Week 1: Welcome, Journalism Historians!

 Gutenberg unveiled the printing press in 1440. (North Wind Picture Archive) 

You could not have picked a more fascinating time to study the history of a fascinating profession. Legacy news organizations, from The New York Times to ESPN, are facing stiffer competition for money and readers. Online news sources, from TheHill.com to TMZ.com, continue to offer more and more specialized content to capture niche readers and their loyalty. Social media platforms, from Twitter to Facebook, are increasingly becoming the prime sources of news — and "fake news" — for younger generations.

How in the world did we get here?
 
Journalism’s role in helping democracy function is sometimes forgotten amid the clamor of partisan debate and the messy nature of the news business. Hence, we will examine the crucial role of journalism in shaping American history and society. You will take skillful possession of your power as citizens by becoming perceptive news consumers. To that end, we will learn to recognize the differences between news and propaganda, news and opinion, bias and fairness, assertion and verification, and evidence and inference.

Along the way, you will be introduced to the major issues and themes in the history of journalism. The course will trace substantial changes in the practice of journalism and the key instances in which the practice of journalism brought change to America. Students will learn the most important eras in journalism history and the prevailing business models in each.

JOU1300 is your passport to a different time, a different era, a different way of seeing the world through the lens of journalism. Be here, be curious and be a better journalist for knowing this history. See you in class!

WEEK 2: Blogging Workshop

Statista.com says there are 31.7 million blogs in the United States today.

LOGIN  To Blogger.com.

CREATE  A new account. When it asks you to choose a URL for your new blog, try using your name or some variation of it.

CHOOSE  A template for your blog. Window Pane is always a safe bet. Be sure to choose a template that has a side bar either on the left or right.

GADGETS  In the Blogger dashboard, scroll down the left column to LAYOUT. Got to your sidebar. Click ADD A GADGET and choose a plain TEXT BOX. Name it ABOUT ME. Do the same thing again, but name it ABOUT THE BLOG.

BACKGROUND  Choose Blogger's gallery of backgrounds or upload your own.

PHOTO  Feel free to add a photo of yourself to the ABOUT ME gadget. (Note: some people don't like to for the sake of privacy.)

BLOG   Tells us about your TOP 5 news sources — and why. 

CHECK OUT  This recent article in The Oregonion: Could starting a blog or posting regularly to LinkedIn help or hurt my career?

WEEK 3: The Founding Ideals

RECITATION  The Founding Era & the Idea of America.

NOTE-TAKING  Recreate the Founding Era Timeline as accurately as you can. Watch for terms/concepts such as Judicial Review, precedent, stare decisis, sedition, certiorari, positive vs. negative rights, prior restraints vs. subsequent punishments, public accommodation, etc.

BLOG   About the history and workings of the U.S. Supreme Court using this 20-minute video as a jumping off point — Part I and Part II.

OR BLOG    Take a position. The is call Reacting To The Past, or RTTP. Take the side of a Loyalist who want to remain tethered to the Motherland. Take the side of a Revolutionary who wants to start a whole new world. Use research you find online about these opposing views. Better yet, use the Proquest archive of historic newspapers to hear what the people at the time actually said.

WEEK 4: Confidential Sources

Throwing journalists in jail — a long American tradition. On
the left is James Franklin. On the right is Julian Assange.

Actual charges against William Duane,
editor of the Philadelphia Aurora,
charged with contempt in 1800 for
reporting information leaked to him by
members of Congress themselves. 

READING  Margaret Blanchard Predicted Julian Assange's Fate and the Shame of the Mainstream 'Institutional' Press, Smith (Word doc sent by e-mail).

OPTIONAL READING  The Real Story Behind the Nation's First Shield Law: Maryland, 1894-1897, Smith. Available HERE

LECTURE  From James Franklin to Julian Assange: Journalists, Their Sources and Jail Time.

DISCUSSION  Team up with your discussion partner (we'll figure that part out in class). A) Talk both about the broad issue of whistleblowers — and how the government tries to punish whistleblowers — and the specific case of Julian Assange and Wikileaks. What do you think? B) As you talk, go online and do some additional research. C) In articles you find, do you find that journalists generally support Julian Assange or not? Why and why not? D) If you were writing an editorial about this issue, both broadly and specifically about Assange, what position would you take? 

BLOG  After talking and researching and thinking out loud with your discussion partner, write a 500-word editorial as it might appear on a news website, in a newspaper or magazine, or on TV. Post it to your blog. This is an assigned post that will get a separate grade. You don't need to do another post this week if you don't want to. 

