtrD
"A[[ THE PRESIDENI'S I'IEN" by Carl Bernstein and Bob woodward
A - gripping
tale of
poiigct, icancat, consprracies, lies and the dogged determination of two heroic reporters'
inui;iiisr't'/,rrrc. Watching Woodward and Bernstein unravel the threads that lead t0
gutsy reporters like these guys'
Nixon's downfall is exhilarating. The world needs more
"IHEE[E]'|ENIS0FSIYIE'bystlunkandWhite_Lotsofbookstellyouhowto
that will stick
wnte. Most of them make it painful. But this one is full of savvy advice
*itr, vo, for years, like use the active voice and omit needless words. studying
thrs
helps make your prose truly pro'
100-page mini-manual
lf you stay in this business long enough,
"wRlllllc FoR SIoRY" by Jon tranklin - pulitzer prize-winntng epic? Frank-
youltt.u.ntrutty wonder: How do I write a gripping,
you all the techniques: structure, flashbacks'
iinjs popular feature-writing guide teaches
foreshadowing, pacing. And it's loaded with inspiring examples'
"THE C0RPSE HAD A FAI'llLlAR FA(E" bv Edna
Buchanan lf you've ever wondered what it's like to be
-
a crime reporter in a city full of creeps, crooks and crazies
(Miami), the legendary Buchanan will not only show you
- she'll inspire you to start covering cops, too.
'lNSIDE REP0RIING'by lim Harrower -
Kiddingl Just kidding! lnstead, find a cop}l of "The New
Journalism," a terrific sampler edited by Tom Wolfe that
anthologizes late-20th-century journalistic legends like
Mailer, Capote, Didion and Wolfe himself. Don't miss it'

IYORE ON WATERGATE AND "DEEP THROAT" > 2'2

MORE ON IHE O((UIT HAND SOCIEIY> 298
 THE STORY OF z

fIVE ESSEI{TIAL IOURNALISM fILMS

'ClIlZEl{ KAilE" -We all know how crazy reporters can be. This 1941 0rson
Welles masterpiece shows you how rich, powerful and loony publishers canbe.
Watching this film transports you back to a golden age of journalism that's gone
forever. Critics agree that "Citizen Kane " showcases some of the most brilliant
moviemakinq of all time; luckily for us, it's about newspapers, too.

"PAGE ONE: |]{SIDE IHE NEW Y0RK Ilt'lES" -

This engrossrng 2011 BEST I{EWSROOM RANT:
documentary takes you behind the scenes inside America's most influential "You know what people use
newsroom as reporters track down stories, editors wrestle with controversial these for? They roll them up
issues, and everyone ponders the future of the news media. and swat their puppies for
"BR0ADCASI llEWS" A smart, comedic look at the personalities in front of
- wetting on the rug they -
AND behind the cameras in a network newsroom. William Hurt plays an airheaded spread them on the floor when
anchor who represents the brainless artificiality of television news. Holly Hunter they're painting the walls -
Part detective story, part political thriller,
"A[[ IHE PRESIDENI'S I'lEl{" is both inspiring plays a producer grappling with her values, her workload and her love life. -
they wrap fish in them shred
them up and pack their two-bit
and entertaining. Starring Robert Redford 'BURMAVJ' -Just how important isfreedom of the press? Using footage
journalists china in them when thev
as Woodward (Ieft) and Dustin Hoffman as smuggled out of Burma, this inspiring documentary shows how video
move - or else they pile up in
Bernstein, the 1976 fiIm captures the tireless risked imprisonment -
even death - to defy the government and document
the garage until an inspector
tenacity that turned these reporters into heroes. the military's brutal suppression of peaceful protesis in 2007.
declares them a fire hazard!
But this also happens to be a
couple of nore things! lt's got
print on it that tells stories that
*
fIVE FAMOUS (LARK KENI and [0lS IANE are the two best reporters at lhe Daily Planet though Lois seems to be the
only one doing any actual reporting at that newspaper. And whenever Lois' nose for news lands her in hot
hundrcds of good men all over
FIGTIONAL water, Superman (Clark's other identity) conveniently manages to save her before
the world have broken their
backs to get. lt gives a lot of
NETVSROOM she blows her deadline. Ahh, if only it worked that way in real life
information to a lot of people
GHARAGTERS LOU GRAI{T was the ultimate surlrl, burly, gruff-but-lovable editor. who wouldn't have known
0n the legendary "Mary Tyler Moore" TV comedy back in the'70s, Lou about it if we hadn't taken the
(played by Ed Asner, at right) ran a TV newsroom; on the "Lou Grant" trouble to tell them. lt's the
spinoff, he was the classic crusty, crusading newspaper editor. sum total of the work of a lot
BREI{DA SIARR was a pioneer: a strong female newspaper of quys who don't quit. lt's
comic-strip character drawn by female cartoonists, which a newspaper. . . and it onlY
was rare when the series began in 1940. Readers loved the I costs l0 cents, that's all. But
I
redheaded reporteis farflung adventures and steamt/ love \ if you only read the comic
affairs. The final strip was publtshed in 2011. section or [he want ads -
Jll'lltlY was an B-year-old heroin addict whose heart- it's still the best buy for
wrenching story won a Pulitzer Prize for Janet Cooke and your money in the world."
The Washington Post in 19B1.Ihe problem? Jimmy didn't
exist; the story was a fabrication. Cooke resigned, and her # William Contad,
crustv citv editor in the

award was revoked in the humiliating scandal that ensued.

L 1959 newspaper movie "30"

l."Rock iournalism is PeoPIe 4. What's the number-one final paragraphs, where he , 12. Decades ago, reporters
. typed a certain number to mark
IUhal's your who can't write intervtewing
people who can't talk for
reason people watch most
local TV newscasts?
uttered one of the most famous
phrases in journalism historY. I the end of every story. What
people who can't read." ! news What did Stanley say?
I was that number?
Who said that? ! sports
9. Who was the first woman 13. According to a recent 20-
tr Lady Gaga E weather year study, which one of these
to regularly anchor a nightl\/
tr Rush Limbaugh 5. Who used to sign off his network newscast? news topics are Americans
tr Frank Zappa newscast by saying, 'And
most interested in?
lO. Miami Herald editor John tr
a 2. What fictional editor used that's the way it is. . ." ?
McMullen made this predictlon E
celebrities
disasters
Thinkyou're smnrt lo cty,"6reat Caesar's ghost!" ?
6. Which cable news network in 1982 about a radical new I money
whenit comesto 3. ln the photo below, HarrY attracts the most viewers?
journalistic venlure'. "l don't ! health
think it has much chance. lt
journalismfacts S. Truman holds a copy of a
, , 14. 0n the
7. Which news website won't offer much that's original
and folWore? legendary headline blooPer. '. or different. I give it two Vears." 1 old TV show
What did the headline say? attracts the most page views?
Prove it. I What was he talking about?
I
"Sex and the
Takethis quizto 8. ln 1872, Henry Stanley, I city," what
rateyour JQ- star reporter for lhe New York , lf . tn what country will 1lou ' was Sarah
Herald, searched the African find the world's largest news- Jessica
yout]ouflalism
jungle for a missing explorer. i PaPer, with a circulation of r Parker's
Quotient, Stanlev's epic account of his 13 million? , newspaper

Answets on expedition climaxed in its : trlndia trBrazil trJapan job?

