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News and Enterntainment in the USA
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Lecture notes of 8 pages for the course US civilisation at Bordeaux - Université Montaigne
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NEWS AND ENTERTAIRNMENT IN THE USA.News: current events; important or interesting recent happening; a report of recent
events; material reported in a newspaper, in a periodical, or on a newscast.
Entertainment: an act, a production, etc., that entertains. It deals with the notion of
diversion and amusement.
To entertain: to provide amusement for a person or an audience.
Two main ideas are mentioned in those two terms: to provide serious thanks to the news,
and to provide entertaining with the entertainments.
These two terms are not that opposed. Indeed, it exists a portmanteau word made of
“information” (news) and “entertainment”: “infotainment” which is describes as
sensational news. Several others phrases have been created:
- “Docufiction”: a documentary with fictional elements, but still filmed in the real
life.
- “Docudrama”: a fictional re-creation of factual events.
- “Mockumentary”: fictitious events presented as real.
- …
Mass media: the means of communication that reach a large amount of people in a short
time (newspaper, magazine, radio, television, cinema).
JOURNALISM IN THE USA (FROM ITS ORIGIN TO
1945)
Journalism in the colonial period.
Benjamin HARRIS who edited the first newspaper, in 1690 (one issue only). It was a three
pages newspaper entitled “Public Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestics”. But this
spread of knowledge that represented this apparition was seen as a threat by the British
government.
The colonial governors (representing the British government) strictly controlled the press
so it slowed the growth of the newspaper creating taxes.
1704: first weekly newspaper “The Boston News-Letter” edited by John CAMPBELL.
1721: first daily critical newspaper edited by James FRANKLIN (Benjamin’s older brother),
entitled “The New England Courant”. It had been published for 5 years.
The first newspaper were generally printed by local printers or post masters and directed
by the elite of the population (those who were literate and who can afford to buy paper).
The news were mostly about trading and information re-printed from British newspapers.
As the protests against the taxes of the British government began to grow, two distinct
kinds of newspapers appeared: those against the taxes and on the other hand those
sided with England.
When the Revolutionary War started in 1775, there were more and more pro patriot fervor
in the press.
In 1783, there were 35 newspaper in the US.
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,The Stamp Act: the Stamp Act was aimed to make colonies pay for the war of Great
Britain against France. This taxes was imposed monthly on the newspapers. But the
government stopped this act, hopping the newspapers would be less against the taxes
and would write less aggressive articles about the government. The Stamp Act was based
on the number of pages, which explains the fact that newspapers, originally printed on
small pages began to be published on larger pages, reducing the taxes.
The magazines were slower to develop than newspapers. It dealt more with
entertainment than with news. A few were published in the colonies for it came from
Great Britain. The first two were released in 1741.
Benjamin FRANKLIN (1706-1790).
Benjamin FRANKLIN is one of the founding father of the USA.
He was born in Massachusetts in 1706. At the age of 10, he left school and became a
candle and soap maker with his father. When he was 12, his brother hired him as an
apprentice printer.
In 1723, Benjamin left Massachusetts for Pennsylvania. He edited his first newspaper,
“The Pennsylvania Gazette”, which is one of the major American newspaper.
Benjamin FRANKLIN was a prolific inventor. Indeed, he invented the lightning rod, the
Franklin stone, the bifocal spectacles, and he demonstrated lightning and electricity are
the same.
He lived in London from 1757 to 1774. He hardly tried to reconcile in vain the British
government and the colonies.
Benjamin FRANKLIN had been involved in politic affairs from the moment he returned to
the US. In June 1776, he was appointed to the Committee of Five that drafted the
Declaration of Independence. He also became ambassador to France, and helped to
negotiate the Franco-American alliance. In 1783, he signed the treaty of Paris. He is
involved in the writing of the Constitution and is one of the signatory.
On April 17, 1790, he dies at the age of 48.
The Party Press.
Historical reminders:
- 1776: Declaration of Independence.
- 1775-1783: American Revolution (Treaty of Paris).
- 1781-1787: Articles of Confederation (=1st Constitution).
- 1787: The Constitution, ratified by the States in 1788-1789. It defines 3 branches:
the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Moreover, the Bill of Rights was
created: first amendment on the freedom of the press.
The press represents the 4 th power: a non-governmental power that can control what the
three others do. As an example, during the Watergate scandal, President NIXON was
forced by the press to resign.
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, During the Party Press period, the newspapers were financed by the two main political
parties (Federalists/Anti-federalists). As a consequence, the newspapers influenced the
readership more than gave objective news. It triggered aggressive journalism (such as
propaganda).
In 1783 was published the first daily newspaper: “The Pennsylvania Evening Post”. In the
end of the 18th century, there were hundreds of weeklies and about 75 dailies. And in the
late 1830s, a decline of thee Party Press occurred.
The birth of Modern newspapers (1830s/1860s).
As the press became cheaper and more popular, the newspapers reached a mass
readership, becoming an urban phenomenon. It increased in number and in circulation.
Indeed, for example, there were more and more dailies, about 400 before the Civil War.
Talking of Civil War, the evolution of journalism is, in a part, due to the war
correspondents.
Several journalistic moguls/magnates/tycoons appeared:
- Benjamin H.DAY: invented the “Penny Press” with “The New York Sun” (1833). It
dealt with sensational news related to everyday life of a common man.
- James GORDON BENNETT: was more in the factual journalism side with “The New
York Herald” (1835).
- Horace GREELEY: was more in the opinion journalism side and believed in the
necessity of writing editorials with “The New York Tribune” (1841). He fought for
the slavery abolition and the expansion to the West. (“Go West young man”)
The Penny Press.
The Penny Press is the idea of a penny per paper while other newspapers were like $0,06.
The reason why these newspapers were cheaper was the existence of more advertisings.
The first Penny Press newspaper was released on September 3rd, 1833. In two years, it
succeeded to publish more than 15 000 a day.
THE EXPANSION OF MODERN NEWS-PAPERS.
- Historical facts
- 1861/1865: American Civil War
- 1865/1873: Reconstruction Period
- 1873/1893: Gilded Age
- Beginning of the XXth century: USA becomes the World’s first economic power
- From the XXth century: mass production and use of advertising.
- News –paper Empires
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