EXPLORE   More about on this topic on the website of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Check out their page on Protecting Sources, which follows news on the topic. Also check out RCFP's Reporter's Privilege Compendium, which tells you about protections available in all 50 states.

Ten years in captivity for telling the truth — and no actual charges against him.

WEEK 5: The Partisan Press Era

CHECK OUT  This short entry about the cartoon above from the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.

CHECK OUT  This fun entry by The Culture Trip about The 15 Most Influential Political Cartoons of All Time.

READ  The Brittanica entry about echoes of what is also called the Party Press Era today.

GO TO   The tab at the top of the page labeled EOTO #1. We will launch that together in class.

Spring 2024 — Skip the assignment below. We might bring it back later because it's fun.

CREATE   Your own political cartoon!  (Artistic talent doesn't matter. Your wit does.) Your cartoon can be based on current events, or you could reach back to another political era. For example, since we're talking about the Partisan Press Era, you could cartoon about event surrounding the Revolution or the early days of the United States. Or you could choose more recent periods such as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 or Watergate. Or cartoon about current events. Let your imagination run wild!

BLOG  About the experience of creating your political cartoon. Or, if you don't want to put your cartoon on your blog, write a reflection on the short readings. Questions to spark your thinking: Was the old system, when news sources were openly partisan, a better way to do it? Worse? Why or why not? Do you see any parallels between the old system of news delivery and the system as you experience it today online? Is "objectivity" a worthy goal or a delusion? What do you think?

WEEK 6: EOTO, Pt. 1

Did you know that one of the most famous early investigative journalists
was a female reporter named Ida Tarbell? Did you know that Benjamin
Franklin learned the newspaper business from his brother James?

EOTO   Means Each One Teach One.

SURVEY   The list of Journo Heroes below. Think about which one you'd like to research and teach the class about. If you don't recognize any names, do a little Googling to find out.

MEET   With your group. We'll divide the class into three teams of five.

BID   On the historic figures you want as part of your group presentation. Choose carefully because you are going to have to research this person both for a presentation next week and for a blog post this week.

CREATE   A PowerPoint presentation using Google Slides so that everyone can contribute. 

RESEARCH   Your historic figure. Be sure to record URLs for the online sources you use. Think beyond Google — like Google Scholar or Google Books.

CONTRIBUTE   At least two slides to your group's presentation. Be ready to present one week from today.

BLOG   About your historic figure. This is a Key Post that will be graded separately. Make it at least 500-600 words. Think about the hallmarks of a good blog post: at least one visual element, at least one link and, of course, good form and clean writing!  (Remembering always that minimum doesn't earn the A.)

JOURNO HEROES

William Lloyd Garrison      Nellie Bly      Emily Faithfull

Ida Tarbell      Walter Bagehot      Benjamin Franklin

William Randolph Hearst      Charles Dana      Horrace Greeley

James Gordon Bennett    Mary Ann Shadd    Jane Cunningham Croly

Ida B. Wells    Ambrose Bierce    Frederic Douglass    Joseph Pulitzer

H.L. Mencken      Winifred Sweet Black      Mary Margaret McBride

Ellen Browning Scripps      Ida Husted Harper      Jacob Riis

Clarina Irene Howard Nichols      Walter Lippman      Drew Pearson

“Girl Reporters”      “The Black Press”      “The Muckrakers”

“Yellow Journalists”      Paparazzi

WEEK 7: EOTO, Pt. 2

Hmm, I'm wondering about those shorts. Presentations are a chance
for us to work on public speaking and projecting a professional image.

PRESENT   Your EOTO research with your team. Remember the old saying from the Toastmasters' Club: Never wing it. Put some thought into your presentation because it is for a grade.

BLOG   About whatever you want to write about this week. An easy suggestion: You could do a post about something you learned from others' presentations. 

An interesting suggestion: Do a post about the video we watched in class with the Woman From Yuhan, and relate it to the First Amendment.

Another suggestion: See these urgent updates about Julian Assange:  Trump's Betrayal of Julian Assange, written by former GOP Congressman Ron Paul. And U.S. Plotted to Kill Julian Assange, a bombshell story out today 2/26/20 in the mainstream Daily Mail in London.

WEEK 8: Enjoy Spring Break!

If you are traveling, be safe and stay healthy!

WEEK 9: Civil War, Lincoln & the Press

N.Y.H. stands for New York Herald, the most influential newspaper
during the Civil War period. Reporters traveled with the troops.

