Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Sensational Beginnings of Yellow Journalism

The term yellow journalism is not a new concept in the arena of journalism and communication. It came from a fight between the two papers over a cartoonist, who created a strip called the "Yellow Man." Yellow journalism is much less common now, than it was in the early 1900s. It’s a very common trend in case of newspapers, magazines, internet sites or television channels to present information in a mediated way to increase their number of readers or viewers. Shocking headlines is a product of yellow journalism still sells more papers. Yellow journalism is embellished or partial writing that is disguised as fact. It can also be described as the journalism of sex, violence or crime. A factual story and writing it in a sensational or distorted way, yellow journalism may be used to invoke fear, loathing, uncertainty or even sympathy in readers.

Though the word was formerly started to describe the journalistic practices of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst proved himself worthy of the title. The practice is tremendously harming the populace both elite and mass. The best way to check the effect of yellow journalism is to prevent facts with several sources. By getting news from more than one venue, it is possible to see yellow journalism and thus can keep an open, and unbiased, mind when searching for the facts.

1 comment: