JOUR 1002 Final Exam

📰 History of Journalism Education

Early Journalism Schools

• First journalism classes: 1869, Washington and Lee University, Virginia

  • Proposed by Robert E. Lee post-Civil War (shocked colleagues and editors)

• First journalism school: University of Missouri

  • Walter Williams: First dean, wrote The Journalist’s Creed

    • Still considered a clear statement of journalistic values

Columbia University

• Joseph Pulitzer:

  • Endowed the journalism school at Columbia

  • Died in 1911

  • Emphasized hands-on learning in writing and media

Journalism Program Growth

• By 1924: 60 journalism programs

• 117 schools accredited by Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications

• UCONN is the only one accredited in New England

🛳 WWI and Journalism

US Involvement

• 1917–1918

• Press faced political and legal pressure for patriotism

• Censorship and propaganda became prominent

Government Actions

• Committee on Public Information (Creel Committee):

  • Run by investigative journalist George Creel

  • Propaganda campaign to gain public support for war

  • Techniques included:

    • Four Minute Men: Volunteers who gave short speeches

    • Posters like "I Want YOU" (James Montgomery Flagg)

    • Promoted war bonds, food conservation, labor contributions

Propaganda Types

• Front Propaganda

• Homefront Propaganda

• Foreign Propaganda

  • British propaganda: More subtle; had info monopoly by cutting cables

  • German propaganda: Cruder; freedom of press abolished

Media Response

• Mixed reaction from press; some opposed entry (e.g., socialist press, William Randolph Hearst)

• Others like SS McClure and Ida Tarbell supported war

Censorship and Accreditation

• Reporters had to:

  • Swear to tell truth, avoid aiding the enemy

  • Submit biography

  • Pay $1,000 for supplies

  • Post $1,000 bond for ethical conduct

  • Pay $500 for assistant and car (or buy their own)

  • Wear green armband with "C" (Correspondent)

War Reporting & Key Incidents

• Floyd Gibbons (Chicago Tribune): Predicted and survived torpedo attack

• March 1, 1917 Leak: German telegram offering US land to Mexico revealed

• Heywood Broun: Reported lack of supplies → press credential revoked, bond lost

• Archie Roosevelt (May 1918): Injury overshadowed by medal story

Legal Crackdown on Free Speech

• Espionage Act and Sedition Act:

  • Used by Woodrow Wilson to suppress dissent

  • Example cases:

    • Schenk v. United States (1919): Anti-war leaflet case, conviction upheld

    • Eugene Debs: Jailed for anti-war speech, released in 1921

    • Abrams v. US: Political pamphlets case

Aftermath

• Creel Committee disbanded post-war

• George Creel returned to journalism; lost CA governor primary to Upton Sinclair

• Committee veterans like Edward Bernays helped found modern PR (Sigmund Freud’s nephew)

• Congress repealed the Sedition Act but kept Espionage Act

  • Note: Used in modern times, e.g., Trump’s indictment under Espionage Act

• Key theme: “Fighting for freedom abroad, but suppressing it at home”

🎷 Jazz Age & Roaring Twenties Journalism

Context

• Time of The Great Gatsby, bootleggers, and Prohibition

• Rise of movies, radio, and tabloid journalism

• Shift from Progressive Era → Roaring Twenties

Newspaper Growth

• 1850–1900: Readership multiplied 20x

• By 1910: ~2,200 daily newspapers

• Later, rise of radio/TV began to cut into print

Tabloids

• Smaller format for commuters

• Focused on:

  • Crime

  • Gossip

  • Celebrities

  • Flashy headlines

Key Tabloids

• New York Daily Mirror (1824):

  • Created by William Randolph Hearst

  • Raided staff from other papers

  • Died in 1962

• Evening Graphic (1924):

  • Emil Gauvreau, ex-Hartford Courant editor

  • Printed on pink paper

  • Owned by Bernarr Macfadden (eccentric health nut)

    • Launched True Detective, True Romance

    • Ran for president, jumped from plane on 84th birthday

    • Advocated deporting poor/illegal immigrants

    • Known for sex scandals, photo illustrations, sometimes fabricated stories

Movies Depicting Journalism

• The Front Page / His Girl Friday

  • Journalists portrayed as flawed but heroic

  • Ethics were flexible, but story came first

The Rise of Radio and Media (1920s–1940s)

TIME Magazine

• Founded: March 3, 1923 by Harry Luce and Brit Hadden

• Innovations:

  • No editorial page or bylines

  • Introduced “Timspeak”: elevated pace of life, new words from foreign languages

    • Examples: kudos (Greek), pundit (Hindi), tycoon (Japanese)

  • Redefined news: opinionated, fast-paced

• Legacy: Inspired People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Life Magazine

• Luce: Expanded into radio, TV; created TimeWarner

LIFE Magazine

• Photojournalism showcase

• Huge profit center

Sports Illustrated

• Launched: August 16, 1954

• Luce wasn't a sports fan

• Financial losses until 1970s

• Eventually read by 23 million weekly

The New Yorker (Feb 21, 1925)

• Founded by Harold Ross

• Reflected metropolitan life; fact-checking pioneer

• Focused on NY elite

• Famous contributors: Charles Addams (cartoonist), John Hersey ("Hiroshima")

📡 The Development of Radio

Early Pioneers

• Nathan Stubblefield: Broadcasted in KY (1890); marine broadcast in DC (1902); patented in 1916

• Guglielmo Marconi:

  • Used Tesla’s induction coil to transmit signals

  • First transatlantic telegraph (1901)

  • Named inventor of radio (1904), but Tesla’s patents restored (1943)

Titanic Disaster Impact (1912)

• Radio used to call for help → led to regulations:

  • Radio Act of 1912: Required ship radios

  • Radio Act of 1927: Airwaves belong to the public, government can’t dictate content, but can regulate distribution

  • Communications Act of 1934: Created FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

🏢 Radio Networks and Corporations

Key Developments

• KDKA (1920): First major station (Pittsburgh), covered presidential election

• Post-WWI: Navy patents released to private industry

• AT&T: Built 26-station network; sold to RCA

• RCA (with GE): Created NBC Red (entertainment) and NBC Blue (culture/news); Blue became ABC

• CBS: Started by Columbia Phonography, grew under William S. Paley

Mutual Broadcasting System

• Co-op structure

• Built around The Lone Ranger, Green Hornet

• Eventually forced to divest

🎙 Radio News & the Great Depression

Development of Radio News

• FDR’s Fireside Chats: Began as NY Governor (1929), 30 chats as President (1933–1944)

• Hindenburg Disaster (1937): Covered live by Herbert Morrison

• War of the Worlds (1938): Orson Welles’ broadcast caused panic; mass media’s power to manipulate

• Biltmore Agreement (1933): Resolved radio-newspaper feud

Demagogues on Radio

• Father Charles Coughlin:

  • Detroit priest, began political commentary in 1930

  • Anti-Semitic, pro-Hitler, banned by Church in 1942

  • Lesson: Radio could be manipulated; audience slow to recognize misinformation

📰 WWII Reporting & Correspondents

Differences from WWI

• Less censorship

• More reporters on the ground

• Media had more freedom and responsibility

Key Figures

• Dorothy Thompson:

  • First western journalist to interview Hitler (1931)

  • Expelled from Germany; became national hero

  • Later blacklisted for Palestine reporting

• Edward R. Murrow:

  • CBS radio journalist: “This is London”

  • Covered Blitz, helped shape US public opinion

  • Met with FDR post–Pearl Harbor (but didn’t report the attack himself)

• Ernie Pyle:

  • Roving war correspondent, Pulitzer winner

  • Focused on ordinary soldiers

  • Syndicated in 100+ papers, 9 million daily readers

  • Killed by Japanese sniper in Okinawa (1945)

• Bill Mauldin:

  • Cartoonist, created Willie and Joe

  • Clashed with Patton over realistic depictions

  • Pulitzer winner

• Andy Rooney:

  • Stars and Stripes writer, later 60 Minutes

  • Built camaraderie with Walter Cronkite

⚔ WWII Events & Ethics

Pearl Harbor (Dec 7, 1941)

• 5 battleships sunk, 2344 Americans killed

• US censored extent of damage for morale

• UK framed as US victory

Accreditation & Censorship

• Reporters wore uniforms, sometimes armed

• John Steinbeck: Criticized war coverage for dishonesty

• George Strock: First photo of dead US soldier published (1943)

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

• 558 accredited reporters

• Courier services used

• 700,000 words transmitted on Day 1

• Ed Kennedy: Broke embargo on German surrender → fired

Television's Impact on Society

• Global Influence: Shrunk the world, laid groundwork for internet, smartphones, Zoom.