OBJECTIVES   To draw a clear line between secondary and primary sources. To begin learning how to make these two types of sources work in harmony. To begin using real databases to get beyond simple Google searches. To become more savvy and creative in crafting search strings that return productive results.

START   With this article from the First Amendment Encyclopedia. We will use this article as our secondary source and jumping off point for this assignment. Feel free to explore related articles that are linked in the right-hand sidebar if they interest you.

PAIR OFF   With your partner. You will work together during the research phrase of this project. You can share things you find together for your individually written blog posts.

GO TO   HPU Libraries and look for Databases A-Z in the left-hand sidebar. There, search for Gale, then choose Gale Primary Research. There, choose American Historical Periodicals.

GO TO   HPU Libraries and look for Databases A-Z. There, search for the word African American, then choose African American Historical Newspaper.

GO TO   nytimes.com and create an account. Most of the article is available using a free account, but many older articles are not.

GO TO   Databases A-Z again and type in JSTOR. This is a great database for secondary source material, i.e., scholars writing about the topic you are researching.

GO TO    Databases A-Z again and type in communication, then choose Communication and Mass Media. This is a great source for research about the entire field, including journalism.

GO TO    The searchable archive of Editor & Publisher magazine — E&P ARCHIVE.    

ASSIGNMENT    Building on the research you already did for your EOTO Journo Hero, turn your attention from Google searches and secondary sources to database searches and primary sources. For journalism historians, the central question of most research is this: How did the press cover (this person or this event)? So your research questions would become, How did the press write about, portray, treat my Hero? Did they write about him/her during their lifetime or after? Did they praise their work or vilify it? Use any and all the databases above to answer these questions.  Key Post  — at least 500 words — graded separately — DUE APRIL 1. Drop-dead dealine: no late work accepted.

EXAMPLE   What is footnote farming? When you go into a work by another and examine their sources to see if there is something useful for you to pursue for your own article. See this article that has references and links that might lead to helpful material.

CITE   We'll practicing citing newspaper and magazine articles in APA style, as outlined at these links for newspaper articles and magazine articles.

WEEK 10: Yellow Journalism & Sensationalism

America's long tradition of isolationism came to an end with
the Spanish-American War. Did the press help start it?

CONSIDER   We've talked about how newspapers moved away from getting direct support from political parties with the transition to the Penny Press Era. The upshot of that transition was that actually selling newspapers — lots of them — became a life-and-death struggle for newspapers. Competition became cutthroat as publishers struggled to beat the competition, which led directly to the rise of Yellow Journalism, with its blaring headlines and sensational storytelling as a means of doing one thing: making money.

READ    This concise entry from the First Amendment Encyclopedia about the rise and maturing of Yellow Journalism as an enduring feature of the news industry. (It's not long.) Yes, the yellow strain is alive and well. (Nancy Grace, anyone?)

WATCH   This six-minute video and ponder parallels to our current media landscape. 

WRITE   A short blog post about this short video as an optional post to help you go beyond the minimum. (Life axiom: Min. doesn't win the A.)

MOVIE DAY!   Enjoy in class a 1937 thriller about the interactions among Yellow Journalism, bare-knuckle politics and a corrupt criminal justice system — THEY WON'T FORGET (official trailer). I'll bring snacks!

REMEMBER   You are working on a major assignment right now, the KEY POST that we launched last week in which you are developing research skills using real databases. This will be graded separately, and meeting your deadline is a crucial part of the exercise. It is due at the start of class April 1. I will not grade any posts made after that time/date. 

ENJOY   On your own time and for your own pleasure, watch one of the GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME, which happens to be all about Yellow Journalism — CITIZEN KANE. (It's too long for us to watch together in class.) Would make a great extra post!  Invite some friends over — it really is that good.

ALSO   Edward G. Robinson stars in this gripping tale of the birth of the Reuters News Agency, the British version of the Associated Press, in the 1940 Warner Bros. hit A DISPATCH FROM REUTERS. 

OPTIONAL POST   Write a blog post about the movie we watched, "They Won't Forget," focusing on the role of the press in the events surrounding the crime, the trial and the lynching of an innocent man. Consider:

• Terms like "trial by media" and "trial of the century."
  
• Can the press cause a "media circus" or "circus environment" or "media frenzy" that could seriously jeopardize a fair trial?
• Consider the Supreme Court case of Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966). Hmmm.
  