Page 304. ,t.

8 THE STORY OF

The birth of iournalism

information
Every society seeks ffictive ways to spread new and gossip.
In ancient times, news was scrawled onto clay tablets. In Caesar's age, Romans read newsletters handwritten by slaves.
Wandering minstrels spread news (and the plague) in the Middle Ages. Then came ink on newsprint. Voices on airwaves.
Movie newsreels. TV network newscasts. Multi-
media websites. News apps for smartphones. To publish a good
When scholars analyzejournalism's rich history, . . i:a i':
Newspaper is not so easy
some view it in terms of technological progress
for example, the dramatic impact of bigger, faster
- Ft' Er't an Undertaking as ,nany
People imagine it to be. The
Author of a Gazette ought
printing presses. t. I a to be qualified with an
Others see journalism as a form of literature, I h with
extert silt e Acquai nt an ce
r6i r i, grcal Easirrt'ss
one that's constantly evolving as it reflects and Languages, a
and Command of Writing
shapes its culture. and Relating Things clearly
Others see it as an inspiring quest for free speech, anil intelligibly, and in a few
an endless power struggle between Authority (try- words; he should be able to
speak of War both by Land
ing to control information) and The People (trying
snd Sea; be weII acquainted
to learn the truth). Which recalls the words of A.]. with Geographl,, with the
Liebling: "Freedom ofthe press is guaranteed only HistorS, of Xlle time, with thc
to those who own one." several interests of Princes
and States. . .
In the pages ahead, we'll take a quick tour of 600
Beniamin franklin,
BEN'TIITTT TNAIIXLIN. TEE PRINIEN
years of journalism history, from hieroglyphics to e(liIot, f he Peil nsylvatt ia 6azett e

hypertext: the media, the message and the politics.

?TTBLICK
THE NISE AND TALI. EXCERPIS/roz Publick Occurrences, Sept. 25, 1690:

OCCURRENCES OF trI}TERIGA'S 0n a sex scandal involving the King of Fran(e: France is in much trouble
(and fear), not onl\l with us but also with his Son, who has revolted against
FINST NEWSPAPER him lately, and has great reason if reports be true, that the Father used t0
Benjamin Harris was a printer who'd been Iie with the Sons Wife.
jailed in London for his subversive writings. 0n a disease epidemic: Ihe Small-pox which has been raging in Boston,
He fled to Boston in 1686, where he wrote after a manner very Extraordinary is now very much abated.... The number
a popular spelling primer, ran a successful of them that have dyed in Boston by this last Visitation is about three hun-
bookshop and, in 1690, produced the dred and twenty.... lt seized upon all sorts of people that came in the way
-
first and only issue of Publick Occurrences of it, it infected even Ihildren in the bellies of Mothers that had themselves
undergone the Disease many years ag0.
Both Foreign and Domestick.
0n the first Thanksgiving: Ihe Christianized lndians in some parts of
It was a small newspaper, printed on three
Plimouth, have newly appointed a day of lhanksgiving to God for his lvlercy
pages. The fourth was left blank, so readers
in supplying their extream and pinching Necessities under their late want of
could add news, then pass the paper along. (orn, & for His giving them now a prospect of a very Comfortable Harvest.
44o,lnil 4-\a
But Harris had failed to obtain a printing 0n war with the lndians (whom Hanis calls "miserable Salvages,,):
se!!n!{rrir rrt:i,j;. license. Worse, authorities claimed the paper When Capt. Mason was at Fort Real, he cut the faces and ript the bellies of
,r. ti4tr & r,,i{L H
contained "doubtful and uncertain Reports," two lndians, and threw a third overboard in the sight of the French, who in-
e r{.a. rtGr fu
including criticism of military policy. So forming the other lndians of it, have in revenge barbarously Butcher'd forty
after one issue, the governor shut it down. Captives of our that were in their hands.
,{tnl.$e 5(}t6.
A Coranto
TIMELIIUE i 1620s: london printers REL AT ING
i 1610: Weekly
': 1665: The first true English-language
(l4oo-1800) ; newspapers
-
i first distribute "corantos" newspaper printed:
is twice weekly, the
: apPear in i small pamphlets summarizing 0xford Gazette prints news of the British
The 1400s: Johann lhe 1500s: Henry : Cologne and : foreign news translated from court. After 24 issues, it moves to London
Gutenberg invents Vlll censors printers i Vienna. German and Dutch journals. and becomes the London Gazette.
'
the printing press by issuing a list of
]timlFml.i.
i

around 1440,
printing his famous
prohibited books
and forcing all
l?EFrwffi.lgr: lt----u=lffiH:i
i
Bible in the 1450s. printers to obtain : 1609: Europe's first regularly 1644: English poet John Milton publishes 1690: ln Boston, i

William Caxton licenses. Authorities : published newspapers emerge: his "Areopagitica," an eloquent plea for Publkk 1ccunences i
brings the first arrest printers for : Avisa in Wolfenbtittel free speech. His ideas will be recycled a tries to become :

printing press to sedition and : (northern Germany) and century later by American revolutionaries America's first :

England in 1476. "unfitting worddes." i Relation in Strasbourq. struggling for greater press freedom. newspaper. lt fails. :
 THE STORY OF ALISM 9

THE ZEIYGEN TRIAL AIYD MEtvlL[E E. sI0NE, rfte chicago publisher who modentized rrrc Associateti
(qEEEirtt
in the early 1900s, on the significance of the Zenger trial:
FNEEDOM OF THE PRESS Press
"The cptestion before
Ihe jury took the bit in their teeth and asserted their riqht to be the sole
In1734, when a brash young editor named
judges of both the law and the facts. And so it came about that the court is rtot just
there was a
John Peter Zenger printed accusations of official famous revolution in the colonial law. The judge ceased to be the sole arbiter of the cause of the poor
corruption in his New York Weekly lournal, the an editor's fate, and the truth when published from good motives and justifi- printer. No! It nny in
angry governor had him arrested for libel.v able ends became an adequate defense for the journalist brought to bar. For xts cottsequetrce affect
Zenger's attorney, Andrew Hamilton, argued the first time in the world's history, the freedom of the press, so far as such every freennn on the
that citizens have a right to criticize tl.re govern- freedom was consistent with public rights, was established. The seed which main of Anrcrica. It
ment, and that libel occurs only when printed John Milton had sown a century before, when he wrote his famous plea for is the best cause; it is
words are "false, malicious and seditious."v "unlicensed printing," had come to fruition. Gouverneur Morris said this verdict the cause of Liberty..,
The jury agreed, and Zenger went free. was "the dawn 0f that liberty which afterward revolutionized America.,, tlrc liberty both of
exposing and
opposing arbitrary
power by speaking
THE FINST TEWSPAPEN GANTOON nnd writing Truth."
When Ben Franklin ran this editorial cartoon in his pennsylvania Indrew Hamilton,
durjnq the Zenger trial, i735
Gazette in 1754, the snake symbolized the American colonies, which

trilqRt."* needed to unite in self-defense against the French and Indians. It

later symbolized the colonies in their fight for independence from
the British, and the design was incorporated into the nameplate of
"Adyertisements are
t'tow so numerous
that they are very

fu' ffiF ",Yslv: the influential Massachusetts Spy (see story below).
_
Franklin began his career as an apprentice on his brother's paper,
negligently perused,
and it is therefore
the New England Courant. He became a witty writer and a bold become necessary

