test 1 Flashcards
(47 cards)
How did the penny press make most of their profits?
since it was the first truly mass medium, emphasis moved away from circulation because advertising made more profit due to high level of readership
Why did radio provide a better medium for advertisements than newspapers? How did TV improve upon this? (ANCIAUX, EMILY)
-radio was better for advertisers because consumers could not skip the advertisements and it was more difficult to switch stations in its beginning stages. TV improved upon this because advertisers could use audio and visuals to make it more of an experience to be persuasive. There were two channels in the beginning, which led to larger number of viewers. In newspapers, consumers could skip over the advertisements to read what they wanted.
How did the Stamp Act help politicize the press? (ASHERIAN, SHIRIN )
The Stamp Act required materials to be printed on paper from London and needed the stamp of approval. This caused publishers to take sides and some were upset about it and how the government was controlling the press. Similarly, the Partisan Press Era led to funding provided by the different parties to go toward their publishing of information.
Why Are We Studying Media
History?
“Old” media were once new Is it appropriate for a journalist to be biased? “No” is time-bound answer. Journalists as professional & nonpartisan is relatively recent. Changing back now?
Early Printing-Before print: any mass media?
- Church pulpits
- Town criers
- Hand-copied books
- Wooden carvings
early printing-impact of new tech
-Cast moveable metal type printing press=big impact (1450-1500)
-Print cost plummeted Political and -Religious tool/weapon.
-Reformation and Counter-Reformation used print to mobilize
supporters
-Political response: banning and
censorship
Reformation
-Initiated by Martin Luther
Attempts to reform corruption in Catholic Church
Argued that Pope is not God; Individuals can access God
individually
May not have been possible without printing press.
Handed out pamphlets with Bible excerpts to make
argument.
Counter-Reformation initiated by Catholic Church
Banning and burning
- Catholic Church, French, and British maintained banned book lists in 1500s
- Included books not pre-approved or licensed
- Gov’t postal system helped monitor & enforce
- Lots of book-burnings
Censorship and Licensing
-Used power of press to support regime (“banning/burning”
playing defense; this was offense)
-1557: English Queen Mary gave the Company of Stationers the
exclusive rights to:
-own/operate all printing presses,
form a publishing organization, and deal books (profitable business).
-Search and seize unauthorized presses & books
-1621: King James I banned all unlicensed newsletters
-Want a license? Only cover foreign news & bias content in
favor of King.
Example: Jacob Bothumley
A Quartermaster in the parliamentary army who was tried by a court martial for
blasphemy in his book The Light and Dark sides of God. In 1650 “Bothumley was
condemned to have his tongue bored through with a red hot iron and his sword broken
over his head, to be cashiered from the army and to have his book burned before his
face in the Palace Yard, Westminster and at the Exchange, London… Copies of his
book were also sent to Leicester and Hertford – where he had probably preached – to
be burned.”
Early Newspapers
-First native-language newspapers in Germany in 1609
-Did best where:
Central government was weak or
divided, or
Government was tolerant
-Often distributed through private
mail networks as “news letters”
-Redistribution/syndication
-Often banned in favor of “official”
papers. (Example “published by
authority”)
Later Enforcement
-1694: English licensing laws lapsed; shifted to:
-Content restrictions (e.g.
parliamentary debates)
-(Seditious) Libel Laws (outlaw any published criticism of government)
-Taxation & fees: made newspaper cost about a day’s pay for ordinary workers
-Franking was free for government officials
Early American Papers:
1690’s- 1790s
-Content: old, old news. Ships arriving and departing; foreign news; aimed at merchant elites. -Economics: printing as a sideline to other businesses (copy shops, coffee shops, postmasters) -Colonies first paper: “Publick Occurrences both Forreign and Domestick” (1690) was published only once.
Governor:
Not a fan
Shut down after a single issue by governor because of its content and because it failed to obtain a government license prior to publication
First Continuing Paper:
Boston News-Letter
-Started as hand-written letter distributed by Boston’s postmaster -Note “Published by Authority” meaning authority of governor: -Implied the governor routinely read, approved, and subsidized the paper. -Subsidized by British government -Most early papers (until 1730s) followed this model: Approved by Authority, mailed free using gov’t franking, covering distant events without challenging local officials
Royal Governors:
Not Fans of Press
-James Franklin’s Courant (1721-
26) was one of the first papers
critical of government (James
went to jail once for a month for
libel).
-Sir William Berkeley, the Royal
Governor of Virginia, agreed and
stated: “I thank God, there are no
free schools nor printing, and I
hope we shall not have these [for
a] hundred years; for learning has
brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best
government. God keep us from
both.”
Colonial Print Technology
-Hard job: Hot, repetitive, unforgiving work, “press.” -Story writing, editing, page layout, pressing, drying, delivery, and billing all done by hand. -No more than 200 copies per hour (more like 125). Limited advertising. 1-4 small pages. Only 5% of colonial population subscribed by 1765.
Kinko’s, Not the New
York Times
-Until the Revolution, not very political
-Editors were primarily motivated by commercial concerns
-Didn’t want to offend readers, businesses or government…
don’t rock the boat.
-Large part of business generally came from printing colonial
laws, proclamations, and other government print jobs.
-Editors generally weren’t highly educated or prestigious in communities
-Potential legal problems figured in as well
-then things started to change…
Zenger and Seditious Libel
“Seditious libel” included any
editorial content that criticized the government.
-John Peter Zenger, publisher of New York Weekly Journal, criticized Governor
-Jailed and saw the royal hangman burn all copies of offending papers.
-Freed when jury held that the truth was a defense against charge of seditious libel.
-But… could also be held in contempt or lose subsidy, so gov’t definitely not toothless.
Viva La
Revolution
-Highly political in the leadup
and fighting of revolution
-Rock and a hard place: Disputes between royal governors and elected legislatures precluded a
middle path
-Some arm-twisting, too: “Sons of liberty”; “Revolutionary Councils” would often smash presses, tar and feather, or censor Loyalists, vice
versa.
-Partisan and one-sided coverage
1790s-1830s: “Partisan Press” Era
=Most newspapers were supported financially (not owned) by political parties.
- Parties: Provided contracts, stories, and readers (and sometimes cushy patronage jobs); low cost postage (free between newspapers)
- Newspapers: Provided communication and reinforcement for scattered party
- Circulation still pretty limited to elites
- Legal: “Official” government paper continues
- Technology not much different than 1690 (but somewhat cheaper and better-built)
Editors During the
Partisan Press Era
-Were selected on their skill as cheerleaders for their side (not for newsgathering prowess)
-Received party financial inducements and patronage
-Didn’t take orders from parties; did depend heavily on their largesse-Hard business at the time: Parties provided direct financial assistance, plus
increased circulation, aided news gathering, and differentiated paper from competitors.
-Revolving door: careers would often switch b/t
editor and politician
Example of Partisan Content
-“The man who is the source of all the misfortune of our country is this day reduced to a level with his fellow-citizens, and is no longer possessed of power to multiply evils upon the United States.”
-Backlash: Sedition Act of 1798 made it a crime to public “opposing or resisting any law of the United States” or writing or publishing “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the president or Congress; 15 editors indicted. Allowed to expire in
1801 with change in party control.
Big Change: Penny Press
-The first truly “mass” medium.
Sept. 3, 1833.
-Not really a change in technology, at first (change in market drove change in tech)
-Revenues based on mass advertising rather than circulation
-Drastic expansion in readership (and paper influence)…had 15,000
readers in two years (prior U.S. max was 4500; max London was 10,000)
