Newspapers, Online News, and an Evolving Journalism

acta diurna

written on a tablet, an account of the deliberations of the Roman senate; an early “newspaper”

corantos

one-page news sheets on specific events, printed in English but published in Holland and imported into England by British booksellers; an early “newspaper”

diurnals

daily accounts of local news printed in 1620s England; forerunners of our daily newspaper

broadsides (broadsheets)

early colonial newspapers imported from England, single-sheet announcements or accounts of events; also called broadsheets

bill of rights

the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution

first amendment

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

alien and sedition acts

series of four laws passed by the 1798 U.S. Congress making illegal the writing, publishing, or printing of “any false scandalous and malicious writing” about the president, Congress, or the U.S. government

penny press

newspapers in the 1830s selling for one penny

wire services

news-gathering organizations that provide content to members

yellow journalism

early 20^th-century journalism emphasizing sensational sex, crime, and disaster news

newspaper chains

businesses that own two or more newspapers

pass-along readership

measurement of publication readers who neither subscribe nor buy single copies but who borrow a copy or read one in a doctor’s office or library

zoned editions

suburban or regional versions of metropolitan newspapers

hyperlocal free weeklies

no-cost news and information outlets serving discrete locales within larger cities and towns

ethnic press

papers, often in a foreign language, aimed at minority, immigrant, and non-English readers

alternative press

typically weekly, free papers emphasizing events listings, local arts advertising, and “eccentric” personal classified ads

feature syndicates

clearinghouses for the work of columnists, cartoonists, and other creative individuals, providing their work to newspapers and other media outlets

sponsored content

content that matches the form and function of an editorial but is, in fact, paid for by an advertiser

newshole

the amount of space in a newspaper given to news

paywall

making online content available only to those visitors willing to pay

micropayments

small payments for individual stories provided by an aggregator

impressions

the number of times an online ad is seen

integrated audience reach

total numbers of the print edition of a newspaper plus unduplicated Web readers

click bait

Web content designed to attract ad impressions

misinformation

mere falsehoods

disinformation

falsehoods designed to achieve a political goal

news literacy

the ability to analyze and assess the reliability of news and information and to differentiate among facts, opinions, and assertions

soft news

sensational stories that do not serve the democratic function of journalism

hard news

news stories that help readers make intelligent decisions and keep up with important issues

infotainment

news that presents information in a manner intended to be entertaining, ignoring depth and context