Table : TABLE 8.2 EXCEPTIONAL WORKS OF AMERICAN JOURNALISM Working under the aegis of New York University’s journalism department, thirty-six judges compiled a list of the Top 100 works of American journalism in the twentieth century. The list takes into account not just the newsworthiness of the event but the craft of the writing and reporting. What do you think of the Top 10 works listed here? What are some problems associated with a list like this? Do you think newswriting should be judged in the same way we judge novels or movies?Data from: New York University, Department of Journalism, New York, N.Y., 1999.
Journalist(s)Title or SubjectPublisherYear(s)
1 John Hersey“Hiroshima”New Yorker1946
2 Rachel CarsonSilent SpringHoughton Mifflin1962
3 Bob Woodward/Carl BernsteinWatergate investigationWashington Post1972–73
4 Edward R. MurrowBattle of BritainCBS Radio1940
5 Ida Tarbell“The History of the Standard Oil Company”McClure’s Magazine1902–04
6 Lincoln Steffens“The Shame of the Cities”McClure’s Magazine1902–04
7 John ReedTen Days That Shook the WorldRandom House1919
8 H. L. MenckenCoverage of the Scopes “monkey” trialBaltimore Sun1925
9 Ernie PyleReports from Europe and the Pacific during World War IIScripps-Howard newspapers1940–45
10 Edward R. Murrow/Fred FriendlyInvestigation of Senator Joseph McCarthyCBS Television1954