WEEK 11: Research Round Table

SHARE YOUR FINDINGS

We will discuss the database research that you did about your chosen Journo Hero. Be ready to discuss your findings. Also think about:

• Which of these databases proved most useful and why?
• What was the learning curve like in using these databases, as opposed to doing a quick Google search? Did it become easier with use?
• What are advantages you found in using these topic-driven databases as opposed to a Google search?
• Did you find any other topic-driven sources along the way? Any that you would recommend to the rest of us?

Each student will have a chance to speak individually and share their blog post with the class.

Be prepared to speak for a few minutes — a great chance to practice public speaking and professional presentation skills. Also a great chance to become comfortable talking about research.

I'll bring snacks, as always.

HOMEWORK

READ   This short overview about the Muckrakers and the Progressive Era from Kahn Academy. 

READ   This passionate guest column from Nieman Reports magazine by veteran investigative reporter and journalism historian Steve Weinberg about the inner fire that drives investigative journalists. He is the author of, among other books, Taking On The Trust, about Ida Tarbell's take down of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. 

WATCH   This 50-minute documentary about famed Muckraker Upton Sinclair and an unusual interaction between journalism and politics in the 1930s: The Great Depression, Pt. 4: We Have a Plan

BLOG   Write a regular-length blog post reflecting on these short writings and/or the video. Consider:

• What is the difference between Yellow Journalism and Muckraking?
  
• Why would some people consider both of them to a bad thing? Who would those people be?
  
• If one is good and the other bad, how can journalists make sure that the good one is not confused with the bad one? How can they make sure the public knows that the good one is a public good and not a public evil?
  
• If Muckraking is about watchdog journalism, how involved in politics should journalists be? A lot, a little, not at all? Share the thinking behind your answer. 
• How is the term "muckraker" related to the term "whistleblower"? If journalists and journalism scholars praise Upston Sinclair for his work as a muckraker back then, why don't they praise Julian Assange for his work as a whistleblower today?

WEEK 12: Journo Heroes, Pt. 2

Did you know Barabara Walters was the first female news anchor
to reach national prominence? Check out the clip below of "20/20."

INTRO   We focused our first exploration of important journalists on the early eras of American history. Now, let's take a look at journalists in the modern era. 

VISIT   This fun site devoted to 100 Outstanding Journalists.

BRAIN STORM   Let's have a brain storm session to identify high-quality journalists of the mid-to-late 20th Century, from Vietnam War whistle-blower Seymour Hirsch to international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

CHOOSE   A modern journalist to write about, let's say from the end of WWII onward to keep it modern. You could choose someone from the list we create or choose your favorite journalist from history — Walter Cronkite? Connie Chung? Bernard Shaw? Woodward and Bernstein?

FOCUS   Tell us about the person's life and how they became famous. Also tell us why they and their careers were significant. How were they a ground-breaker? How did they provide a role model for others? What were their triumphs, awards, etc. How did the press treat either, during and after their lives? How were they remembered in obits and tributes?

20/20   Barbara Walters talks about her role in creating the unbelievably successful ABC News program "20/20" — which was a top-rated hit for more than 20 years!  (It's just a minute and a half, so go ahead and click.)

WEEK 13: Objectivity & High Modernism

Newsboys in New York City, circa 1899. In the Penny Press
Era, newspapers could not have survived without them.

READ   The Lost Meaning of 'Objectivity' by the American Press Institute. You should bookmark their site as a rich source of reliable information from the perspective of professional journalists and veteran educators associated with the Committee of Concerned Journalists.

SKIM    Re-Thinking Objectivity by Brent Cunningham at Columbia Journalism Review. This article cause a long-lasting controversy and debate among professional journalists and educators, and it's worth considering where you stand in this debate: Because no human being can be 100% objective, does that mean journalists should stop trying in their reporting? If admitting that this is true, should journalists see their work less as neutral reportage and more as partisan activism? (The word "partisan" doesn't apply only to politics but can mean taking a side in any issue, situation, debate.)

TIMELINE   Let's brainstorm a timeline in class to see how earlier eras in journalism might inform and infuse journalism today.

WATCH   Let's watch this fascinating short documentary about muckraker extraordinaire Upton Sinclair — while considering 1) the interaction between journalists and politicians, 2) the "proper" role of journalists vis-a-vis politics, and 3) the ideal of objectivity when confronted with political realities of a given moment or situation. As you watch, consider: Did Sinclair do the right thing here? Did his actions as a political actor betray his ability to be objective as a journalist in the future? Or did his objectivity during years of public-interest reporting endear him to the public at a moment that demanded he drop the pretense of objectivity for the public good? And what about the actions of other journalists in response to his foray into politics? What a tangled we we weave, indeed.

