Chapter 8 Newspapers

In 1690, Boston printer Benjamin Harris publishes the first North American newspaper called Publick Occurrences.

Zenger was arrested in 1734 for seditious liable. A jury rules in Zenger's favor in 1735, establishing freedom of the press and newspapers right to criticize government.

Spanish-language: El Misisippi in New Orleans, 1808; African-American: : Freedom's Journal in 1827; Native American: the Cherokee Phoenix in Georgia, 1828

by the late 1820s the average newspaper costs six cents a copy. In 1833, Benjamin day of the New York Sun lowered prices and sold papers for a penny. Competing papers also lowered their rates to a penny a copy. While this was great for readers it was not enough to sustain a business operation in the newspaper owners had to figure out how to support the company. The model of advertising paying for content was born.

emphasized profitable papers that carried sensational, exciting human interest stories, crime news, and large headlines.

Publishing Crusaders during the yellow journalism era. Hearst was the model for Charles Foster Kane, in the movie "Citizen Kane."

generally pushed the plan of the particular political group that subsidized the paper. Compared to the commercial press, which served business leaders who were interested in economic issues.

this ideal was championed by the early New York Times and its owner Adolph Ochs.

the early and traditional way of writing new stories with all the information at the top and lesser information at the bottom that could be cut off easily.

founded in 1982 added more color to newspapers than ever and radically change the look of most major US daily newspapers.

Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigated corruption in the White House. Then Pres. Richard Nixon resigned after the posts published a series of stories. The classic movie, "All the President's Men," is a must-see. Extra credit points for watching and writing 350 words.

Scripps was the first newspaper chain - a company that owns several papers throughout the country - in the 1890s. However, many chains failed, including Times Mirror (which owned the Los Angeles times, now owned by the Chicago Tribune company) and Knight Ridder (which owned the Miami Herald and other large newspapers, now owned by McClatchy).

a cost-cutting device to combat declining circulation, which enabled two newspapers and a market to share sections. One of the biggest was in Detroit between the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. The Detroit Free Press printed on Sunday while the news printed on Saturday. The newspapers both printed during the week.

The heyday of newspaper circulation was in the 1950s and 60s and began to decline from then. In addition, an increasing number of women working full time outside the home squashed one core readership group in the 1970s.

From the late 1960s through the 1970s with the rise in network television viewing and greater competition from suburban weeklies; and again in the 1990s to today with digital competing for our attention.

the buzzword to describe newspapers move to digital. However while newspapers developed online versions of their papers, they waited too long and in many observers opinions didn't understand how best to do it.

Interpretive aims to explain key issues or events and place them in a broader historical or social context. Literary adapted fictional techniques such as descriptive details and settings and extensive character dialogue in nonfiction material.

of all mass media newspapers have played the leading role in sustaining democracy and championing freedom.

by most accounts a failed plan to force readers to pay for content online. Paywalls are successful for a few niche publications.