Media History from

Gutenberg

to the Digital Age

Slides based on the Bloomsbury book by Bill Kovarik

Revolutions in

Communication

Chapter 3 – The press and the 20th century -- #7

Web site & textbook

Textbook:

1st edition – 2011 2nd edition – 2016

http://www.revolutionsincommunication.com

Press in transition

Early 20th century

◦ Publishers at the top of their games

◦ Technology mature, profits high

◦ Most towns had two papers

1970s – technology driven mergers

◦ Monopoly newspaper takes over

2000s – digital revolution

◦ Most newspapers in deep financial trouble

◦ Democratic experiment also in trouble

Overview

Muckraking press

World War I press

Russian Communist revolution

Indian non-violent revolution

German Nazi revolution

World War II press

Civil Rights era

Vietnam and Watergate era

Literary & Gonzo journalism

Environmental journalism

End game for the printing revolution

State of the press 1911

• Will Irwin series Colliers Magazine

• The press is “wonderfully able… (but)

with real faults.”

• “It is the mouthpiece of an older stock. It

lags behind the thought of its times. . .

• “To us of this younger generation, our

daily press is speaking, for the most part,

with a dead voice, because the supreme

power resides in men of that older

generation.”

• Blamed Associated Press monopoly

A familiar

complaint

Will Irwin’s ideas

about newspapers

are similar to

those of many

young writers

today.

Muckrakers • Speech by Teddy Roosevelt April 14, 1906

• Seen as an attack on investigative press

• Cites John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress (1678)

• Man with the Muck Rake • He “fixes his eyes … only on that which is vile and

debasing…”

• “At this moment we are passing through a

period of great unrest-social, political, and

industrial unrest.

• “It is of the utmost importance for our future

that this should prove to be not the unrest of

mere rebelliousness against life, of mere

dissatisfaction with the inevitable inequality of

conditions, but the unrest of a resolute and

eager ambition to secure the betterment of the

individual and the nation.

• Many journalists embraced the term

Who were the muckrakers?

• Ida B. Wells Baker-Barnett (1862–

1931)

• An African American editor of Free

Speech newspaper in Memphis,

TN,

• Investigated the 1891 lynching of

three innocent men at the hands

of a white mob.

• Newspaper was burned down –

fled to New York

• Became one of the most influential

leaders in the early civil rights

movement.

Who were the muckrakers?

Lincoln Steffens (1866–1936)

Noted for “The Shame of the Cities”

1904 series on municipal corruption for

McClure’s Magazine.

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968)

“The Jungle,” a 1906 novel about the

meat packing industry of Chicago

Based on investigations by Sinclair for

the Socialist magazine Appeal to

Reason.

Public uproar led to the establishment

of the Food and Drug Administration.

Who were the muckrakers?

Ida Tarbell (1857–1944)

Exposed Standard Oil company’s

rise to monopoly by corrupt

business practices In a 1902

series in McClure’s Magazine.

Encouraged antitrust law

enforcement Other muckrakers:

David Graham Phillips (1867–1911)—In “Treason

of the Senate,” a 1906 series in Cosmopolitan exposed

senators who had taken direct bribes

Cecil Chesterton (1879–1918)— London’s New

Witness, exposed stock fraud in the Marconi Scandal of

1912. French Le Matin also investigated.

Samuel Hopkins Adams (1871–1958)— “The

Great American Fraud,” Collier’s Magazine in 1905,

exposed patent medicine. (See Ch. 6 Advertising)

Kölnische Zeitung (Cologne Gazette) March 2, 1914

WWI and the press 1914 - Belgium

Outside the station in the public

square, the people of Louvain

(Belgium) passed in an unending

procession, women bareheaded,

weeping, men carrying the children

asleep on their shoulders, all

hemmed in by the shadowy army of

gray wolves . . . It was all like a

scene upon the stage, unreal,

inhuman. You felt it could not be

true…

Richard Harding Davis, 1914

WWI and the press 1914 -

Belgium Allegations by British of German

atrocities 1,200 refugees (not under oath) and no corroboration. Not one allegation later found true by a Belgian commission 1922.

Bryce Commission report May 12, 1915 ◦ “That there were in many parts of Belgium

deliberate and systematically organized massacres of the civil population, accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages."

◦ “That in the conduct of the war generally innocent civilians, both men and women, were murdered in large numbers, women violated, and children murdered.”

German response

German authorities in response to the

Bryce Report published the White

Book five days later. The book

contained records where Belgians

were guilty of atrocities committed on

German soldiers.

Kolnische Zeitung – This new official

collection of despicable lies is

intended to whip up people to join the

army, improve England’s wretched

military situation…

Phillip Gibbs, British

correspondent Doubtless there were many atrocities,

but I could never get evidence of any

of them… No living babies had their

hands cut off, or women their breasts.

