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| Yellow Journalism Cartoon http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/PulitzerHearstWarYellowKids.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APulitzerHearstWarYellowKids.jpg By William Barritt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
While media coverage and reporting is essential to individuals to decide how and what choices to make because of it, it can also be misleading and in some cases totally bogus. If the purpose of journalism is to provide citizens the information they need to live free and self governing lives, then I believe that certain journalists and media members need a refresher on this credo. Chapter five of Mightier than the Sword discusses The Spanish-American War, and how two publishing visionaries Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst revolutionized journalism by using a form of sensationalism reporting, known as yellow journalism. The formula for yellow journalism is one part news to one part hype, hype being the key word.
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| Joseph Pulitzer Portrait http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJosephPulitzerPinceNeznpsgov.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/JosephPulitzerPinceNeznpsgov.jpg See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Pulitzer and Hearst both distorted the news coverage, staging events, releasing false and misleading information, and calling for an all out war that never should have taken shape. The frenzy sparked a public outcry that ultimately pushed the president of the United States to abandon his antiwar policy and push America into a war with Spain that could have and should have been avoided altogether.
Hearst and Pulitzer simply wanted to promote their papers and gain circulation throughout, and did so by publishing accounts of battles that never took place and stories of heinous crimes and acts that were pure propaganda. All this to sell newspapers? To gain celebrity? What's more, because Hearts' Journal and Pulitzer's World had such significant circulation figures, hundreds of smaller papers began reprinting their stories as fact, a scary thought considering how much was was purely made up and or intensified by both men to increase their circulation.
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| http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AA_stack_of_newspapers.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/A_stack_of_newspapers.jpg By Daniel R. Blume from Orange County, California, USA (A stack of newspapers) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
This all sounds a bit too familiar. Haven't I seen this before? Hasn't there been news coverage that pushed for war, embellished facts, and brought top ex pro war military officials to the forefront to give their "expert opinion" on why we should be fighting a sensless war? Yes to all the above, Fox News is the culprit to furthering from their motto of "fair and balanced" to more of biased and unreliable. Their pro war stance and push for attack resembles the ideas dating back to 1898 of Pulitzer and Hearst. To raise public intensity and create hysteria, the media can then control and dictate what we read and believe to be true, which can lead to the cry of and carrying out of wars. This YouTube video below illustrates how Fox News uses scare tactics, fear of attacks on our turf, and pure hypothetical and unproven "evidence" to suggest how the United States needs to strike first and set into motion a plan of attack.
YouTube video illustrating the way media can influence the public
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0japj2XWNwc&feature=related
http://foxattacks.com/videos.php
In 1898, American officials had anchored their battleship, the U.S.S Maine in Havana Harbor to send a message that they were monitoring the Cuban conflict due to American interests there. On February 15, the U.S.S. Maine exploded, killing 260 U.S. sailors aboard. Thus pounced Hearst and Pulitzer, creating a frenzy and fear among Americans that the United States must quickly declare war. The cause of the explosion has still to this day never been determined unequivocally, the most logical reason being it blew up accidentally. That did not matter to Hearst, who distorted the news and headlines, ran drawings of the event supposedly explaining what took place, and even releasing a "War with Spain" card game. The sensationalist coverage paid off however, with the Journal becoming the first newspaper to surpass the one million mark, and Pulitzer's the World.
http://foxattacks.com/videos.php
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| William Randolph Hearst Portrait http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AWilliam_Randolph_Hearst_cph_3a49373.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/William_Randolph_Hearst_cph_3a49373.jpg By J.E. Purdy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
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| New York Journal U.S.S. Maine Headline http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJournal98.gif http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Journal98.gif By New York Journal (New York Journal) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Sadly the propaganda, fiery headlines, and self promoting agendas have not ceased in today's society. More than ever we continue to be fed lies and distortions of truth, leaving viewers to disseminate what it truth and what is "embellished". Fox News has their own agenda. They are given guidelines and rules to follow to carry out what they believe is news and news worthy. Why is it that their coverage compared to CNN, MSNBC, and other major news outlets varies so greatly? They say their "fair and balanced", are we to be so sure? Why is it then that a 2011 poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University found that Fox viewers all less informed than people who don't watch any news at all? Something just doesn't add up and reveals less and less a "fair and balanced" station and media coverage, but more of a biased and self promoting sensationalistic "journalism". (Link for Poll Findings) Rodger Streitmatter's descriptive and informative chapter on The Spanish-American War is a crucial illustration of just how much power the media and journalism can and still have today. Hearst and Pulitzer sure knew how to rile people up, cause a frenzy and stir emotions, but were they doing their due diligence as journalists? Were they informing the American people news and information they needed to live free and self governing lives? What Hearst and Pulitzer created was more of a radical form of storytelling, tall tales, and epic events that simply did not take place. Fairy tales and embellished stories is not journalism, and in effect can influence and harm a nation. Take this quote from Hearst published in the Journal a month after the war ended: The newspaper is the greatest force in civilization. Under republican government, newspapers form and express public opinion. They suggest and control legislation. They declare wars... The newspapers control the nation. (Mightier than the Sword, Streightmatter, Rodger. Page 92) Scary isn't it? Well ladies and gentleman, Fox News has their own agenda as well, and pushes for the coverage and appearance they want, the news they want to cover, and the personnel they wish to employ and use to voice their "news". This YouTube video documents retired and former workers of Fox News discussing (with many disguising their voice) how they were treated while employed at Fox News, and personal agendas that were pushed for their "news" programs. Fox News Lies YouTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rqdtZlec0s&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL40B19F17E9CCD410 "Outfoxed" July 13, 2004 The Disinformation Company Produced by, Robert Greenwald |
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