• Cultural Significance: Evolutionary—people remember where they were during major events (JFK assassination, 9/11).

• Electronic Fireplace: Television became central to home life.

Early Development of Television

• Philo Farnsworth:

  • "Father of Television"

  • At 14, conceptualized scanning electrons to display images

  • 1927: First complete electronic TV system

  • 1934: Demonstrated working television—screen was a foot in diameter

  • Battled RCA for patent recognition (won)

  • Elma Farnsworth (wife) worked with him

  • 1920s-30s: No modern conveniences (computers, phones, cars)

• Industry Players:

  • AT&T, Westinghouse, RCA, GE, Bell Labs (like "Lumon Industries" from Severance)

  • 1936 Olympics: First cable broadcast in Germany

  • 1939 World’s Fair: David Sarnoff predicts TV will impact all aspects of life

  • WWII delayed development; FCC approved first licenses in 1941

  • 1946: 6 stations → 1970: 900 stations

  • TV Adoption in Homes:

    • 1950: 9%

    • 1960: 87%

    • 1969: 95%

Pioneers of Broadcast Journalism

• Edward R. Murrow:

  • See It Now (1952–1957), 4 Emmy Awards

  • Skeptical of TV, came from print journalism

  • Covered hard-hitting stories like McCarthyism and migrant labor

  • Left TV in 1961; died of lung cancer in 1965

  • Known for exposing Joseph McCarthy on-air in 1954

  • “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.”

• Fred Friendly:

  • Joined CBS 1950

  • Executive producer of CBS Reports

  • Harvest of Shame (1960) exposed poor conditions for migrant workers

  • Resigned from CBS in 1966 over Vietnam hearings being preempted by The Lucy Show

  • Helped found PBS; taught at Columbia Journalism School

Television and Political Impact

• 1960 Nixon–Kennedy Debate:

  • First televised debate, shifted campaign strategies

  • Kennedy looked confident; Nixon, sick and pale—TV viewers favored Kennedy

  • 4 million voters swayed

  • Kennedy used TV like FDR used radio

• JFK Assassination (1963):

  • As the World Turns interrupted at 1:40 PM

  • Walter Cronkite went live at 2 PM

  • Coverage was raw, emotional, and non-stop for four days

  • 180 million watched the funeral

• Walter Cronkite:

  • CBS anchor 1962–1981

  • Nicknamed “Most Trusted Man in America”

  • Covered JFK’s death, space program, and Vietnam

  • Personal advocate for the space program

  • Covered moon landing—125–150 million viewers

  • Also covered Challenger explosion

24-Hour News and Cable TV

• Satellite Communication:

  • 1962: JFK signs Communications Satellite Act

• Rise of Cable News:

  • 1980: CNN by Ted Turner

  • 1996: Fox News and MSNBC launched

  • Technology makes news instantaneous, enhances press freedom

  • Newton Minnow: TV is both a “global village” and a “vast wasteland”

Vietnam War & TV

• First war televised in real time

• Public opinion influenced by nightly news coverage

• Deepened skepticism toward government narratives

Red Scare & McCarthyism

• Fear of Communism:

  • McCarthy blamed State Dept. for loss of China

  • Children did "Duck and Cover" drills

  • Propaganda cartoons, bomb shelters, loyalty oaths

• Joseph McCarthy (1908–1957):

  • Elected to Senate 1946

  • Accused many with no evidence (Wheeling speech: “205 communists”)

  • Targeted Hollywood, government officials, and journalists

  • Used fear and media competition to spread lies

  • Army hearings (1954) televised; he was exposed and censured

  • Died of alcoholism

• Murrow’s Response:

  • See It Now episode on Milo Radulovich

  • Exposed unfair branding of innocents as security risks

  • Famous rebuttal aired April 5, 1954

  • “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.”

• Roy Cohn:

  • McCarthy's assistant

  • Later mentored Donald Trump

  • Represented mobsters

  • Taught aggressive tactics: deny, deflect, attack

Lessons Learned

• Journalism Challenges:

  • Verifying charges was difficult

  • Partisan pressures

  • Need for objective credibility

  • Rise in journalistic boldness over time

Civil Rights Movement (4/8/25)

Key Themes

• The Civil Rights Movement was a visual, television, and print story.

• Images and press coverage helped awaken the American public and global community to racial injustice.

• The Black Press laid the groundwork for the movement.

• Legal and political victories were often fueled by public reaction to media exposure.