No Canadians (soldiers) were ever

crucified, although it will be believed

for all time.”

US Creel Committee

WWI and the press

Censorship official on both sides

Press wore army uniforms

French and British newspapers often

ran with empty spaces where stories

were pulled by censors

George Seldes interview with German

Gen. Hindenburg was censored after

war, contributing to Dolchstoßlegende

myth that led to rise of Nazis

1918: Photo of US troops celebrating in a German mess hall was

censored because US troops could not be depicted drinking beer.

The Bolo Pasha affair

• WWI German plot to buy French newspapers using money laundered by American banks.

• Bolo Pasha bought Le Journal of Paris to advocate surrender to the Germans.

• Linked to German spy Mata Hari, also briefly to William Randolph Hearst

• Pasha was executed for treason by the French in 1917

The French WWI

Bolo Pasha affair

showed that

manipulation

of the press

could be a

tactic of warfare

Russian revolution

‘First step’ in the Russian Revolution of 1917 was to create a newspaper

The mere task of writing and distributing Iskra (Spark) would create a network of agents

Despite this, absolute censorship was the rule

Execution of dissidents was commonplace

Vladimir Lenin started

a newspaper in order

to start a revolution.

But he was no friend of

the free press.

Mysterious propaganda photo

Ukraine, about 1925. Would journalists really set type on the back of

a truck in the middle of a wheat field? Was it staged, or faked, or

part of a serious effort to get journalists close to the people?

John Reed (1887 – 1920)

American journalist who wrote passionately about the Russian revolution of 1917.

“As we came out into the dark and gloomy day all around the grey horizon, factory whistles were blowing, a hoarse and nervous sound, full of foreboding. By tens of thousands, the working people poured out … and the humming slums belched out their dun and miserable hordes.”

From Ten Days that Shook the World

India’s non-violent revolution

Nazi

revolution

Germany 1920s -

1945

Took over all

newspapers, wire

services

All journalists who

resisted were killed

Absolute censorship

Nazi book burning,

Opernplatz, Berlin, May 10,

1933.

“A scene not witnessed since

the Middle Ages, and a

harbinger of disaster,” said

correspondent William L.

Shirer.

WWII and the US press

Furious debates on US home front

Pre-war links between US and Nazi

industries infuriated Americans

Censorship by military on front lines

◦ But that didn’t stop news about incidents

like Gen. Patton slapping shell-shocked

soldiers

Reconstruction of press in Germany &

Japan was a top post-war priority

WWII correspondents

“There is an agony in your heart and you almost feel ashamed to look at them.They are just guys from Broadway and Main Street, but you wouldn’t remember them.… If you could see them just once, just for an instant, you would know that no matter how hard people work back home, they are not keeping pace with these infantrymen.” -- Ernie Pyle “The God-Damned Infantry” was among Ernie Pyle’s best –

remembered articles. A soldier’s writer, Pyle concentrated on the

ordinary guys, not the generals and the grand strategies.

WWII correspondents

“The liberation (of Dachau) was a frenzied scene … Inmates of the camp hugged and embraced the American troops, kissed the ground before them and carried them shoulder high around the place.” -- Marguerite Higgins, May, 1945

Only three years out of journalism school, Marguerite Higgins

convinced editors at the Herald Tribune to send her to Europe in

1944. She also broke barriers for women reporters everywhere,

convincing Gen. Douglas MacArthur to lift the ban on women

correspondents in the Korean War in 1950.

Double V for African

AmericansPittsburg Courier, Chicago

Defender and others were main

source of news for African

Americans

But wartime news of prejudice

and rioting against blacks was

suppressed by government

In WWI, critical reporting even led

to the conviction of one African

American editor under the

Sedition Act

In WWII, settled on “Double V” --

Victory over fascism abroad,

victory over racism at home

Chicago Defender publisher

John Sengstacke and an

unidentified editor c. 1943

Hutchins Commission 1947

Truthful, comprehensive, and intelligent account of the day’s events in a context which gives them meaning;

Forum for the exchange of comment and criticism;

Representative picture of the constituent groups in the society;

Presentation and clarification of the goals and values of the society; and

Full access to the day’s intelligence.