JOIN, or DIB. editor; his Gazette was lively, popular and profitable. "If all printers
were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would
to gain attention
by magnificence of
offend nobody," he said, "there would be very little printed." promises and by
eloquence some-
times sublime and
sometimes pathetick.
Pf,TNIOTISIII, PNOPAGANDA AND THE NHI'OLUTIOilANY WAN Promise large
promise
-
In 1765, the British Parliament imposed a heavy tax on all EXCERPISfTom The Massachusetts Spy, May 3, 1775: -is the soul
printed matter: the Stamp Act. Editors protested noisily, and of advertising. The
lsaiah Thomas launches his eyewitness repolt on the Batue
colonists united to force a repeal of the tax trade of advertising
which further of lexington with this: Americans! Forever bear in mind the
weakened Britain's control of colonial printers. - 6 now so near
BATTLE of LEXINGTON!
-
where British troops, unmolested and
perfection that it is
Editors grew even bolder as the revolu- unprovoked, wantonly, in a most inhuman manner, fired upon
not easy to propose
tionary debate heated up, exerting political and killed a number of our countrymen, then robbed them of
their provisions, ransacked, plundered and burnt their houses! any improvement."
influence and exhorting military action.
Nor could the tears of defenseless women, some of whom Itr, Samuel lohnson,
Objectivity disappeared. Loyalist editors
were in the pains of childbirth, and cries of helpless babes, The London ldler,1158
were driven out of business, while
nor the prayers of old age, confined to beds of sickness,
patriot editors filled their papers with appease their thirst for blood or divert them from their
"Were it left to nte
news of rebellion and commentary such DESIGN of MURDER and R0BBERY! to decide whether
as Thomas Paine's "Common Sense." From Thomas's description of the batile: we should have a
One of the most notable journalists . . . The commanding officer accosted the militia, in words to government without
of his time, Isaiah Thomas was a m.aster this effect,"Disperse, you damn'd rebels! Damn you, disperse!,' newspapers, or
ISAIAH THgl,lAS newspapers witlnut
printer and an articuiate agitator. When lmmediately one or two offlcers discharged their pistols,
he began publishing The Massachusetts Spy in 1770 ir was non- which were instantaneously followed by the firing of four a governtnent, I
partisan, butby 1775 Thomas was demanding independence or five of the soldlers. . . . Ihey fired on our people as they should not hesitate
were dispersing, agreeable to their command, and we did not a moment to prefer
from England. His accounr of the Battle of Lexington (at right),
even return the fire. Eight of our men were killed and nine the latter."
reprinted in newspapers throughout the colonies, was a mix
wounded. The troops then laughed, and damned the yankees, Thomas lellerson,
of outstanding reporting and persuasive propaganda. and said they could not bear the smell of gunpowder. 1181

; 1704: The first 1729: Ben Franklin takes i 1765: Ihe Stamp Act forces all 1776: The Declaration of i , 1783: The Pennsylvania
i successful American ouer fhe Pennsylvaniai papers to display an official British lndependence first appears
: newspaper, I/re
i
i Evening Post, a thrice-weekly,
6azette, making it the i government seal and pay a tax publicly in \he Pennsylvania
i Boston News-Letter,
: i increases its frequency to
boldest and best i that raises prices 50 percent. After Evening Post and is reprinted in : become America's first dailY
is published. PaPer in the colonies. i violent protest, the act is repealed. 20 other colonial newspapers. : newspaper.
::| :

ffi;,, EEffiR#,:r'
lhroughout the lt00s: i 1735: Freedom of the press is ltgl: Ihe Bill of Rights i
Mailmen on horseback ("postriders',) : strengthened in the colonies when ,YtM provides that "Congress :

play a key role in delivering news i John Peter Zenger, jailed for libel by shall make no law. . . i
and newspapers to editors and : a New York governor after printing abridging the freedom of i
subscribers all across New England. i harsh criticism, is acquitted. speech or of the press." i

l'40RE 0N SEDtIt0l'l AND UBEL >r43 I"IORE ON PRESS RIGHTS >I4()

IO THE STORY OF

News in the lgth century

FA'CTCllEC
Number of
daily papers
Technical advances and brilliant ideas forged a new style of journalism. in the U.S. in 1800: 20
ln 1900: 2,226
It was a century of change, and journalism changed dramatically, too' The typical newspaper of 1800
Pages in a typical
was an undisciplined mishmash of legislative proceedings,long-winded essays and secondhand gossip. newspaper in 1800: 4
But by 1900, a new breed of editor had emerged. fournalism had become big business. Reporting Pages in a typical Sunday
issue of the New York
was becoming a disciplined cra{t. And newspapers were becoming more entertaining and essential, Journal in 1896: 64
providing most of the features we expect today: Snappy headlines.
Percentage of U.S.
Ads. Comics. Sports pages. And an "inverted pyramid" style newspapers in 1850 that
of writing that made stories tighter and newsier.Y were partisan (i.e., organs
The key changes in the 19th century: of one political party): 80

: The emergence of the penny [,ress,In the 1830s, Phrases used by fiercely
partisan editors to insult
a new approach to newspapering emerged. Aimed at
Abraham Lincoln:
the interests of the common citizen, it emphasized "slang-whanging
local news, sports, human-interest stories about stump speaker"
"half-witted usurye/'
real people and, above all, crime.
"the prcsent turtle at
t Innovations in printing. Cheaper paper and the head of government"
faster presses made news affordable and available "the head uhoul at
Washington"
like never before, especially to America's growing
Number of papers,
urban population. per hour, the fastest
By the 1830s, stearn-powered presses could produce
4,000 pages per"lrcur, printing on both sides oflong
; The rise of the modern newsroom. The printing press could
biggest and best newspapers hired and trained produce in 1800: 200
paper rolls, Such teclurical advances nmde newspapers
In 1850: 18,000
clrcaper tluts, more affordable to the nnsses. reporters to cover news in a professional way.
- ln l890: 48,000

THE PENNY PRESS: MARKETING MEDIA TO THE MASSES
Most colonial newspapers were
printed on small presses in small
numbers for educated readers.
But when Benjamin Day began
selling the New York Sun for a
penny a copy in 1833, he pio-
neered the idea of "mass rnedia."
As Day put it, the penny press
"lay before the public, at a price
well within the means of every-
one, all the news of the day."
Average percentage
of a newspaper's stories
that were written by
the paper's own staff,
ORDINARY NEWSPAPERS THE PEt{NY PRESS in 1830: 25
ln iB60: 45
Papers cost 6 cents apiece, usually by Papers cost just a penny apiece, usually
subscriptions delivered in the mail. bought from paperboys on the street. Iyplcal examples of
"yellow journalism"
Political commentary, trade statistics, Lots of local news, crime coverage, headlines from the
poetry, letters, secondhand gossip. human-interest stories, features- New York Journal in l896:
Ulhy Young Girls
News is reprinted from government Reporters cover a variety of beats:
Kill fhemselves
documents and correspondents - Wall Street, churches, society, sports,
Staftling Contession ol
or lifted from other newspapers. and most significantly, crime.
a Wholesale llurdercr
Editors move slowly in responding Editors aggressively compete for Who Begs fo Be Hanged