 

 PBS: The Great Depression: Part 4, We Have a Plan, based on the book The Campaign of the Century by Greg Mitchell, longtime editor of Editor & Publisher and prominent media critic.

WEEK 14: Journo Heroes, Pt. 2

Did you know CNN's Bernard Shaw was one of only three journalists
reporting in Baghdad when the U.S. started bombing that city in 1991?
Yes, the U.S. already bombed the Iraq capital under another Pres. Bush.

PRESENTATIONS   Hurray!

BLOG   A short one about something you learned from a classmate.

WEEK 15: Wars, the Press and the Public

William Laurence of the New York Times won a Pulitzer
Prize for his celebratory writing about the development and
dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan. Part of the time, he was
actually in the employ of the U.S. government. See here.

 QUESTIONS   Here are some questions to place in the back of your mind as you think about the juxtaposition of the tidbits below. Several eras of journalism history are represented: The WWII Era, in the photo above; the Penny Press Era, in the reference blow to the Spanish American War; the 24-Hour News Cycle Era, in the video about the Iraq War; and the present moment as represented by the "Russiagate" column by Glenn Greenwald.

• When we think of "The Fourth Estate" as a label for journalism, what does that mean in terms of journalism's relationship with the government? What do you think the relationship between the two should be? Why?

• When we think about the "watchdog role" of journalism, what does that imply about the role of journalism when it comes to wars and wartime?

• From era to era, we see examples of the collective press aiding the government's agenda by drumming up support for war in the public. Why do you think that is?

• We noted this semester how the business model of the news industry often affected the character of the industry from era to era. In what ways do you think the business of news might have shaped journalists' attitudes toward the march to war?

• Reese Erlich, one of the most important foreign affairs reporters and antiwar voices of his generation, died last month after a 50-year career. Why do you think you've never heard of him? Why do you think you've never heard of his book Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You?

• With the rise of social media, it seems like the 24-Hour News Cycle Era defined by cable news has morphed into a new era. What shall we call it? The New Partisan Press Era? Ideas?
  

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READ    This is a short news item from Time magazine in 1947. WWII was barely over, and the magazine was helping spread the word that, apparently, we needed a new war. This one would be with Russia, without whom the Allies would not have defeated Hitler. This news item shows the seeds of what would become the Cold War. Notice how the first sentence alludes to the famous incident in which William Randolph Hearst pledged to whip up public support for the Spanish American War half a century earlier.

Monday, Oct. 27, 1947

The Press: I'll Furnish the War

When Hearst Artist Frederic Remington, cabled from Cuba in 1897 that "there will be no war," William Randolph Hearst cabled back: "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." Last week the aging (84) Lord of San Simeon was out to prove that his hand had not lost its touch. This time it was not Spain but Russia on which Hearst had declared war,

Hearst Columnist Walter Winchell pulled the first trigger. In a broadcast and syndicated column, he fulminated: "The Third World War is already being fought. . . . We are losing it. ... When the Communists are ready . . . there will be 50 Pearl Harbors . . . atomic explosions erasing our cities. . . . The Communists have germ warfare already. . . . The cholera plague in Egypt is suspected abroad of being a Soviet experiment.*. . . The next countries [the Russians] intend to grab are Italy and France. . . . They need France as a base to attack Great Britain, . . . American diplomats inside the curtain are under Russian guard day & night. . . . Trained Communist spies are among us locating targets for the sneak attack. . . . We must start rearming now. . . ."

*Next day PM's Albert Deutsch asked U.N. World Health Organization officials. Their verdict: "The means of propagating cholera make it absolutely unfit as a weapon of bacterial warfare." The Associated Press reported that Russia was sending anti-cholera serum to Egypt.

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READ   This is column about the so-called "Russian bounty" hoax that the CIA pushed into the press and that the press foisted on an unsuspecting public: Journalists, Learning They Spread a CIA Fraud About Russia, Instantly Embrace a New One.

_____________________________________________
 

WATCH   This is a special episode of "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS that analyzed the behavior of the press before the U.S. government's illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Note: Although Bill Moyers was one of the most important broadcast journalists of his generation, his show was canceled and he was pushed out of the public eye after publicly opposing the invasion of Iraq.