One of the best moments in the history of the press

Press became an agent of US reconciliation

Framed issues as “Civil Rights” not “race war”

Many incidents outraged public

◦ Killings of Emmett Till 1955, Medgar Evers 1963, Viola Liuzzo, many more

◦ Bombings of churches in Alabama and Georgia

◦ Selma, Alabama bridge attack by police caught on film changed the world

A civil rights bombing was “… the harvest of defiance of the courts and the encouragement of citizens to defy law on the part of many Southern politicians.” -- Ralph McGill, Atlanta Journal & Constitution

Civil Rights and the Press

Growing global press

influence The suppression of US civil rights

demonstrators was embarrassing to the US government

Comparisons were made to Aparthied in South Africa and the Sharpvillemassacre of 1960

US Voting Rights Act of 1965 and federal support for civil rights was one result

International press coverage was one of many essential conditions for change

Watergate 1972 – 74

Uncovered by two Washington Post

reporters

Found Watergate burglars searching

Democratic national headquarters had

links to Republicans in White House

Investigated “dirty tricks” campaign,

also money to pay operatives and

burglars

Resulted in resignation of President

Richard Nixon and criminal

convictions for seven members of

administration. Money laundering,

extortion, fraud, and tampering with

election process were among the

issues.

Bob Woodward,

Carl Bernstein,

Washington Post

Vietnam war coverage

US press critical of war methods but generally supportive of war aims

TV Networks generally kept gory footage off the air

Public opinion against war stronger than press coverage

Idea of press subverting war is akin to German “dolschtoss” myth

Nevertheless, US conservatives still blame press for “losing the war”

Vietnam coverage was pro-

war But not pro-war enough

for some US “hawks”

Reporters David

Halberstam (NY Times),

Malcolm Brown (AP) and

Neil Sheehan (UPI)

typified slightly critical

attitude towards the war.

Literary Journalism

In 1960s, newspaper & magazine feature writers broke the molds

Used literary devices to make non-fiction read like a novel ◦ Dialogue, scene-by-scene construction,

status detail, omniscient narration

Writers included Tom Wolfe, Joan Dideon, John McPhee

Example: The Right Stuff (about US space program) by Wolfe.

Gonzo Journalism

First person participation

Not objective

Often used alcohol, drugs

Hunter S. Thompson ◦ Fear and Loathing series

◦ Solace in excess like Great Gatsby

◦ Thompson agreed with Faulkner that "the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism — and the best journalists have always known this.”

Environmental news

Not a new phenomena –◦ Water pollution was covered by

Benjamin Franklin in 1730s

Major new interest due to energy crisis, Earth Day, oil spills, nuclear disasters and climate change

Specialized science writers emerge to handle complexities of coverage ◦ National Association of Science

Writers, Society of Environmental Journalists

End game for the press?

New technologies made printing more profitable in 1970s …

Leading to consolidations and mergers … but

Monopolies grew complacent

Wall Street demanded even more profit (20-40%)

Press was in a weak position to meet the digital revolution 2000 – 2015

Some say this is a ….

The usual bromides

Book & newspaper publishing is dead

We’re in a post-literate age

◦ Nobody reads (not true, actually)

Emerging new publishing models

◦ Educational non-profit 501c3

Politico, Climate Central, Env Health News

◦ Subcompact publication

Apple Newsstand, Amazon, Kindle

◦ Self-publishing and eBooks

Aggregators, foundation

funding

New ideas: Taz.deBerlin daily newspaper & consumer co-op

Community media co-ops

VideoCo-ops

ConsumerServices

InfoServices

B&C Co-op

DigitalServices

GamesCo-op

Training

Maintenance

Storage

Admin.

News,

bloggers,

calendar,

oral histories,

publishing,

translations

Group

purchasing –

Coffee,

books, bikes,

etc.

TEDx, interest group

yearbooks (sports, music) Sharing, classes,

competitions

Scanning,

transfers,

Web

services

Business &

employment co-op

New media investments

Bill Gates (Microsoft) ◦ MSNBC (1996) / successful

Steve Case (AOL) ◦Merged w/ Time Warner (2000) /

failure Jeff Bezos (Amazon) ◦ Washington Post, 2013 / jury still out

Peter Omidyar (Ebay) ◦ First Look Media, Fall 2013 / Epic

incompetence, aloof management

Review: People

Will Irwin, Richard Harding Davis, Ida

B. Wells, Samuel Hopkins Adams,

Lincoln Steffens, Cecil Chesterton, Ida

Tarell, David Graham Phillips, Upton

Sinclair, Bolo Pasha, George Seldes,

John Reed, Frederick Douglass, John

H. Johnson, Ralph McGill, Homer

Bigart, Bob Woodward, Carl

Bernstein, Tom Wolfe, Hunter S.

Thompson, John Hershey

Review: Issues

Minority media, muckrakers, press

in WWI censorship, WWII, Double V,

covering Vietnam, Civil Rights,

Watergate, Hutchins Commission,

Gonzo journalism, Literary journalism,

Environmental & science coverage,

end of the line for newspapers?

Next: Chapter 4

Photography