Within two years, the Sun was
the top-selling paper in the U.S.
with a circulation of 20,000
encouraging other editors to-
imitate and improve the format.
to events; news is often old and stale. and promote biq breakinq stories. Real American
Itlonsters and Dngons
Promote one political party's agenda. lndependent of any political party.
One llatl Blow Kills Child
Funded by political parties or subscribers. Funded by street sales and advertising. Stnnge fhings
Women Do fot love

TIMELINE llisouri Cn:tu. 1825:. lhe New York , 1830s: Editors use i 1847: Frederick Douglass begins
publishing fhe North Star,an:
:

i ii;i;1'i)11i:' J;::ir-rii'r I /dvertrser installs the first i homing pigeons and i

"cylinder" press in America, ; the Pony Express to i influential paper dedicated to ,

1800: 20 dailies and more than allowing faster printing on i deliver news from : fighting slavery and bringing :

1,000 weeklies publish in the U.S. bigger sheets of paper. : distant points. i news to black Americans. :

l?fffiffi,'' :' EZUWffi*TiiF.',

: I

1808: The Missouri 1azette 1 1827: Reporters from three : 18t'; lhe New York 1844: Ihe telegraph is used for : _
becomes the first PaPer ,
newspapers become the first i .fun becomes the
printed west of the MississiPPi

as printers accompany settlers
into the expanding frontier.
li-5frtil]tibtt
Washington correspondents, i first successful
: providing congressional coverage :
penny paper
i that continues to this dav. , published in the U.5.

MORE ON IHE INVERTED PYRAMID > 40

 THE OF lt
BENNETT GRAFTS Jan.res Gordon Bennett was a terrific EXCERPT from The Heratd, Aprit lj, tBj6:
A NEW StrI.E writer and a brilliant publisher. He
launched the New York Herald in 1835
wlrcn a prostitttte known as Heren lewett was nuu'rlerecl, Bennett
visited the
crime scene. Ot.t tlrc fron page of.the Herald, lrc providerl a rtescription
Of IOURNAI,ISM with little money and no staff. But by enthralled readers and helped uslrcr in a ncw eri of satsationnr riportitrg:
thrai.t

midcentury, the Herald had become the biggest news- "Here," said the Police 0fficer, "here is the poor creature.,,
paper in the world due to its enterprising reporting, He half uncovered the ghastly corpse. I could scarcely look at it for a second

sensational stories and innovative ideas: interviews,
reviews, letters to the editor, money pages, society
columns, sports stories and "extra" editions.
In Bennett's words: "It is my passion, rny delight,
my thought by day and my dream by night, to con-
duct The Herald, and to show the world and posterity
that a newspaper can be rnade the greatest, most
fascinating, most powerful organ of civilization that
BEI{I{ETT genius ever dreamed of. "
or two. slowly I began to discover the lineaments of the corpse as one wourd the
beauties of a statue of marble. lt was the most remarkable sight I ever beheld _
I never have, and never expect to see such another. "l"ly Gocl," exclaimed l, ',how
like a statue! I can scarcely conceive that form to be a corpse." Ihe perfect figure
- the exquisite limbs -
the fine face the full arms the beautiful bust _ all
- -
surpassed in every respect the Venus de l"lidici ....
For a few moments I was lost in admtration at thts extraordinary sight
beautiful female corpse that surpassed the finest statue of antiquity. I was
a -
recalled to her horrid destiny by seeing the dreadful bloody gashes on the right
temple, which must have caused instantaneous dissolution.

THE GOI.DEN AGE OF

T-ELLOW IOURNALISM
--t ir,,"=-gg-",--ffi
I.IAINE EXPLOSION CAUSED BY BOMB OR TORPEDO?
,-ryllp=:$lj
As New York's population exploded, u{tn 8iltP ilililt llt$ Tflt >pl. Sgslxc and Cus-{-Ccrcrd Lc! Are in Doubl-Tlre Wdld ILT Senl a
the city became the nation's media center. Assistant,\drclarv Stxrial Tug, Wilh SobnEdrc Dilcrs, lo tla!.xu to l'ird Ouf-Lcc As&.5
(l0nvinicd the ExplosDn of fd d lmdale Co,uil ot hq{t}-260 iYcn DqrL
It was an age of publishing legends such ,\hip \Vas Not I I $nm$ otflffi I0 rft sltrt trnflrls lltutilil sttr Itt t&]ft f6lltr Nill il lx tux
Accidcnl
as Horace Greeley, the liberal, crusading I t. C r.dh b &nd tm &nr Sri lk 6nrF J L* lrwc d r Bt !o ex l b rb S@
2I& rh lM ter. d oh' tlrnr b lrr \\(Lr rhil
social reformer, and Henry Raymond, who k tu-w&ro
6&tuG-h6ro&
o(.* k,\ frr 'br
kdb
!bd. *ri. d lril' P,qiliy

strove to rnake his New

York Tirnes the rnost
objective, well-written
paper ofits era.
But two editors rose
above the rest in an
epic struggle for power
and influence: ]oseph
Pulitzer (The World)
and William Randolph
Hearst (the New York
Journal). Both men
reshaped American
journalism in the late 1800s with a style of HEARST, PULITZER ANI' THE SPANISH-AI}IERIGAN WAR
newspapering known as "yellow journal- The excesses of yeliow journalism reached a climax as Hearst's Journal battled Pulitzer's World
ism," taking its name from the Yellow Kid, for supremacy in New York. Hearst spent millions in family fortune to hire away Pulitzer's top
the first color comic, which ran in both the staffers, and he used his genius for sensationalism to concoct bigger, bolder stories. When The
Journal and the World. World sent correspondents to Cuba in 1896 to dramatize the rebels' fight for freedom ("Blood in
What characterized yellow journalism? the fields, blood on the doorsteps, blood, blood, bioodl" one wrote), Hearst dispatched staffers of
Loud headlines. Sensatior.ral stories on sin his own, famously messaging one artist: "You furnish the pictures and I'll furniih the war."
and sex. Lavish use ofpictures (often faked) Hearst and Puiitzer inflamed readers, pressured politicians
Sunday supplements full of crowd-pleasing exploded in 1898, they published the two competing pages shown - andabove.
the day after a Navy battleship
War was declared, and
comics and features. Crusades. Publicity circulation skyrocketed. On Page One, Hearst's paper asked, "How do you iike the fournal's war?"
stunts. And rumors disguised as news In the words of E.L. Godkin, editor of the more restrained, more responsible Evening Post:
such as those that led to war with Spain. - "It is a crying shame that men should work such mischief simply in order to sell more papers."