Important Figures

• Martin Luther King Jr.

  • Inspired by Gandhi’s nonviolent movement.

  • Masterful use of press coverage to highlight segregation.

  • Wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail.

  • Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

  • Gave the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington (Aug 28, 1963).

  • Named Time magazine's Man of the Year; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

• Simeon Booker

  • Black journalist who covered Emmett Till’s murder.

  • Helped bring national attention to the brutality of the South.

• Emmett Till

  • 14-year-old boy from Chicago murdered in Mississippi.

  • Open casket funeral exposed brutality to the public.

  • Trial and acquittal by all-white jury sparked outrage.

Black Press Role

• Acted as an activist press (e.g., Chicago Defender, Pittsburgh Courier).

• Reported lynchings and unconstitutional segregation.

• Black journalists risked their lives in the Deep South.

• Without their coverage, the Civil Rights Movement may not have gained momentum.

Major Events Covered by Press

Little Rock Nine (1957)

• Elizabeth Eckford: iconic image walking to Central HS.

• Eisenhower sends federal troops on Sept 24.

University of Mississippi Integration

• James Meredith’s integration faced riots.

• Journalist Paul Guihard was killed.

• Dan Rather describes violent scenes as war-like.

Freedom Riders (1961)

• Black and white students rode buses to protest segregation.

• Violently attacked in Montgomery and Birmingham.

• Journalist Tom Langston beaten; only one photo survived.

“Who Speaks for Birmingham?” (CBS - 1961)

• Howard K. Smith exposes police allowing KKK to attack riders.

• Forces Kennedy to take action on desegregation.

Birmingham Movement (1963)

• Children’s Crusade: 700+ arrested.

• Bull Connor's brutality backfires.

  • Dogs, firehoses used on children.

  • Over 200 reporters documented the violence.

• JFK Address (June 11, 1963): response to Birmingham events.

Quote: “The Civil Rights Movement should thank God for Bull Connor—he helped it as much as Abraham Lincoln.”

Church Bombing (Sept 15, 1963)

• 4 girls killed in 16th Street Baptist Church.

• Eugene Patterson’s column read on air by Walter Cronkite.

Legal & Political Victories

• Civil Rights Act (1964)

• Voting Rights Act (1965)

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

• Landmark libel case: public officials can't win libel suits unless they prove actual malice.

• Protected press freedom and allowed aggressive civil rights coverage.

• Sparked by an ad supporting MLK.

• White jury originally awarded $5,000.

• Case led to unanimous Supreme Court decision.

Selma and Bloody Sunday (1965)

• March 7: marchers met with brutal police force.

• James Reeb killed.

• March 21: successful 5-day march to state capital.

• John Lewis beaten.

• Obama commemorates 50th anniversary.

• Cory Booker breaks filibuster record in civil rights tribute.

Vietnam War & Watergate (4/10/25)

Overview

• First television war and most unpopular war in U.S. history.

• Sparked widespread distrust in government.

• 58,000 U.S. casualties, 1–3 million Southeast Asian casualties.

• Draft resistance and protests were common.

Media Coverage

• Expanded nightly news (from 15 to 30 minutes).

• Graphic images became the norm.

• Napalm Girl (1972) by Nick Ut won Pulitzer.

Young Journalists (“Young Turks”)

• David Halberstam (NYT), Malcolm Browne (AP), Neil Sheehan (UPI)

• Clashed with older journalists.

• Focused on truth over government PR.

Notable Incidents

Zippo Lighter Story

• Morley Safer (CBS) covers U.S. Marines torching village in Cam Ne.

• CBS aired footage despite backlash.

Tet Offensive (1968)

• Massive attack; military success but psychological defeat.

• Cronkite visits and calls for U.S. to withdraw.

• Changed public perception.

Life Magazine (1969)

• Printed headshots of one week’s U.S. casualties.

My Lai Massacre

• 500+ civilians executed by U.S. troops.

• Initially underreported.

• Seymour Hersh broke story after grant and created his own wire service.

• Lt. William Calley Jr. convicted.

Kent State Shooting (1970)

• 4 students killed during anti-war protest.

Impact on Journalism

• Raised standard for truth-telling and analysis.

• High watermark for uncensored war coverage.

• Press seen as responsible for loss of public support.

• Post-Vietnam: more censorship and restricted access for journalists.

Watergate Scandal

• Stemmed from Pentagon Papers leak (Daniel Ellsberg).

