Sensationalism: Murder, Mayhem, Mudslinging, Scandals, and Disasters in 19th-Century Reporting

David B. Sachsman · David W. Bulla

Aug 2013 · Journalism Book 1 · Transaction Publishers

About this ebook

David B. Sachsman and David W. Bulla have gathered a colorful collection of essays exploring sensationalism in nineteenth-century newspaper reporting. The contributors analyze the role of sensationalism and tell the story of both the rise of the penny press in the 1830s and the careers of specific editors and reporters dedicated to this particular journalistic style. Divided into four sections, the first, titled "The Many Faces of Sensationalism," provides an eloquent defense of yellow journalism, analyzes the place of sensational pictures, and provides a detailed examination of the changes in reporting over a twenty-year span. The second part, "Mudslinging, Muckraking, Scandals, and Yellow Journalism," focuses on sensationalism and the American presidency as well as why journalistic muckraking came to fruition in the Progressive Era. The third section, "Murder, Mayhem, Stunts, Hoaxes, and Disasters," features a groundbreaking discussion of the place of religion and death in nineteenth-century newspapers. The final section explains the connection between sensationalism and hatred. This is a must-read book for any historian, journalist, or person interested in American culture.

About the author

David B. Sachsman holds the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His books include Sensationalism and The Civil War and the Press. David W. Bulla is an associate professor of journalism at Zayed University’s College of Communication and Media Sciences.