l85l: Henry J. Raymond 1867: Emily Verdery i 1867: 1876: 1886: Reporters 1898: Yellow journalism i
founds lre ilery York limes, Bettey becomes i First Alexander Graham Bell invents start earning reaches its heights ,

which becomes one of the first womani practical the telephone: wlthin seven bylines in daily (or possibly dePths)
America's most responsible reporterona i typewriter !|'5tt years, telephone lines will
i

newspapers 0n as Hearst and Pulitzer i

and respected newspapers. New York paper. ; patented. : connect New York and Chicago. : the East Coast. trump up war with SPain. :

R, ,;i$-{€r.;:",,. lrcffi#ii,r,,, EEffi{:.:' EEEffii,

1857: Harpels i i 186l-1865: For the first time, hundreds of 1878: E.W. Scripps : , 1880: First photograph 1897: The term :

Weekly, the first : : reporters cover a big event: the tivil War. begins building the : is printed in a news- "public relations" :

illustrated paper I : Filinq stories via telegraph forces reporters first newspaper i paper (of some build- is used, for the :

in America, ! : t0 use a tighter writing style that becomes chain; he eventually : ings, riqht) in the,Very first time, by a :

makes its debut. i i known as "the inverted pyramid." owns l8 papers. : York Daily Graphk. railroad company. :
12 THE STORY OF

News in the zOlhcentury

Radio and television brougfut an end to newspapers' media monopoly.
WALTtR (R0NKllE racolls nnrnrrnting tlrc deutlt ol'
Prcsident lohn F. Kcnnady orr CllS, iVov. 22, 1963:
I was doing fine... until it was ne(essary to pronounce
-
the words: "Fron Dallas Texas, the flash apparentlv
official. President Kennedy died at I p.n. (entral Standard
-
lime a half-hour ago." Ihe words stuck in my throat.
A sob wanted to replace them. A gulp or two quashed
Ihe sob, which metamorphosed into tears forming
the corners of my eyes. I fought back the emotion and
regained my professionalism, but it was touch and go
there for a few seconds before I could continue.
Why has the power of print faded? Well, which did
you look at first this gray column of text, or that
-
image of newsman Walter Cronkite to the left?
That's basically why, as the century progressed,
newspapers surrendered their supremacy: The Germany's great silver Hinden-
competition simply had more appeal. First came burg, the world's largest dirigible,
was ripped apart by an explosion
radio, luring listeners with speech and music.
tonight that sent her crumpling to
Next, movie newsreels added visuals to the voices the naval landing f ield a flaming
in the news. By 1950, television wooed viewers wreck, with horrible death to
(and advertisers) by combining sights, sounds and about a third of those aboard her.
Exactly how many died was still
unbeatable immediacy. In the 1990s, a new rival in dispute as the flames licked
evolved: online news via the Internet. clean the twisted, telescoped
Technology has transformed news delivery skeleton of the airship that put
out from Germany seventy-six
just as it's changed every other aspect of modern
hours before on its opening trip
life. Today's news media are more accessible and of the 1937 passenger season.
engaging than ever before. As a result, despite The Associated Press,
May 7, 1937
everything newspapers have done to improve their
in
product better design, bigger photos, broader
-
coverage, tighter writing many Americans now
><T
-
realize they don't need to work hard at reading
when they can more easily absorb information by
watching video and listening to audio.

PUI.ITZEN SPNEAIDS HIS GRUSAI'ING INFI.UENGE America's outpost of the Pacific,

In the years after 1900, Joseph Pulitzer left yellowjournal- mighty Pearl Harbor naval base
When the Pulitzer
was under enemy attack today.
ism behind to create a more lasting legacy, becoming the Prizes were first A number of attacking planes
modei of a passionate, public-spirited modern publisher. awarded in 1917, the with red insignia were sighted
His paper, The World, launched courageous crusades journalism categories shortly after B a.m.
against corruption in government and business. Before included only (ln Washington, Presidential
he died in 1911, he funded one ofthe first schools of reporting, editorial Secretary Early identified the
journalism, at Columbia University. And to encourage writing and public attacking planes as Japanese.)
journalistic excellence, he established the Pulitzer Prizes. service. Today, prizes Antiaircraft guns opened fire
are awarded in 2l when the planes dived low over
JOSEPH PU LITZER's journalistic credo : the base and released repeated
categories.
0ur Republic and its press will rise or fall together. An able, sticks of bombs.
disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to Two warships lying in the
know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue harbor were sunk.
without which popular government is a sham and a mockery. A The planes later returned to
cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people the attack.
as base as itself. The power to mould the future of the Republic lntelnational llews Service,
PUI.IIZER will be ln the hands of the journalists of future generations. Dec. 7, 1941

TI}IELINE I 1920: KDKA-
(r9oo-20oo) Pittsburgh begins
: broadcasting the
1900: Satirical politiral cartoons become a popular first regular radio
way for newspapers to comment on current events. i schedule.
1926: As radio enjoys 1934: The i l94l: FDR declares
growing popularity, the Associated war on Japan as
: NBC radio network is : Press begins the largest radio
i formed; CBS will beqin transmitting audience in history
broadcasting a year later wire photos. listens in.

@ffii;' JEFI?Gffi,'L:.
: l90l: Marconi Eady 1900s: The era of "muckrakers,, 1923: Henry R. Luce 1938: "CBS World News
- i 1939: NBC and
: sends the first
i radio siqnal
social reform-minded journalists and
magazine writers who expose injustice, T launches Time
magazine, the
Roundup" debuts. lts
influential news coverage will i
CBS begin
commercial
: across the fraud and political corruption in nation's first make it America's longest- i television
: Atlantic 0cean. government and big business. newsweekly. running radio news show. i , broadcasts.

