COMMON THREADS
One of the Common Threads discussed in Chapter 1 is the role that media play in a democracy. The newspaper industry has always played a strong role in our democracy by reporting news and investigating stories. Even in the Internet age, newspapers remain our primary source for content. How will the industry’s current financial struggles affect our ability to demand and access reliable news?
With the coming of radio and television, newspapers in the twentieth century surrendered their title as the mass medium shared by the largest audience. However, to this day, newspapers remain the single most important source of news for the nation, even in the age of the Internet. Although today’s readers may cite search engines like Google as the primary places they search for news, sites like Google are really directories and aggregators that guide readers to news stories—
Newspapers link people to what matters in their communities, their nation, and their world. Few other journalistic institutions serve society as well. But with smaller news resources and the industry no longer able to sustain high profit margins, what will become of newspapers? Are digital news sites serving readers in their communities as well as newspapers once did? Who will gather the information needed to sustain a democracy, to serve as the watchdog over our key institutions, to document the comings and goings of everyday life? And perhaps more important, who will act on behalf of the people who don’t have the news media’s access to authorities or the ability to influence them?
KEY TERMS
The definitions for the terms listed below can be found in the glossary at the end of the book. The page numbers listed with the terms indicate where the term is highlighted in the chapter.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
The Evolution of American Newspapers
What are the limitations of a press that serves only partisan interests? Why did the earliest papers appeal mainly to more privileged readers?
How did newspapers emerge as a mass medium during the penny press era? How did content changes make this happen?
What are the two main features of yellow journalism? How have Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst contributed to newspaper history?
Competing Models of Modern Print Journalism
Why did objective journalism develop? What are its characteristics? What are its strengths and limitations?
Why did interpretive forms of journalism develop in the modern era? What are the limits of objectivity?
How would you define literary journalism? Why did it emerge in such an intense way in the 1960s? How did literary journalism provide a critique of so-
The Business and Ownership of Newspapers
What is the difference between consensus-
What role have ethnic, minority, and oppositional newspapers played in the United States?
Define wire service and syndication.
Why did newspaper chains become an economic trend in the twentieth century?
What is the impact of a joint operating agreement (JOA) on the business and editorial divisions of competing newspapers?
Challenges Facing Newspapers Today
What are the major reasons for the decline in U.S. newspaper circulation figures? How do these figures compare with circulations in other nations?
What major challenges does new technology pose to the newspaper industry?
With traditional ownership in jeopardy today, what are some other possible business models for running a newspaper?
What is the current state of citizen journalism?
What challenges do new online news sites face?
Newspapers and Democracy
What is a newspaper’s role in a democracy?
What makes newspaper journalism different from the journalism of other mass media?
QUESTIONING THE MEDIA
What kinds of stories, topics, or issues are not being covered well by mainstream papers?
Why do you think people aren’t reading U.S. daily newspapers as frequently as they once did? Why is newspaper readership going up in other countries?
Discuss whether newspaper chains are ultimately good or bad for the future of journalism.
Do newspapers today play a vigorous role as watchdogs of our powerful institutions? Why or why not? What impact will the downsizing and closing of newspapers have on this watchdog role?
Will tablets, or some other format, eventually replace the printed newspaper? Explain your response.
LAUNCHPAD FOR MEDIA & CULTURE
REVIEW WITH LEARNINGCURVE LearningCurve, available on LaunchPad for Media & Culture, uses gamelike quizzing to help you master the concepts you need to learn from this chapter.
target="_pop"VIDEO: THE MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY This video traces the history of media’s role in democracy from newspapers and television to the Internet.