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The Coming of Age of American Journalism Senior Honors Thesis

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The Coming of Age of American Journalism Senior Honors Thesis The Coming of Age of American Journalism Senior Honors Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Undergraduate Program in American Studies Maura Farrelly, Advisor In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts By Natalia Wiater May 2020 Committee Members Maura Farrelly Eileen McNamara Neil Swidey Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Farrelly, who challenged me to become a better researcher, writer, and critical thinker. You knew what I was capable of and did not expect anything less. Thank you for your patience reading my plethora of drafts and providing me with the support I needed to complete this thesis. Along with Professor Farrelly, I wish to express my appreciation for Professor McNamara and Professor May. You have not only inspired a love and appreciation for the field of journalism, but reminded me to keep an independent mind and continuously strive for improvement. I am particularly indebted to Tobias Reynolds and Amber Miles. Even in the midst of a pandemic, time is precious, and I cannot thank you enough for your meticulous, time-consuming edits (and amusing comments that put a much-needed smile on my face after hours of writing). Tobias, I apologize for the 13 edits I did not accept; they will be dearly missed. To all of my friends and loved ones whose unwavering support gave me the motivation I needed to finish this endeavor, thank you. Most importantly, I could not have even dreamt of completing this thesis without my parents’ support. Thank you for your decades of sacrifice and hard work: you have given me free reign to pursue my interests and explore my passions, ever confident in my success. 1 Table of Contents Introduction 2 Chapter One: The Truth Will Set You Free 6 Chapter Two: The Business of News 37 Chapter Three: Buy Truth, and Do Not Sell It 62 Chapter Four: Flying Too Close to the Sun 85 Epilogue 107 Works Cited 111 2 Introduction Journalism: A profession defined by overcoming mistakes The press I know today is not one I would have recognized at the start of my college career. Just four years ago, I thought journalists could do no wrong; they were my teachers, sifting through the news of the day and providing me with the necessary knowledge to be an informed member of society. Over time, I realized that journalists did not reside upon an unattainable pedestal of higher knowledge, but that they made mistakes, just like the rest of us. Still, the majority of the vitriol surrounding the profession is unwarranted. Editors may publish a headline that lacks context, but they will also listen to their readers’ constructive criticism and strive to do better.1 A journalist’s job is becoming increasingly difficult these days, as she has to deal with not only polarized politics but also readers’ declining trust in news organizations. A newspaper’s role as an educator is put under scrutiny when its readers are divided on whether its motives are pure. Partisanship does not solely apply to politics anymore; it has permeated the media landscape, dividing people by the way they consume their news. Certain news outlets, such Fox and its many talk shows, are clearly biased in favor of President Donald Trump, his administration, and the Republican Party in general. Then there is the “liberal media” — The New York Times, CNN, etc. — that Trump incorrectly lambasts as “fake news.” Progressives, on the other hand, criticize those same outlets for being too centrist and objective. For some, the current method of reporting on the news by presenting facts and their context is not enough. 1 The New York Times published an Aug. 5, 2019 article on two mass shootings motivated by white supremacy with the print headline “Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism.” After the paper was met with criticism for ignoring the context of President Trump’s actions, it changed the headline to “Assailing Hate but Not Guns.” 3 Instead, they claim news outlets do not go far enough in their political reporting; many of these outlets have been slow to report on Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against Vice President Joe Biden, and only Fox News has reached out to her for an on-air interview as of May 3.2 It is clear that there is a double standard in the way news organizations handled other sexual assault allegations against politicians and the allegation against Trump’s challenger for the presidency. During a time of increased scrutiny, it is imperative that journalists make an effort to learn from past mistakes and strive for transparency while using the tools at their disposal to serve as the public’s educators. The press has evolved to become an essential part of American democracy, informing the public and serving as its advocate, bringing to light the issues people care about. As the nation was still forming, newspapers were barely allowed to print unpleasant truths about the government; now, it is their responsibility to expose wrongdoing. Journalists seek the truth and report it, making use of objective methods that they developed over time in response to the evolving world around them. Throughout their journey to creating a respected profession, journalists have committed errors and learned from them, improving their profession by establishing new rules and ethical practices. The profession of journalism we know today did not magically appear; it evolved. It grew and matured over the past two centuries by dealing with challenges that resulted in victories — and failures. It won freedoms, grappled with ethical dilemmas regarding profit, and regulated itself to attain the position of educator of the public. Newspapers provide the information people need to participate in their democracy, such as when they vote in elections. The source of that information evolved over time: The press first gained independence from the government, then 2 Smith, Ben. “Why Won't TV News Book Tara Reade?” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 30 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/business/media/tara-reade-joe-biden-media.html. 4 from the parties. It then took stock of the parties’ trustworthiness and improved upon it, gaining the respect of the people they served by identifying and overcoming their weaknesses. Then journalists flew too close to the sun: They reached the zenith when they helped remove a president from office, but they may never achieve that level of influence again. They tried but instead angered the very people they served. The press, through its many successes and failures, matured over time, constantly improving and trying to meet the needs of the people it serves. And if there is one thing journalists can be confident of, it is that there will always be room for improvement. 5 Chapter One The Truth Will Set You Free: The press redefines libel The press in the United States did not always have the same freedoms it enjoys today; in fact, it used to not have any freedoms at all. At the turn of the eighteenth century it initially served as the mouthpiece for colonial lawmakers who sought to protect their rule. Lawmakers at the time believed the best way to keep order in their new society and prevent harm from coming to the people was to control the information they were receiving, which would ensure that the public’s trust in the government remained steady. As time went on, printers started to make use of their power to disseminate information and began to publish information that did not present their representatives in a positive light. This was the beginning of a shift from approaching the press as an instrument of the government to approaching it as an instrument of the people. To understand this shift, we must understand how libel common laws impacted the printers’ ability to cover the facts and how the truth found its way into colonists’ relationship with the press. Foundation of the common law In England, Sir Edward Coke, a judge and politician at the turn of the seventeenth century, was the leading scholar on the issue of libel who established the foundation for prosecuting publishers for years to come. Generally, libel laws allow printers to be prosecuted for maliciously publishing information that is false, though back in Coke’s era, the laws operated slightly differently: Even if the information printed was true, it could still be considered libel as long as it was scandalous, insulting or harmful to a reputation. The truth would not matter; not only did it not count as a defense, most courts simply did not allow it as evidence. Libel charges were often used in relation to protect government officials against the spread of information that 6 would place them in a bad light, even if that information was true. Many prosecutors and judges in America would reference Coke’s Laws during trials, and he enjoyed a large presence in the courts even after his death in 1634. His scholarship made its way to the colonies, where inhabitants acquired his school of thought and approach to freedom of speech.3 Coke recorded the cases he argued and presided over as a judge in the Star Chamber, the royal court of England. While serving as the Attorney General of England and Wales in 1605, Coke spelled out the definition of libel and its applications during his Case De Libellis Famosis. Coke prosecuted a man who published two poems that mocked two Archbishops of Canterbury. In his report, Coke wrote that a person may commit a libel, which could come in the form of text or picture alike,4 against a private or public person, dead or alive, “by harming their reputation, even by saying things that are true.”5 Here, the truth was never even permitted as evidence, because it did not matter: the effect on the person libelled was the same.
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