Chapter 1—History of American Media

Sedition“The stirring of rebellion”In pre-revolutionary war years, newspapers that attempted to criticize the government were found guilty of the charge.

LibelWRITTEN defamation of character. False statements of damage against

another person or institution—can also be broadcasted (from written text)

Zenger trial in 1735 was first to use “TRUTH” as a defense against libel

The First Amendment

Yellow JournalismThe unethical, irresponsible

journalism given to hoaxes, altered photos, screaming headlines, “scoops”, frauds, and endless promotions of the newspapers.

Pulitzer & HearstName comes from the comic strip

“the Yellow Kid”

The Pulitzer PrizeHighest award a writer or photographer can

receive in the field of journalism

MuckrakersWriters that

investigated and reported on social injustices in the early 1900s.

The term was given to the writers as a criticism, but the writers considered it to be a “badge of honor”

Other important points in the chapter…“Publick Occurrences”—first American

newspaper14 years later, “Boston News-Letter”

was the first continuously published newspaper “by authority”—had government approval

Stamp Act—caused papers to align with political parties, which created the “partisan press”

Penny Press“New York Sun”Benjamin Day mass-produced

papers and sold them for a pennyAble to reach a larger audience and

increase literacy among the lower classes

TelegraphInvented in 1844Impacted reporting

on the Civil WarStarted the Inverted

Pyramid style of writing

The forerunner of the Associated Press (AP) due to the speed of reporting

Yellow Journalism

Hearst Pulitzer

Yellow JournalismHearst

New York Journal

PulitzerNew York World

--named for a popular comic strip that the 2 papers battled over, “The Yellow Kid”

RadioDeForest made improvements on vacuum tube

in 1906 for radioDeForest made first newscast in 1916KDKA—1st radio station; Harding-Cox

presidential election returns of 1920NBC (1926)CBS (1927)ABC (1945)Radio Act of 1927—Created the Federal Radio

Commission—forerunner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

TelevisionFirst newscast took place in 1940In every home by the late 1950sLed to newspapers focusing less on breaking

news and more in-depth reportingCable TV had a huge impact on society

Vietnam War—first broadcasted war imagesGulf WarSeptember 11, 2001

Keeps the interest of adults ages 18-25