Reflection-EOTO#2

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931)

Ida B. Wells

A presentation that really stood out to me was the story of Ida B. Wells, a courageous journalist who took on the nation and dominated the industry. After hearing about her story, she reflects on numerous messages about pursuing the truth even when it's dangerous, that documentation matters, and using your platform to give a voice to those who may be afraid to speak up. 

In 1892, when Wells traveled to investigate the lynching of her beloved friend Thomas Moss, she reflected resilience. While there are more protective measures in place for journalists in the present day, Ida B. Wells put herself at an enormous risk in the South, but was ultimately looking to discover the truth. It's not to say you shouldn't trust your better judgment when going to a scene, but Wells shows how the field sometimes demands courage over comfort. 

Additionally, Wells represented the importance of documentation and data. Her investigation was not just emotional, but she actually showed up at the scene to investigate. She interviewed witnesses and compiled statistics from white newspapers. This shows a separation of opinion or bias in the field, but rather gives her proper credibility to prove why the courts are wrong. 

Furthermore, Wells used her platform to give a voice to those who may be afraid to speak up. Unfortunately, an abundance of people during this time period were afraid to speak up out of fear of also being lynched, hanged, murdered, and, as alarming as it may seem, there are still people afraid to speak up today out of fear of physical or social retaliation.  Still, Wells reported on victims who had no other advocate and who better than a journalist to amplify those who cannot amplify themselves. 

Overall, Wells is an important figure in journalism history to the present day, as her primary focus was to speak the truth, which is something that we need journalists to largely improve upon today. 

Investigative Journalists 

The next focus of the presentation was on Investigative Journalism throughout history. 

The beginning of Investigative Journalism started with the Penny Press Era, more specifically, the launch of the New York Sun. Of course, because the newspapers were so cheap, they were able to hit a wide audience. Much of the content was human interest stories, crime, and scandal. 

Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

Nellie Bly was a pioneer of "stunt journalism," which is where journalists go undercover for the inside scoop. She exposed horrific conditions inside the New York asylum in her book Ten Days in a Madhouse. Her investigation led to public outrage and reforms. Additionally, she showcased firsthand immersion can expose what official sources deliberately hide, as well as considering how journalists can be participants in a story, not just observers. 

The presentation also discussed "Muckrakers," which was a term for investigative journalists, writers, and photographers during the time who exposed corrupt practices in business and politics. Ida Tarbell dismantled John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil monopoly through exhaustive document research. This era proved that journalism could directly produce legislative and social change. 

Overall, Investigative Journalism remains one of the few forces that expose misconduct, corruption, and abuse of power in institutions.

Computer Assisted Reporting

Last, I got some insight into Computer-Assisted Journalism, which is a journalism method where reporters use computers, databases, and data analysis tools to find patterns to uncover stories in large sets of information. 

Phillip Meyer pioneered computer analysis in journalism, as well as using scientific methods. His 1967 Detroit Riot coverage used survey data to challenge assumptions about who was rioting-a groundbreaking approach. He pushed the idea that numbers and data could prove that interviews alone would not be able to, 

During the 1980s-1990s, newsrooms began adopting computers to analyze government databases and public records. Journalists were now able to spot patterns in crime statistics, election data, and financial records that would be impossible to detect manually. 

As technology advanced, the internet made vast amounts of public data freely accessible. Journalists began building interactive databases and visualizations for readers. Spreadsheets and database software became a standard newsroom tool and would lay the groundwork for what would evolve into modern data journalism and computer reporting. 

Phillip Meyer (1930-2023)

Although this is not a part of journalism, I am interested in being involved in the presentation, which provided great insight into different aspects of the field. Most importantly, this journalism presentation gave a great overview for all journalists that they must be thorough, courageous, and technically capable.
 

Arts & Entertainment Journalism

A look at early Broadcast Journalism at ABC Studios. 

The Beginning of Arts and Entertainment

Although minimal, the earliest roots of arts journalism can be traced to Benjamin Harris's Public Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic. Additionally, early dedicated art sections emerged in the 1770s in several London newspapers like the Morning Chronicle. 

18th Century Literary Journals 

A photo of the Morning Chronicle in London. 

Literary journals began to reach a large audience in the 18th century. In 1696, the Galleria Di Minerva was first published in Venice. They covered current events, art, and culture. These early publications set the template for critical arts writing, comprising reviews, commentary, and cultural debate. This occurred way before modern newspapers created a dedicated entertainment section. 

19th Century: Criticism Goes Mainstream 

The 1831 Journal L'ariste featured exhibitions of contemporary art and art criticism. By the late 1800s, they departmentalized their content into labeled sections, which made it easier for readers to find subjects of interest. This became a more popular approach newspapers took on by the 1890s. This is where we finally saw the arts and culture as a recognized section. 

Hollywood Era (1920)

Entertainment journalism started alongside the rise of Hollywood. As films, celebrities, and actors emerged, newspapers and magazines began to write about them, due to increasing demand. In newspapers and magazines, there were columns dedicated to the lives of celebrities and the latest developments in the entertainment world. Entertainment journalism did not only focus on film, but also on theater shows. Newspapers covered Broadway openings, jazz clubs, and Hollywood gossip. Popular magazines founded in the decade included Time (1923) and Vanity Fair. 

