Walter Lippmann and American Journalism Tuesdays, 11 to 12:30 a.m. Sept. 11, 18, 25, Oct. 2 John Palen japalen17@gmail.com
In a Nutshell American journalism suffered an identity crisis after World War I. After decades of growing confidence and influence, journalists found themselves unsure of what they were supposed to be doing or how to do it. Lippmann, a Harvard-educated, elitist magazine editor who had never worked as a reporter, wrote a series of books in which he not only defined the problem but charted a way out. He reshaped journalism in ways still recognizable today.
Syllabus Week 1: We ve Been Here Before: A Brief History of American Journalism Week 2: Lippmann in His Time: A Brilliant Young Writer in a Rapidly Changing America Week 3: Public Opinion (1922) and other writings on journalism and democracy. Week 4: Lippmann s Legacy
Eras in Journalism History 1. Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary 2. Party Press 3. Penny Papers 4. Crisis in Confidence 5. Interpretive Reporting 6. The Critical Culture
Colonial, Revolutionary Press First papers primarily commercial: Shipping news, British and European events supplied in letters from abroad, essays. Put out by printer/ owner/editors. These evolved and split into fierce partisanship in the run-up to independence. Loyalist papers often driven out of business or operated only in crown-held territory. Revolutionary papers serve as propagandists, inciters of (often violent) resistance.
Party Press Late 18th- early 19th century Elitist, expensive, low-circulation, subsidized by political parties and government printing contracts. Served as voice of the commercial and political elite. Content: Largely political opinion pieces, verbatim transcripts of political speeches, vicious attack on opponents. Available through annual subscription or by direct purchase at the newspaper office. Six cents per issue (relatively expensive).
Penny Press First was Benjamin Day s New York Sun, 1830. Inexpensive (three cents, then one) Large circulation New business model: Selling readers to advertisers. New content model: Reporter-generated stories about everyday life.
Rise of the Penny Papers 1830-40 The Age of Jackson: Rise of a democratized, middle-class social order in a growing, urbanizing nation. Population increased by 30%; urban population by 65%; daily newspaper circulation by 400%. Press in 1830: 640 weeklies, 65 dailies, total daily circulation of 78,000. Press in 1840: 1,141 weeklies, 138 dailies, total daily circulation of 300,000.
Names Tell the Tale Transition from party to penny papers reflected in newspaper names. 1820s: Names of papers routinely include words like commercial, advertiser or mercantile. After 1830: Names express agency: Critic, Herald, Tribune, Star, Sun.
New journalism model Cost a penny instead of 6 cents. Hawked on the street. Developed big circulations: The New York Sun grew from 5,000 to 15,000 in two years. Model spread rapidly: Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore. Used circulation to attract advertising, which became the main revenue source. Focus on circulation eventually spawned yellow journalism.
Democratizing Effect Ads enlarged target audience to include everyday citizens: Patent medicines, want ads. Ads became strictly an economic exchange, divorced from morality. No more bans on theaters, lotteries, Sunday sales. Papers moved toward political independence. Sought to be sold on the street to anyone regardless of party. Modern concept of news invented.
The Invention of News Penny papers first to print stories about local politics First to publish police and court reports First to publish news from the street (human interest, bar brawls) and private households (weddings, engagements, dinner parties). First to hire reporters to seek out the news. Elite papers reaction: Sensationalism.
Yellow Journalism Morph of penny press in late 19th century. William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer Fierce battles for circulation at almost any cost Sensationalism, big headlines, photographs, hoaxes But also investigative reporting. Muckrakers: Bly, Stephens, Riis
Schudson on the Penny Press In the 1830s the newspapers began to reflect, not the affairs of an elite in a small trading society, but the activities of an increasingly varied, urban, and middle class society of trade, transportation, and manufacturing. Michael Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers, Basic Books, 1981
Epistemology No opinions, just facts. But with color (which could be invented). Write in the inverted pyramid. The facts speak for themselves. Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Get off your butt and go find some news. If your mother says she loves you, check it out.
Crisis of Confidence World War I era changed journalism profoundly. The world seemed larger, more complex. Rise of propaganda, news management, press offices, news releases and public relations. By the 1920s, an alarming percentage of news was generated by government and business. What is the meaning of journalistic work when the facts are provided by interested institutions instead of being unearthed by reporters?
Instead of color, interpretation Journalists try to reclaim meaning for their work. Background: What led to this story? What s next? Reaction: What do others involved say, pro and con? What do experts say: scientists, government bureaucrats, historians, scientists, pollsters? What does the man on the street say? The rise of the interview.
Lippmann s Role I. A strong advocate for science, he urged journalists to base their work on disinterested expert knowledge. II. He pioneered the political column. It was signed and regular. It was usually reported, meaning the writer developed sources and did independent news gathering. It was an expression of opinion, based on the author s own reporting, expertise and judgment.
Columnists Walter Lippmann, Today and Tomorrow, 1931 Eric Sevareid Marquis Childs William Safire Robert Novak David Brooks Charles Krauthammer Paul Krugman.... Jim Dey, Tom Kacich
Second Crisis: Vietnam The rise of the critical culture What is the meaning of journalistic work when institutions lie, experts get it wrong and/or are themselves controlled by institutions? Question everything. This is where we are today.
For Your Bookshelf Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr., Prelude to Independence: The Newspaper War on Britain, 1764-1776, Alfred A. Knopf, 1958 Michael Schudson, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers, Basic Books, 1981 Ronald Steel, Walter Lippmann and the American Century, Vintage, 1982 Walter Lippmann, Liberty and the News, Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920 Public Opinion, Harcourt, Brace, 1922 The Phantom Public, Transaction, 1925.