Gbr ilatltr fltorninq
Kt1{NtDY 5tAll{
ON DAttAS SIRTEI
Bt,r :o\il,ts t)Rt:slt)t,:\1'
A sniper shot and killed
President John F. Kennedy on
the streets of Dallas Friday. A
24-year-old pro-Communist who
once tried to defect to Russia was
charged with the murder shortly
before midnight.
Kennedy was shot about l2:30
p.m. Friday at the foot of Elm
Street as the Presidential car
entered the approach to the Trlple
Underpass. The President died
in a sixth-floor surgery room at
Parkland Hospital about 1 p.m.,
though doctors say there was no
chance for him to live after he
reached the hospital.
The Dallas Morning News,
Nov. 23, 1963
CIlrc {ltosl,ttgton f lgt
=
oThe Dagle Has Lrnded'-
'fwo Menwalk on the lllrur
Man stepped out onto ihe moon
tonight f or the f irst time in his
two-million-year history.
"That's one small step for man,"
declared pioneer astronaut Neil
Armstrong at 10:56 p.m. EDI, "one
giant Ieap for mankind."
Just after that historic moment
in man's quest for his origins,
Armstrong walked on the dead
satellite and found the surface
very powdery, littered with fine
grains of black dust.
The Washington Post,
July 21,1969
: 1952: CBS News coins
i the word "anchorman."
: NBt launches the first
: magazine{ormat TV
: Program, the "Today" show
ffij, ,i:;., ,,
1963: TV news comes of age
covering the Kennedy
assassination; 96% of homes
with televisions watch an
average of 32 hours of coverage.
THE YOF l3
RAIDIO NULES THE AIRWAUES EDWARD R. ilURR0W rcportirtg live durilry
tlrc Battle of Britaht Sept. 22, 1940:
liilc In 1920, only a handful of hobbyists heard the first Ihere's an ominous silence hanging over
radio broadcasts. But by 1927, 30 million Americans London. Out of one window there waves
tuned in to celebrate aviator Charles Lindbergh's something that looks like a white bedsheet,
homecoming. Radio was entering its golden age. a window curtain swinging free in this night
Though powerfr"rl publishers at first prevented breeze. lt looks as if it were being shaken
statior-rs from broadcasting news, radio soon became by a ghost. There are a great many ghosts
around these buildings in London. The MURROW
the first medium to provide a 24-hour stream of
searchlights straightaway, miles in front of me, are still scratching
news coverage. During World War II, dramatic
that sky. There's a three-quarter moon riding high. There was one
reporting by legendary newsmen like Edward R. burst of shellfire almost straight in the Little Dipper. There are
Murrow helped hone the rrodern newswriting style: hundreds and hundreds of men . . . standing on rooftops in Lon-
concise wording, short sentences, dramatic delivery. don tonight, waiting to see what comes out of this steel-blue sky.
AI}TENIGA TURNS OIII ANI' tE0N HARRIS, CNN anchor,
TUNES Iil TO TELEVISION reporthry liw, Sept. 1 1, 2001 :
After World War II ended, Americans began buying
You are looking at this picture -
it twin towers of the World
is the
televisions 1,000 sets a day. But in the early years Trade (enter, both of them being
-
of network TV, programmir.rg was prirnarily devoted damaged by impacts from
to entertainment (Milton Berle and "l Love Lucy"). planes. We saw one happen
Ratings for newscasts were disappointingly low. at about maybe nine minutes
Television journalism came of age in the 1960s. before the top of the hour, and
just a moment ago, so maybe lB minutes after the first impact,
In 1963, America sat spellbound lor lour days watch-
ing nonstop coverage of the Kennedy assassination.
the second tower was impacted with a -by another -
what
appeared to be, another passenger plane. ln fact, we've got some
To many critics, it was television's finest hour. And tape replay of that. Do we have the tape available right now?
ever since, viewers worldwide have become depen- Here is the tape. . . . lncredible pictures. These happened just
dent upon television to cover big breaking stories. moments ago.
-i:', =-.,
ITIEANWHILE, BAGK AT
THE IUEWSPAPEN...
As the century progressed, newswriting becarne
ffi @lrcl{erySodc.@iuresffi
more fact-based, less biased. Shorter sentences and .rhtP*..CyHd
.lM?kc.Oph
Two Aircnft Collide
tight writing replaced the flowery prose ofthe past. .tull"d.Td ln Air Na Delhi.
.b&bE.Fhu:rh. Killing About 350
Reporters were trained to use the inverted pyramid, .he.kEF4
a story structure that stacks the big facts first, the
lesser facts later. EuroIF Betting or
Sell-Regulation to
Newspapers became more readable, more colorful, C|rste6osldbinah Cintrol the Internet
more objective and more timely than ever before.
But their power and prominence gradually faded of the World Wide Web. Early online news sites were
(along with the attention spans of most Arnericans). simple and slow-moving (as you can see in that 1996
By 1994, the average American spent 38 minutes a home page for The New York Times, above).
day watching TV news, but only half as rnuch As online technology and access speeds improved,
19 minutes reading a newspaper. - news consumers began migrating to the Web, and
-
In the 1990s, as computers invaded homes and newspapers began to wonder: How wiII we keep
offices, a new medium emerged: the Internet. At first, readers interested in ink on paper? Are we doonrcd to
news organizations were slow to realize the poterrtial become dinosaurs?
i 1960:0nly 2,000 : 1974: President Nixon : 1982t USA loday makes
i people owned television i resigns following dogged : its Oebut, shocking the
: sets in 1945; by now, : investigation of the Watergate , news establishment
i 90% of American homes : scandal by fhe Washington , with shorter stories
i have a TV. : Posf3 Woodward and Bernstein. i and bold color.
EEUffiffi.+,,,,,,, EEEffi:l',
: late 1960s: Anti-war 1976: Ihe Apple ll , 1980: Media mogul 1990s: The lnternet wires the
: and anti-establishment becomes a popular , Ied Turner launches the planet. Laptop comPuters, digital
, underground newspapers home computer. i Cable News Network cameras and modems allow
: mushroom in U.S. cities Nintendo sells its first : (CtltD, tfre planet's first reporters to file stories and photos
: and on college campuses. computer qames. , 24-hour news channel. from anywhere in the world.
 14 THESTORYOF

Todayb changing I
! I \\ l{lllG
V

1'l lll ll
!t
ll
:, /r' ...J 1 -.,,\o rr-,. r :.n.,, i..,., r r r..,..r J r..... .!. (..:r,.r:
o:.,'r, r .,c;' r rc".'.. ,.. :
h,r c.nx,, to b," rn du$ c proror',,.-.
.,i,.,,," .. , r r
r,l r" r,r,,rilc,od 5r.r.5r cJ, dnhbJ5.
-

media landscape 3rd 41682f,.f*lf#!,$.9d$*?,[il,i.*o,.,ilf .,,,

"'T nh ":qr
Digital journalism offers new tools and challenges. rur
r&fl r _,ri
4th

Is Peyton Manning the greatest quarterback of all time? ,f l{:r

ii :51fi
Y.: q t# f,!
$.t' /+1'
To answer that question, IndyStar.com created the Manning Eledsoe td
*7i,:.
Meter, a multimedia Web page that combined photo galleries, llanniIg

a weekly game for kids, Manning's complete career stats and iE (om0hlions:

a searchable database that tracked every pass he ever threw. PH0T0 (]lltlplrr SlAIMl(,1t D^IABASt iusr r0[ t{rD5
From.hlldhood
This is not your father's sports section. lo champlon

By converging text, images, interactivity and customizable

data, digital media like the Manning Meter are transforming
Evcry pass Mannlng's thrown Printablc gamc cvery woek
journalism, making news coverage more engaging and !,-.1 : ir r.,
n,!rn1-a f, , -t0_^)..a-r',: f..c r r j,a,-, i;. :F r& trr-. i^ l1... ri
'4{-..r,.-l!.!-(),r e Jr. r^ij r)'3.,1- 1.:a i.nl,a:.!: *.']|..1..,' i.:lY J 1..
accessible than ever before.v .., n -.:,-...^ -, ir., ,.,.-,.: j:r ir-,r.,.n".r Fr'r.: " I'j-

