Journalistic Writing and Photojournalism, Part 3
Question 1: Define yellow journalism, and describe how it exposed the dangers of ignoring ethical principles in reporting and editing.
Answer 1: Yellow journalism, which peaked in the 1890s, was a style of writing and presentation that distorted and exaggerated its content in order to create controversy and increase sales.Yellow journalism had its genesis in New York City newspapers owned by Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) and William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal). Pulitzer and Hearst were engaged in a fierce circulation war. In order to lure more readers, reporters at the aforementioned papers replaced factual news stories with highly opinionated articles featuring fabricated interviews and large, misleading headlines.While the worst excesses of yellow journalism had faded by the early 20th-century, the era serves as a reminder that promotion and sensationalism are a threat to the trust inherent in daily journalism.
There are lots of good resources about Photojournalism that you can find available.
Question 2: List the design and presentation concepts introduced by yellow journalism.
Answer 2: Publishers who emphasized yellow journalism (such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst) were obsessed with increasing the circulation of their newspapers. To attract attention, these papers emphasized large illustrations on their front pages. They also were among the first newspapers to print Sunday supplements in color. In addition, they used comic strips, games, and contests to lure more readers.
Question 3: Explain the best way to help a student write a coherent and convincing editorial.
Answer 3: As with other forms of writing, organizing one’s thoughts and ideas is an essential first step in creating a good editorial. A journalism teacher should assist the student in developing an outline to help organize the editorial’s main ideas. An outline will help address the difficulty students may experience interpreting the context of an editorial assignment. This active, hands-on approach can be tailored to each individual student, helping him or her clearly express his or her thoughts in writing and produce an effective, convincing editorial piece.
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