A PRESS FOR THE MASSES
Objectives
lTo explain why the Penny Press began when it did.
lTo list the differences between the Penny Press from the Colonial, Revolutionary, and
Party presses.
lTo explain the contributions made by the men of the Penny Press.
lTo understand contributions of the Penny to American mass communications.
The Penny Press
lThe Penny Press: An Original Product
lReasons for the Penny Press
lMen of the Penny Press
–Benjamin Day
–James Gordon Bennett
–Horace Greeley
–Henry Raymond
lContributions of the Penny Press
The Penny Press vs. Six-Cent Press
lCost: 1 cent vs. 6 cents
lEditing: Personal vs. mass operation
lAds: Moral vs. economic incentives
lPolitics: Servant vs. master
lContent: Views vs. news
lReporter: Printer vs. professional
l
The Penny Press: An Original Product
lNonpartisan
lCovered local news
lBroad definition of news values
lFocused on everyday life
Reasons for the Penny Press
lNatural History Argument
lTechnology Argument
lLiteracy Argument
lDemocratization Argument
Technological Argument
lPrinting presses
–Manual to steam
–Flatbed to cylinder
lStereotyping process
lPapermaking machines
lTransportation advance
Jacksonian Democracy
lFaith in the common man
lBelief in political equality
lBelief in equal economic opportunity
lHatred of monopoly and special privilege
Jacksonian Democracy’s Impacts
lEconomics
lPolitics
Jacksonian Democracy’s Impact on Economics
lAdvertisements more available which enlarged potential market for goods
lTransformed paper from something borrowed to home consumption
Jacksonian Democracy’s Impact on Politics
lParty machinery replaced legislative caucuses
lFormal organization supplanted informality and avocational character of old politics
Men of the Penny Press
lBenjamin Day
lJames Gordon Bennett
lHorace Greeley
lHenry Raymond
Benjamin Day: Mission
lTo show that a general nonpartisan 1-cent paper could attract readers
Benjamin Day: Contributions
lCirculation
lDefinition of News
lAdvertising
Benjamin Day: Circulation
lStarted the Penny Press revolution
lImported the London Plan
Benjamin Day: Definition of News
lShowed readers could be attracted by language that was not stuffy or pretentious
lPlaced value on sensation and human interest
lSensationalism
–Reliance on human interest stories
Benjamin Day: News
Moon Tales: When the Moon saved the Sun – New York 1835
Benjamin Day: Advertising
lInstituted cash-in-advance policy for advertisers
lCreated help wanted advertisements
James Gordon Bennett: Mission
lTo use the press to reform and revitalize America
James Gordon Bennett: Contributions
lIntroduced era of newspaper competition
lDeveloped the concept of news
lDeveloped advertising
James Gordon Bennett: Competition
lIntroduced era of newspaper competition
–Published events promptly
–Aggressively used every means of transportation to get the news
James Gordon Bennett: Concept of News
lDeveloped the concept of news
–Concentrated on pages for sports, business, women, and theater
James Gordon Bennett: Advertising
lDeveloped advertising
–Changed ads daily
The Great Moral War of 1840
Bennett vs. Holy Allies
Name Circulation
Evening Star 2,200
Evening Signal 600 THE HERALD
American 700 Daily, Weekly & Extra
Courier & Enquirer 4,200 51,000
Journal of Commerce 3,100
Express 2,800
Sun 21,000
News 450
Mercury 1,500
The Mexican War of 1846
lShowed the power the press didn’t have.
lFirst war to be covered extensively by correspondents.
lLa Patra aids the American press and becomes the first Spanish-language daily in America.
Greeley’s Isms
lGraham Crackerism
lFournierism
lSocialism
lAssociationism
Horace Greeley: Mission
lAdvance moral, social, and the political well being of America
Horace Greeley: Contributions
lRe-establish the value of the editorial page
lDeveloped a new concept of news
Horace Greeley: Editorial Page
lRe-establish the value of the editorial page
–Included all points of view
–Against slavery
–Against capital punishment
–Appealed to the laboring class
–Promoted Whig causes
–Refused to be a slave to parties
Horace Greeley: Concept of News
lDeveloped a new concept of news
–Published a cheap daily void of sensationalism
–Believed readers moved by reason and not emotionalism
–Covered the needs and problems of urban commercial and industrial workers
–Helped solve the problems of the machine age
Henry Raymond: Mission
lTo publish a paper that was reasonable and decent
Henry Raymond: Contributions
lNews presentation
Henry Raymond: News Presentation
lNews presentation
–Published news was fair in tone
–Promoted techniques of careful reporting
–Demanded reasonable decency in reporting
Influence of the Penny Press on Public
lDeveloped the rise of the common man.
lBrought about new ideas.
lStirred emotions about crime, sex, disaster.
lAdvocated city improvements.
lServed as mass advertising media.
Influence of the Penny Press on Journalism
lAdvanced the concept of news
lChanged newsroom organization
lAdvanced newspaper technology
lChanged newspaper distribution
lChanged financing of newspapers
Conclusions
lWhen people are left for long periods of time, what they want to read is gossip.
lPenny press revolutionized the way new was financed, produced, distributed and consumed.
lAndrew Jackson’s democratic market society contributed more than anything else to the birth of the penny press.