IIS TEGHNOI.OGY ADVf,NCES, NEWS CONSUI}IPTION GIIANGES, TOO

A hundred years ago, ifyou
wanted news, you had one option:
read a newspaper. Fifty years ago,
you had three options: read a paper,
listen to the radio or watch TV.
But ifyou want news today,
\' -. A.qd h...ilhrdc
it's right there on your desktop
$l 1w on unn,
", PC. Your wireiess laptop. Your
\,\. &nhC(dlmb&ed
to"trcr smartphone. Your tablet. And
f,l
who knows what new personalized
frrbnMli Gahy tn,.. )
gizmo will make news even more
portable and accessible tomorrow?
News is everywhere now. Without
even trying we absorb information.
(As one college student said in The
New York Times: "If the news is
ANAI.YSIS: Times less than they did a decade ago. They use it more. The
FACT GHEC K
that important, it will find me.") Number of
So who are the winners in this words the
new era of news? Tech-toy makers, average American receives
of course. And consumers, who can through the media every
choose, moment to moment, what- day: 100,500
ever news-delivery platform best Percentage of Americans
suits their needs. (In my bedroom, who "graze" the news
I'll browse headlines on my iPhone; from time to time during
the day, instead of getting
in my car, I'll listen to AM radio.)
it all at once: 57
Who are the losers? Old Media.
TV, radio and print journalists are Number of Americans
scrambling to keep their audiences who watched the network
happy and their ad revenues flow- evening news in 1980:
52 million
ing. After all, without journalists,
Who watch it today:
who'll supply the news content for 22 million
all these shiny new digital devices?
Percentage of Americans
who get news on their
smartphone or tablet: 27

ARE ITEWSPAPENS DOOMED? difference is that today they don't have to pay for it. The real Percentage of Americans
problem for newspapers, in other words, isn't the lnternet; it,s under age 30 who say they
lames Surowiecki sums up the crisis facing newspapers in this us.
We want access to everything, we want it now, and we want it read a print newspaper
excerpt from a 2008 financial column in fhe New yorker:
for free. That's a consumer's dream, but eventually it,s going to yesterday: 8
Newspapers now seem to be the equivalent of the railroads c0llide with reality: if newspapers'profits vanish, so will their
at the start of the twentieth century a once-great business Percentage of Americans
-
eclipsed by a new technology. ln a famous 1960 article called
product.
under age 25 who read
Does that mean newspapers are doomed? Not necessarily. or hear no nelts on a
"Marketing Myopia," Theodore Levitt held up the railroads as There are many possible futures one can imagine for them, from
a typlcal day: 3l
quintessential example of companies,inability to
adapt to chang_ becoming foundation-run nonprofits to relying on reader dona-
ing circumstances. Had the bosses realized that they were in the tions to that old standby, the deep-pocketed patron. lt,s even Percentage of Americans
transportation business, rather than the railroad business, they possible that a few papers will be able to earn enough money who think that, in 2050,
could have moved into trucking and air transport, rather than daily newspapers will no
online to make the traditional ad-supported strategy work.
letting other companies dominate. By extension, many argue longer exist: 64
But it would not be shocking if, sometime soon, there were big
that if newspapers had understood they were in the information American cities that had no local newspaper; more important, Percentage who think that,
business, rather than the print business, they would have adapted we're almost sure to see a sharp decline in the volume and vari- in 2050, ordinary people
more quickly and more successfully to the Net. ety of content that newspapers collectively produce. For a while will travel in space: 55
Ihe peculiar fact about the current crisis is that even as big now, readers have had the best of both worlds: all the benefits
papers have become less profitable, they've arguably become Newsroom jobs that have
0f the old, high-profit regime
more popular. Usually, when an industry runs into the kind of
-
intensive reporting, experienced
been eliminated since the
trouble that Levitt was talking about, it's because people are
editors, and so on - and the low costs of the new one. But that
number of U.S. journalists
situation can't last. Soon enough, we're going to start getting peaked at 56,900 in 1990:
abandoning its produ(ts. But people don't use The New york what we pay for, and we may find out just how little that is.
linl
- For sources, see page 332

l''10R8 0N MULTIMEDIA J0URNAtISM > 172

 THE STORY OF t5

WHIGII Tt?E OF IIEWS

GONSUilER ABE YOU? How ilEws 2000 2002 2004 2006 2010
c0ltsul'tPItolt 60%
WATCHED IV NEWS
HAS CHAI{GED
(2000-2oro) 50%

Responses to the LISTENED TO

23o/o
llet-
llewsers, Disengaged,
13%
A 2008 report by the Pew Research
Center for People & The Press divided
Americans into four main groups, based
on their news consumption habits:
I Traditionalists are the biggest segment
and the oldest, with a median age of 52.
They're less educated, less affluent, and
rely heavily on traditional news outlets:
newspapers, radio and especially TV.
.lntegrators use traditional media as their
primary news source (mostly TV), but
go online fot news, too. Most are baby
boomers (ages 44 to 62), with a greater
interest in news than the other groups.
r l{et-Newsels use the Web as their main
news source. They're the youngest, best-
educated, most affluent of the four groups,
and they're plugged in to the latest tech-
nology (cellphones, wifi, broadband).
olhe just aren't interested in
Disengag€d
news. They're young, poorly educated and
uninformed about current events. They
use media for entertainment, not news.
Note: 4% of respondents didn't (onform to any categ0ry.
40o/o
460/o question: Where
iliil you get your
30o/o
news yesterday?
Source: Pew Research
Center for People & 20%
Ihe Press
14o/o
THREE GRUGTAT. QUESTTOI|S ff,GrNG TEE NEIYS BUSTNESS
Idealistic journalists often forget that the
news business is . . . well, a business Like any
other business, media companies must make
a profit to survive. And these days, that means
finding the answers to three nagging questions:
- .How do we stop the decline in ad tevenue?
When the economy began tanking in 2008,
TV, radio and print newsrooms were hit hard.
As advertising revenue dried up, giant media
companies, from Gannett to CBS, began losing
millions. The result? Layofis. Bankruptcies.
The death of newspapers in Seattle and Denver.
The threat of extinction everywhere. And a
new concern: As the economy recovers, will
advertisers return in sustainable numbers?
.How do we keep our audience satisfied?
Consumer habits are evolving. Take radio:
Young listeners far prefer filling their iPods
and smartphones with MP3 tunes than sitting
through radio commercials and chat. And
why watch TV shows in real time when you
can stream them anltime, or watch YouTube
highlights? Why wade through dull, slow-
motion, dead-tree newspaper stories when you
can zoom through Yahoo's news menu?
RADIO IITWS
GOT NEWS ONTINE
READ A NEWSPAPER
As audiences shift to digital platforms, tra-
ditional news outlets follow them there, too.
Online journalism is now a constantly evolving
hybrid oftext, photos, videos and mobile apps.
The trouble is, that all costs money.
.How do we genelate levenue online?
When we say "online news," you might think
of Google News, Yahoo! or your favorite
blog. But where do they get their content?
From the traditional media newspapers,
-
mostly. Companies like Google make billions
by aggregating and redistributing the work of
journalists worldwide without actually paying
those journalists to produce it.
Meanwhile, websites for local newspapers,
radio and TV stations try to sell as many of
those small, annoying online. ads as they can,
but it's not nearly enough to subsidize a full
news staff.
lournalism costs money even online.
So how will we subsidize it?- With clever new
advertising strategies? Online subscriptions
and paywalls? Charitable grants?
These questions continue to vex the news
business. So far, the answers remain elusive.