The Golden Age of Entertainment Journalism 

Walter Winchell was the original architect of modern journalism gossip. He began writing on Broadway for the New York Daily Mirror, which became the first gossip column, and would make his radio debut over WABC. The crossover from print to radio was extremely important for entertainment journalism, as something you read transformed into something you listened to. Winchell used his political, entertainment, and social connections to get the insider scoop, and then he would either publish in his column or try to accumulate more power. Winchell was very bold in his columns, leaving NOTHING off limits. Gossip, sex, affairs-you name it, he wrote it, making him known to be "the most feared journalist." 

Hedda Hopper (left) and Louella Parsons (right)

Another notable figure during this time was Louella Parsons, who began her first movie gossip column for the Chicago Record Herald, but soon later she would become the most powerful person in Hollywood, demanding and receiving the inside scoop in the movie business. Soon, Parsons' friend and previous actress Hedda Hopper was hired to write a competing column. The two would become enemies, but both held Hollywood in the palm of their hands, making and ruining numerous stars' careers.

During the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age, we saw a pour of insider scoops of actors and actresses and behind the scenes of films. Louella Parsons' show Hollywood Hotel debuted on CBS in October 1934. She surmounted the costly broadcast fees by inducing top film stars to appear on her program for free. The success of the show established Hollywood as a major center of radio production, and by the start of the 1940s, most of the best-known radio shows came from Hollywood. 

Celebrity Journalism and Tabloid Era 

 

The launch of People in the 1970s helped bring celebrity reporting to mainstream media, spawning similar publications such as US Weekly and Entertainment Tonight. Entertainment Tonight, which premiered in 1981, was the first national and daily television program devoted to entertainment news. translating the gossip column format into a fast-paced nightly broadcast with red carpet footage, studio interviews, and breaking celebrity news. This would also go on to create similar shows such as Access Hollywood and Extra. 

A photo from the premier of
Entertainment Tonight 

Overall, entertainment journalism exists to connect audiences to the stories, artists, and spectacles that define their time. As long as people care about culture, there will be journalists to cover it — and audiences hungry to read, watch, and share every word.

Five Star Final

 

The 1931 film Five Star Final explores themes of ethics, accountability, power, and the cost of human exposure. The movie also reflects on several concepts we've learned about in journalism history. 

Penny Press Era 

A photo of the scandal in the Gazette. 

The film is based on the paper The Gazette, which, like newspapers during the Penny Press Era, aimed to attract as much of an audience as possible. Much like Benjamin Day and the New York Sun, which charged almost nothing to achieve a mass audience, the Gazette operates with similar logic.  Hincheclife spends the film demanding the Voorhees story, not because of personal interest in the scandal, but because he knows it will spike sales. Additionally, Penny Press editors discovered "human interest" stories that focused on individuals rather than commercial affairs. In terms of Penny Press standards, the Voorhees tragedy was the perfect human interest story involving a woman with a scandalous past, a respected reputation, and a daughter about to marry up. Five Star Final, in several ways, showcases the Penny Press Model at its logical extreme, stripped of any pretense that mass appeal and public good are the same thing.

Yellow Journalism 

A photo of Nancy Voorhees trying to stop
them from running the story. 

An aspect of the film that I felt Yellow Journalism was being displayed is the decision to dig up the decade-old story of Nancy Vorhees. Vorhees, who committed a decade-old crime, served to rebuild her life. The Gazette's improper intention of running the story for the success of sales of the newspaper shows disregard for any possible human damage this would soon cause. As the film progresses, we see the Gazette send a reporter disguised as a clergyman to the Voorhees household to gain the family's trust and extract information under false pretenses. This deceptive nature showcases reporting that is consistent with the Yellow Journalism Practice, that getting the story by any means necessary is more clever than misconduct. Ultimately, the tragic suicide of Nancy and her husband showcases the enormous harm that Yellow Journalism can cause. 

Press Barons 

Randall (left), Hinchcliffe (right). 

Primarily, I believe the character Hincheclife aligned much with Press Barons, which were powerful media proprietors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who built vast newspaper empires and used them as an instrument of personal power, profit, and political influence. As such, Hincheclife never confronted the wreckages he caused this family. He treats the newspaper purely as a commercial instrument. The paper exists to make money, and editorial decisions are business decisions. This reflects the way real Press Barons often subordinated journalistic integrity entirely to circulation and revenue goals. He also overrides the professional judgment of his editors without hesitation. When Randall expresses moral reservations about the Voorhees story, Hincheclife dismisses them immediately. The film is not just criticizing bad journalism practices — it is criticizing the ownership structure that produces and perpetuates those practices.

Randall

Hinchcliffe is a character who I felt followed no journalistic ethics. For him, all decisions made are purely business, and he never hesitates to make decisions that may affect anybody else. It seems that Randall is an ethically complex character, as he seems to clearly understand that what they are doing is wrong. He attempts numerous times to raise his voice and objections, but is primarily seen dealing with his uncomfortable behavior by drinking or chronically washing his hands. But in the end, Randall ends up complying with the requests, which ultimately leaves him with strong feelings of regret. The character who is sent as the clergyman is a clear representation of deceptive journalistic behavior, abandonment of ethical practices, and manipulation.

I believe ethical obligations the journalist owes the people they write about are to avoid unnecessary harm to harmless individuals, the obligation not to use deception, and to consider whether it serves any public interest beyond satisfying curiosity

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The paper also suggests that the Gazette is deceiving the readers as well. Readers an outrageous, recycled scandal instead of genuine information that is beneficial to the readers' lives. 

Randall seems to be the only one with questions on his conscience. He knows the ethical framework he is violating, but uses drinking as a coping mechanism to get him through his denial. The tragedy of Randall is ultimately that awareness without courage produces the same outcome as no awareness at all. 

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