Reading Guide: Weeks 4-7
Chapter 12: The Age of New Journalism
See esp. pp. 223-233.
Also:
The Changing Structure of the Newspaper Industry, beginning on p.
235.
Yellow Journalism, beginning on p. 238
Competition from other media, beginning on p. 244
Know: Joseph Pulitzer
Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochran)
Chapter 13: Magazines, 1740-1900
See pp. 251-262.
See particularly the history of women's magazines, especially the
Ladies Home Journal.
Know Cyrus Curtis, Louisa Knapp Curtis
Harper's
Chapter 14: Advertising, 1700-1900
pp. 265-282
Considers parallel development of magazines and advertising
agencies
Know: P.T. Barnum, J. Walter Thompson, Lydia Pinkham,
Chapter 15, Emergence of Modern Media
(Optional at this point but provides context for future lectures)
pg. 283: "Newspapers, which depended on advertising for more than
half their revenue, laid claim to a unique status in the nation's
economic and political power structure."
a. How? What is the basis for this claim?
b. What did this mean for the appearance, content, politics, etc.
of newspapers?
What kind of communication prompted the emergence of the formal
scientific study of communication effects?
Why is "jazz journalism" so interesting?
Was newspaper consolidation typical in other industries? What are
the pros and cons of consolidation?
TRIVIA: The first School of Journalism was founded in 1908 at the
University of Missouri. The UO J-School was not far behind: It was
founded in 1916.
The section on objectivity on page 293 is great. Note the
difference between a "mass," as in mass media, and a "public."
The rest of this chapter, pp. 294-300, is a good introduction to
topics we will cover later, such as public relations, radio, and
newsreels. Read this for context and the "big picture."
Reading Guide for Chapter 16
This is an important part of American journalism history, so
spend some time here on this chapter!
The Progressive Movement and muckraking
Questions to ask:
How long did this movement last?
What was the general point?
What reporting/writing techniques were used?
What was the preferred medium? Why?
Why could The Progressives be considered conservative?
How did muckrakers get their name?
What was the range of issues that fell "under the muckrake?"
You should know the basics about these people:
Jacob Riis
Ida Tarbell
Lincoln Steffens
List 8-10 claims about the value and impact of muckraking, pro
and con:
Finally, how did muckraking lead to the profession of public
relations?
Reading Guide for Chapter 17
This chapter is most useful for broad context of the media's
interaction with national and international events. It focuses on the
role of reporters both individually and collectively, as the "press."
Read for a broad understanding of the concepts of public
relations, censorship and propaganda.
Read to get a sense of the times: war, race riots, labor strikes,
"Red" scares, Depression, more war. Somebody must have been having
some fun somewhere, but you wouldn't know it from this chapter!
Read to get a sense of how the press shaped Americans' views of
world affairs.
Then concentrate on the media-newspapers, radio, film-during the
Great Depression, thinking carefully about how CENTRAL it was to the
nation's life. Do the same in the section about the New Deal and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Ditto World War II.
I'm not asking you to memorize a bunch of specifics but I am
asking you to read-and enjoy!-the way this chapter pulls together so
many threads and raises so many questions.
Reading Guide for Chapter 18
Chapters 18, 19, 23 and 24 overlap in significant ways. As we
have discussed in lecture, it's nearly impossible to separate the
history of radio, music, television, and film. The development of
each occurred nearly simultaneously (in historical perspective) and
influenced the direction of the others. Be alert to these historical
intersections as you read!
In about what time period were the very first radio broadcasts?
How is the sinking of the Titanic related to radio history?
How was the Radio Corporation of America formed?
How are broadcasting and the marketing of "radio sets" related?
Read the section on radio and advertising on p. 347: What "new"
medium is currently fighting its way through the same minefields?
In terms of helping democracy, what were the high hopes for
radio? Were they realized?
The regulatory history of radio is complicated but try to extract
the common ground among the acts of 1912, 1927 and 1934. What was the
government trying to do?
You'll find much of interest in pages 352-364. Read it for
pleasure and context for class lectures!
Reading Guide for Chapter 19
As noted, Chapters 18, 19, 23 and 24 overlap in significant ways.
As we have discussed in lecture, it's nearly impossible to separate
the history of radio, music, television, and film. The development of
each occurred nearly simultaneously (in historical perspective) and
influenced the direction of the others. Be alert to these historical
intersections as you read!
Chapter 19 tries to cover 106 years of entertainment media! Whew!
Here's some help:
First, read the first column on the first page of the chapter (p.
367), and pay close attention to the third paragraph, which begins
"With the introduction of each new medium …." This is the central
theme of this section of the course.
Pay special attention to how music and radio supported each
other, when they got over the competition phase.
Film: Read the rest of this section for background and context.
Ditto for the rest of the chapter: background and context. My
hope is that you will NOT feel compelled to memorize any of this
because 1) you probably can't, and 2) that's not the point. The point
is to enjoy the richness that just a little history can bring to our
lives!
Chapter 21: 405-414
Chapter 22: 423-434