Yellow Journalism

        Yellow Journalism is the term that describes the type of sensational journalism that started in the late nineteenth century. It began with the rivalry of two leading publishers, William Randolph Hearst of The New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer of The New York World. Both papers were designed to reach the large working-class audience that the Industrial Revolution brought about in major cities. In an attempt to do just that, they dropped the cost of their papers to 1 cent per copy and resorted to sensational ploys.

        Yellow Journalism contained a number of features that differentiated it from the kind of daily journalism that had prevailed up until that time. These features included multicolumn headlines, popular topics, illustrations, bold layouts, anonymous sources, crusading, and self-promotional ads. Much of the news in yellow journals was staged, distorted, or manufactured. Other newspapers focused more on politics and hard news.

        The “Yellow Kid” was the comic strip character from whom the phrase “yellow journalism" derives. The Yellow Kid appeared as a bald-headed urchin in a yellow nightgown first in the Pulitzer’s New York World and then in Hearst’s New York Journal.  Hogan’s Alley, the first comic strip in which the Yellow Kid appeared,  was the first ever comic strip and created by R.F. Outcault.

     Hogan's Alley depicted New York City as many residents saw it in a manner that made them laugh.  When William Randolph Hearst heard news of the popularity of the Yellow Kid, he offered Outcault a higher salary and made him part of his staff at the New York Journal.  Consequently, Pulitzer hired another artist, George B. Luks, at the New York World. The rivalry between the Yellow Kid in both newspapers earned them the name “The Yellow Kid Papers,” which was shortened to “The Yellow Papers” and ultimately “Yellow Journalism”.

      Yellow Journalism hit its stride in 1896, when Hearst began to champion the Cubans rebelling against what he depicted as their Spanish oppressors. Hearst sent some of the best-known reporters and illustrators of the era to Cuba to find out what was going on. According to one legend, when the artist Frederic Remington telegraphed Hearst that nothing was happening in Cuba and that he wished to return to the United States, Hearst replied,  “YOU FURNISH THE PICTURES, I’LL FURNISH THE WAR.” 

        Pulitzer had a similar staff of journalists looking for ways to play up any bit of news they received. Perhaps the best example is the sinking of the U.S.S. battleship Maine in Havana harbor.  Although the cause of the explosion was never identified, Hearst and Pulitzer blamed it on Spain. The public furor stirred by the sensational coverage of the Maine explosion and other alleged Spanish atrocities helped push the country into the Spanish-American War despite President William McKinley’s misgivings. It was at this time that The New York Evening Post described the yellow journals as “public evils” that only cared about circulation.

The Spanish-American War lasted only six months,  and Yellow Journalism began to fade away by the turn of the century, but the sensational journalistic techniques it pioneered would remain a part of American journalism.

References

Campbell, Joseph W. "Yellow Journalism."  <http://www.yellowjournalism.net> (accessed 27 October 2008).

This website by Joseph Cambell is based on his 2007 book, Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies. The website includes a basic timeline of the important events that occurred during the age of the Yellow Press, what features compose Yellow Journalism, and illustrations that accompanied articles from the time.

Marzolf, Marin. Civilizing Voices. White Plains, NY: Longman Group, 1990. 22-33.

Marzolf provides some personal criticism of Yellow Journalism as well as criticism of Yellow Journalism from others. Much of this other criticism comes from competing publishers at the time of the Yellow Press.

Olson, Richard D. The R. F. Outcault Society's Yellow Kid Site. R.F Outcault Society. <http://http://www.neponset.com/yellowkid/> (accessed 1 November 2008).

 This website deals with how the infamous “Yellow Kid” icon that signified Yellow Journalism came to be. It describes how the creator of the Yellow Kid helped popularized the genre of the newspaper comic strip.

Smythe, Ted Curtis. The Gilded Age Press, 1865-1900. New York: Greenwood Group, 2003.

In the ninth chapter of this book , Smythe describes how t rival publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst came to make their newspapers a success and how their influence changed the entire course of American history.

Streitmatter, Rodger. Mightier Than the Sword : How the News Media Have Shaped American History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2008.

In the fifth chapter of this book, Streitmatter gives a account of the course of Yellow Journalism. He provides details about key figures and events, including descriptions of the two leading publishers of the Yellow Press, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.