• Supreme Court ruled in favor of press: can’t censor public-interest stories.

• Nixon created “The Plumbers” to stop leaks.

• Led to Nixon’s downfall and deep mistrust of government.

• Press became emboldened to hold power accountable.

"We don’t just record what people say—we uncover the truth."

1960s & 70s: New Journalism

Bold Breakthroughs in Journalism

• New Journalism emerged in the 1960s as a reflection of anti-war protests, the hippie movement, and counterculture.

• Traditional newspapers were seen as fat, lazy, happy, boring, and stodgy.

• Long-form narrative storytelling became prominent.

Key Figures in New Journalism

• Neil Sheehan: Wrote The Bright Shining Lie about the Vietnam War.

• Tom Wolfe: The epitome of New Journalism, coining the term "New Journalism".

  • The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby: His early work exploring status in America.

  • Profiled Muhammad Ali and astronauts.

• Truman Capote: Wrote In Cold Blood, a groundbreaking narrative that blurred the lines between fact and fiction.

• Gay Talese: Known for vivid, long-form reporting.

  • "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" in Esquire became a landmark in the genre.

• Hunter S. Thompson: Invented Gonzo Journalism—a style blending fiction with factual reporting.

  • Most famous for Hell's Angels.

• Joan Didion: Known for her clear-eyed, dark view of American life.

• John Hersey: Hiroshima was a groundbreaking work in narrative journalism.

• Norman Mailer: The Armies of the Night won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for its mix of personal narrative and history.

• Rachel Carson: Leading figure in environmental journalism.

  • Silent Spring exposed the dangers of pesticides and influenced environmental policies.

The Feminist Press

Women Journalists and the Fight for Equality

• Feminist press worked to raise awareness of underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in media.

• Notable Milestones:

  • Women's Media Center founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem.

  • Reports show gender inequality in print and on TV, though progress is being made.

• Historical Women Pioneers:

  • Mary Katherine Goddard: Printed the Declaration of Independence.

  • Margaret Fuller: First female American book reviewer and advocate for women’s rights.

  • Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Led the women's suffrage movement.

  • Margaret Bourke-White: Notable photojournalist.

  • Martha Gellhorn: Prominent war correspondent.

Feminist Media and Publications

• Ms. Magazine: Founded by Gloria Steinem in 1972.

  • Famous for publishing stories on abortion and women's issues.

• Rolling Stone: Became a key outlet for counterculture reporting.

Prominent Women Journalists and Media Personalities

• Gloria Steinem: Feminist activist and journalist.

  • Undercover work at Playboy Clubs led to a series on sexism.

  • Played a crucial role in the legalization of abortion.

  • Helped create Ms. Magazine.

• Barbara Walters: One of the first women to anchor a news broadcast.

  • Covered JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy's trip to Pakistan and India.

  • Became the highest-paid news anchor and co-hosted The View.

• Oprah Winfrey: Credited with paving the way for women in broadcasting, stating Barbara Walters was a major influence.

Notable Books & Publications

• Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962): Exposed the dangers of pesticides and led to significant environmental reforms.

• Michael Harrington’s The Other America (1962): Focused on poverty and inequality in America.

• Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963): Pioneering work that sparked second-wave feminism.

Sexism in Journalism

• Sexism in Media: Gender inequality is evident in journalism, with more men covering business, economy, and sports, and women more likely to cover lifestyle, education, and health.

• Feminist Press Efforts: Organizations like the Women's Media Center and the 19th (news outlet) focus on improving representation.

Women Pioneers in Journalism

• Helen Gurley Brown: Editor of Cosmopolitan, she transformed the magazine by discussing sex and women’s independence.

  • Wrote Sex and the Single Girl in 1962.

• Andrea Mitchell: NBC News journalist who faced sexism early in her career.

The Feminist Movement's Media Influence

• Women's Suffrage:

  • Seneca Falls Convention (1848): Launched the women’s suffrage movement.

  • Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for voting rights.

• Key Women’s Journals:

  • The Revolution (1868): Focused on women's suffrage and easier divorce laws.

  • Woman's Journal: Published by Lucy Stone.

• 1960s Backlash:

  • Women in New Jersey burned bras as part of the feminist movement.

Influential Works in New Journalism

• Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968): Focused on the counterculture and the hippie movement.

• Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (1966): A major influence on narrative nonfiction and journalism.

• Gay Talese’s Frank Sinatra Has a Cold (1966): An iconic example of New Journalism.