The Muckrakers

Journalism is viewed by much of the general public to be untrustworthy, deceitful and treacherous. That is because journalists are becoming lazy and more driven by advertising money than telling the accurate truth.  

This was not always the case. 

At one time, reporters were inspired and strived to tell the truth and hold leaders accountable. The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics says that journalists should be watchdogs for the government and those in power. 

That is where the long lasting and well-known impact muckrakers come into play. 

The muckrakers were a group of progressive writers from late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There were focused on exposés and detailing accounts of political and economic corruption, much of which was talking about and criticizing monopolies and their influence. 

The muckrakers had their roots from yellow journalism from the late nineteenth century.  This was the beginning of investigative journalism. 

Some of the prominent muckrakers include Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair and Ray Stannard Baker. All three of them worked together in the 1890's at McClure's magazine. 

Steffens was most well known for his piece called "The Shame of the Cities" that is collection of all his articles from his time at McClure's magazine. It outlines the many ways that urban governments are corrupt. It was an appeal to emotion with the hope that they would be outraged and shamed. 

Tarbell was well known for her piece called "The History of Standard Oil". This shed light on Standard Oil's monopolistic activities and eventually led to it being broken up by violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Sinclair got his feet wet with journalism when discussing socialist ideals. Writing about these led him to write "The Jungle" that meant to expose bad working conditions in the meatpacking industry. But the piece actually did more to change the meat and food industry instead of working condition. 

Baker was also a journalist for McClure's. His most popular piece is called "Following the Color Line" where he portrayed the differences between a black and white person in the American democracy. 

All three of them decided to leave McClure's magazine in 1906 to form the American Magazine where they continued to write stories that held people accountable and told the truth. 

Their writings influenced major policy changes and decisions. 

The first one was when "The Jungle" led to the Food Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act. Both dealt with banning the production of adulterated, misbranded, deleterious or poisonous food. 

Shortly thereafter, the seventeenth amendment was also passed that decides that two senators are elected from each state by popular vote. Previously, the senators were decided by each state's legislators. This change was the result of Treason of the Senate articles written by another muckraker David Phillips with the hope to end the corruption by stemming the influence of large corporations on policymaking. 

The muckrakers were the perfect example of how journalists can make a difference, whether it is for the good or bad of society. 

Trial by media

Usually when charged with a crime, a suspect will be put on trial in a courtroom with either a jury, judge(s) or both. This has been a staple of the United States' justice system since the beginning and is prevalent in other countries. 

But with technological media advancements, a new type of trial has arisen: trial by media. Trial by media is when media affects the public's perception of someone being guilty or innocent regardless of the verdict. 

This was exemplified in the 1937 movie "They Won't Forget". In this movie, the media impacts the results of a trial multiple times. 

Toward the beginning, the reporter and district attorney strike an exclusive deal. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but they ended up working together so much to skew it to what they wanted the result to b that it came to fruition. 

A short time later, the reporter broke the law by basically breaking in and stealing from the Hale's house and unethically interviewing and using Hale's information. Then as the case drew national attention, large news companies pushed a north v. south narrative that made people feel a certain way before Hale was given a fair trial. 

In the end, this media narrative combined with the reporter and DA deal led to Hale being convicted by public opinion before being given a chance to have his fair day in court. 

A real life case that depicts trial by media is the O.J. Simpson court case. This case created a national stir as he was a prominent celebrity and camera were in the courtroom. This access to the media let th e media skew their coverage however they wanted.

This led to those believing he was innocent or guilty being divided by race because there were racial tensions in California at the time, but also they emphasized how one of the officers was racist. 

The media coverage skewed the publics opinion and this in turn trickled to the jury's decision to acquit him even though there was much evidence to convict him. 

In conclusion, the media's role is to hold those in power accountable and report the unbiased facts, but this is becoming less so with people looking for popularity and ratings. 

Why I chose journalism

Holding power accountable. Telling the truth. Informing and to an extent captivating an audience. These are motivations for me getting into journalism and broadcast news. 

I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia; and the three main news stations were WDBJ7, WSLS10 and WSET13. Almost every night, my father and I would watch the news together, usually on WDBJ7.  I believe that really set the foundation for me working in television news, but I was fascinated in television before that. 

My initial dream jobs were to be an ice road trucker or a Nascar crew chief. Neither one of these were real possibilities, but they both involved television and entertainment. 

But, after watching more news, I became interested in helping to inform the public about their environment and wanted to become a meteorologist. Needless to say, that dream did not last long because that takes knowing science, which I am bad at. 

So, at the time I settled for television news as a last result, but my opinions on it changed as I aged. I have learned and realized that telling truthful news is critical for a free and competent society. 

My end goal is to be a television news producer for a nightly newscast. 

I realize that I will have to work my way up the ladder starting at smaller markets then up to larger ones before even considering jumping to one of the networks. And I would prefer a nightly newscast because that tends to be more hard news and straight to the point instead of soft news. 

So, I would love to start in Roanoke and if possible move my way up to CBS News, but that is not necessarily a priority. If I find a good place to settle down, then maybe that'll be the end of the journey. 

Another dream would be to be a producer for 60 Minutes. For a long time and even nowadays, 60 Minutes has long been considered the cream of the crop when it comes to storytelling and journalism. I would love to tell captivating, truthful and informative stories through that platform. 

I like producing because you are basically in control of everything in a broadcast. You write scripts, plan shots, put in graphics, order the show, organize field work and much more. This way I can have control over a newscast in order to fulfill journalism's goals of telling the truth, holding people accountable and being transparent. 

Growing up, I would not say there was a particular journalist that I followed vigorously, but in the last year or so I have come to like Scott Pelley of CBS News and 60 Minutes.

He has had a long career covering many events such as the Oklahoma City Bombing, Bill Clinton scandal, 9/11, Iraq War, Afghanistan War and many others. He hosted CBS Evening News for a while and then transitioned to working for 60 Minutes. 

I have read his book; and I admire his desire for accuracy and truth above all else. He has been calm voice and reporter through numerous turbulent times, which has made him so successful and respected. 

In conclusion, journalism is a tough business that many "regular people" do not respect or like because they feel journalists are out to screw them over. Maybe I am crazy for wanting to enter the field, but I feel it is necessary for the success of human society because journalism's whole goal is informing the people about the truth and checking power. 

Entertaining and Informative?

    

In the past, and even now, many people say that journalism and news is boring. William Randolph Hearst tried to change that. 

At one point he owned both the San Francisco Examiner and New York Journal, which were both influential in keeping the news relevant and entertaining. 

Initially, Hearst got his father to sell him the San Francisco Examiner. Previously, the paper had been anti-Lincoln and pro-slavery. 

After the takeover, the paper took on a more provocative side on everything and attacked everyone. Its rhetoric even ended up pushing the United States into the Spanish-American War. 

After a bad earthquake, the the San Francisco Examiner worked together with the San Francisco Chronicle to continue producing papers with one doing the morning edition and one doing the evening. This partnership lasted for over 30 years. 

Hearst then purchased the New York Daily Journal. The paper was also controversial as it accelerated the rise of yellow journalism and included pictures and cartoons. 

The idea behind the paper was that is was something that the middle class family could afford and would want to buy. 

The paper competed with Pulitzer's New York World. This battle of papers is similar to the feud between today's New York Times and New York Post. 

Today, the Hearst Corporation still does own numerous television, radio and newspaper companies. The company's namesake was the entrepreneur that made yellow journalism and provocative news popular. That change led journalism into a new age that led to where we are today.