Kourosh Karimkhany, Wired News editor:
How will they get their news?
HOW WIIL Pretty much the same way they've
AITIERIGANS been getting it in the past 100 years:
GET THEIR NEWS through newspapers, radio, TV, Web and
the gadget of the day (whatever the
rN s02s? combination of a phone, PDA, iPod and
video player will look like). The plethora
of distribution will increase competition
among news gatherers. l'm an optimist,
so l'll guess that the competitive pres-
sure will force journalists to improve
their craft. l'm hopeful that the works
of a few solo journalists -
who for the
first time have near-equal footing with
old-school, massive news organizations
Jimmy Guterman, writer, magazine
publisher and media consultant:
ln 2025, only a small group of readers/
viewers/listeners willtake in what we
consider "news" today. The combination
of audrence fraqmentation and increas-
ing desire to tune into like-minded
sources will mean more people get
information, but fewer people get objec-
tive or vetted information. The need
for reporters will continue to decrease;
the need for pundits will continue to
increase. "News" of the WSJ/NYT/NPR
variety will be a premium product for an
elite audience, like poetry is today.
will be augmented by a perpetual corps
of low- or n0-pay amateurs who parse,
spread and amplify. Feeds and uplinks
will be available not just on mobile
devices, but the myriad gesture- and
voice-enabled screens embedded in
everyday objects. News will flow like
electricity at the flick of a switch,
ubiquitous and unremarkable.
Steve Yelvinston, reporter, editor and
lnternet strategist:
The reporting Process will be very
much about chasing down and killing
bad informatlon - -
debunking and
pointing out the good, and those respon-

- will re-establish the nobility ofjour-
nalists. And l'm especially hopeful ihat
\ American-style journalism -
which is
the lubricant of democracy and equitable
-
capitalism will spread around the
world and take root in places it hasn't
before, like China and the Middle East.
Jessica Clalk, author/media strategist:
While it's tempting to predict some
radical innovation (brain jacks, anyone?),
the simpler answer is that they'll get
news anywhere and everywhere.
Reporters will still be paid to produce
high-quality, fact-checked content, but
sibilities will be taken up by conscien-
tious amateurs as well as professionals.
Ihe value of professional journalism will
not be so much about providing informa-
tion, but rather providing clarity. And as
William Gibson said, the future is already
here - it's just unevenly distributed.
 16 THE STORY OF IOURN ALISM

f.qS ffi"
STUDENT
: : . SURVEY
FriYlfrrinfir
, ,"

In the next chanrcr, we'll explore lnw journalists define news

i.
snrl whether the Antericnn ptfulic agrees with thent. But before we
proceed, let's Jind out how vou use the news rutd how you t'eel about
tlrc news nterJia's pelbrnnnce.
'OURNATISTS'
Answcr the queslions below ss honcstly as yotL can. (T-herc arc
- no right or wrong answers, of coursc,) We gave t.his ntrvcy to nnre
than 500 journalivn students ocross the country. And on page 304,
you can see how your respotses cotllporc witlt ell thc rest.

l) I think news stories usually: 6) ln general, the news is biased in favor of:
n GONTTIDENTIAL SOURCES
E
Get the facts stratght
Contain inaccuracies and distortions E llil;:iy''"' tr Neirher
Public officials sometimes slip reporters
controversial information secretly ofl lre
-
2) I prefer to get my news: 7) lf Vouhear conflicting versions of a news story
n By watching pictures or video footage, which version will you trust the nosf?
record -to avoid getting into trouble. ln
exchange for this information, rep0rters
with audio narration ! l'4y local newspaper n My local IV news promise to conceal the identities of these
! By reading text tr Network IV news n Fox News an0nym0us s0urces.
tr Through a combination of text and images n Radio news
ln extreme cases, however, a story may
n An independent website
trigger a criminal investigation. A judge
3) Generally, I think the government:
could order a rep0rter t0 testify and reveal
f] Should do more to restrict what the news 8) lf you hear c0nflicting versions of a news story,
the name of his or her confidential sources.
media publish which version will you trust the /easf?
Suppose this happened to you. What
n Should do as little as possible t0 restrict what n My local newspaper E l"ly local TV news
would you do? lf you reveal your source's
the news media publish n Network TV news n Fox News name, you break your promise. You expose
E Radio news your source to legal or professional harm.
4) The president is assassinated. What would you [1 An independent website ln the future, your reporting ability may
most likely do? (You can choose more than one):
be compromised because other sources
n lurn on the TV, then leave it on constantly t0 9) Which of these adjectives would you qenerallV won't trust you. Your colleagues and your
monitor the situation as intensely as possible. use to describe most news today? (You can select
news organization may be discredited, too.
I Turn on the TV, see what's happening, then turn more than one): BUI if you refuse t0 name your source,
it off and qet on with my life. I Boring n Depressing E Entertaining you could hamper a criminal investigation.
[J lrack developments by monitoring news ! Useful ! Negative fl Sensationalized You could be shielding a lawbreaker. And
websites and tweets.
the judge could send you to jail for days -
n Buy a newspaper as soon as I saw one that had l0) How often do you generally watch TV news?
a big assassination headline. tr Daily E Occasionally
weeks -
until you cooperate.
n Listen t0 radio news and talk shows. What would you do?
E Several times a week E Never
n Avoid the news as much as possible to escape ! I would keep my promise to protect my
sources from humrliation or prosecution,
the annoying hype and overkill. ll) How often do you get your news in print form?
even if it means l'm sent to jail.
n Daily [ 0ccasionally
5) Which of these people d0 you consider t0 be n Several times a week E Never tr As a citizen, l'd have to honor and obey
journalists? (Check all that apply): the legal system and comply with the
n 0'Reilly n
Bill Rush Limbaugh 12) How often d0 you get your news digitally? judqe's request,no matter what the
n !
Bob Woodward Barbara Walters ! DailY ! 6ccasionally consequences to my sources.
n Diane Sawyer n Jon Stewart tr Several times a week I Never I
t

WHICH OF THESE STtrTEIUENTS DO YOU MOST AGREE WITH? CHECK EIIHER "A'0R "8": LEAVE BLANK FOR "NE|THER."

n a) I prefer news that's presented with an attitude, even if it,s opinionated,
because it makes the topics more interesting.
n b) I prefer news that is as neutral and objective as possible. I resent it
when journalists inject thelr own opinions into stories.
tr a) I could easily go for days without reariing any news.
! b) I couldn't go a day without readrng any news.
tr a) Journalists are too critical of public figures and government policy.
! b) JOurnalists don't do enough to challenge public figures and expose
governmental problems.
n a) I can usually relate to most news stories I read, see and hear.
n b) I generally feel that most news stories have little relevance to my life.
tr a) When I read newspapers, magazines or websites, I frequently take the
time t0 read long stories that analyze issues and events in depth.
fl b) When I read newspapers, magazines or websites, I usually just browse a
few paragraphs at a time. I hardly ever read stories in depth.
n a) Generally, I prefer to read news about serious issues and major events.
E b) Generally, I prefer to read celebrity news and lighter, offbeat stuff.

a-.