Newspaper Medium

Short History
• Roman: 100 BCE
• European: 1600s (Oxford Gazettee)
• American:1690s (Used in the
American Revolution, protected by
First Amendment in 1790)
• Penny Press made it mass
communication medium in New York
Sun, 1833.
 Benjamin Day Penny Press
• Human interest stories: crime,
entertainment, court, police…
• Larger audience: NY literacy
conditions
• Cheaper price
• Reporters wired stories via telegraph
• Sold advertisement
• Motto: The Sun shines for all.
 Wire Service
• 1856 New York Associated Press:
Six large NPs: The Sun, Harold,
Tribune created news gathering and
distribution organization
1900: Associated Press
1907: United Press
1909: International News Service
 Yellow Journalism
• 1883 Joseph Pulitzer: New York World
• Populist approach to news
• Activist coverage style: social
problems, disaster news, giant
headlines
• Heavy use of illustrations, cartoons,
color
• Left its marks on current NP style
 Types of NP
• National Daily NPs:
– Wall Street journal
– Christian Science Monitor
– USA Today
• Large Metropolitan Dailies (at least 5
times a week)
– Boston Globe (multiple editions throughout day)
– Chicago Daily
– Houston Chronicle
 Types of NP
• Suburban & small-Town Dailies
• Weeklies & Semiweeklies
• Ethnic Press:
– Spanish, Black, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arab
– NY: ethnicities serving 50 languages
• Alternative Press:
– free distribution
– Anti war, anti racism
– Village Voice, Boston Phoenix,
• Commuter papers: free for
commuters/younger generation
 Readership
• Original Readership (56 mil/day)
• Pass-along readership (132 mil/daily)
(200 mil/weekly)
 NPs & Advertising
• Ad medium: recognized by advertisers
• Ads prosper NPs
• Annual U.S. ad spending in NP:
– $94.71 per person
– 253.75/household
• Decision based on:
• Reach: 50% of Americans read daily
paper
• Better Demographics: better educated,
income,
 Outside Content
• News service: news content,
national, state, international,
• Feature Syndicates: clearinghouse for
columnists, essayists, cartoonists.
 Changes
• Nature of medium and its
relationship with audience is
changing.
– Loss of competition
– Convergence
– Conglomeration’s Hypercommercialism
– Readership evolution
 Loss of Competition
• Medium in decline:
1. Number of newspapers in decline
– Fewer cities with competing papers
2. Concentration of ownership:
– Chain ownership has become common
– JOA: Joint Operating Agreement: weaker
NPs merge w/ Stronger NPs provided
editorial & reporting remains separate.
 Editorial Diversity Concern
• One NP = One editorial voice
• Truth flows from multiple voices
• Public is best served antagonistic
voices
• Political, cultural, and social
debate???
 Conglomeration
• Pressure to produce profit
• Hypercommercialism:
• Blurring between ads & news
• Loss of journalistic mission
– front page ads
– Content conform to commercial interest
– Promoting businesses operations
 Internet Convergence
• Questions of Convergence w/
internet:
• Online NPs
• Unsure future whether people will
read it
• How to charge for content?
• How to measure readership?
 Readership
• Older people readership
• Younger people net readership