The Americanization of the British Press, 1830s-1914 : Speed in the Age of Transatlantic Journalism

The first book to compare and contrast the rise of mass circulation press in Britain and America. It provides insights into the origins of tabloid journalism and explores a range of cross-cultural and literary issues, tracing the history of key newspapers and the careers of influential journalists such as Bennett, Russell, Harmsworth and Pulitzer. This is the first book to compare and contrast the history of journalism in Britain and America during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It traces the emergence on both sides of the Atlantic of mass circulation newspapers with millions of readers and explores seminal cross-cultural and literary issues such as the impact of increased literacy and the evolution of a democratic culture. Key aspects of modern print journalism are explored, including sports and crime reporting, gossip columns, headlines, front-page news, comic strips, advertisements, the widespread use of pictures, human-interest stories, war reporting and the emergence of women in journalism. Above all, the impact of speed and technological innovation are considered, with primary emphasis on the telegraph, typewriter and telephone. Likewise, the histories of key transatlantic newspapers are analyzed, as are the careers of influential journalists and press barons such as James Gordon Bennett, Alfred Harmsworth, Joseph Pulitzer, W.T. Stead, T.P. O'Connor and William Randolph Hearst This book compares and contrasts the history of journalism in Britain and America during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It traces the emergence on both sides of the Atlantic of mass circulation newspapers with millions of readers and explores seminal cross-cultural and literary issues such as the impact of increased literacy and the evolution of a democratic culture. Key aspects of modern print journalism are explored, including sports and crime reporting, gossip columns, headlines, front-page news, comic strips, advertisements, the widespread use of pictures, human-interest stories, war reporting and the emergence of women in journalism. Above all, the impact of speed and technological innovation are considered, with primary emphasis on the telegraph, typewriter and telephone. Likewise, the histories of key transatlantic newspapers are analyzed, as are the careers of influential journalists and press barons such as James Gordon Bennett, Alfred Harmsworth, Joseph Pulitzer, W. T. Stead, T. P. O'Connor and William Randolph Hearst Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-9 The Fear of Americanization....Pages 10-27 The Beginnings of Sensationalism....Pages 28-53 The Democratization of News....Pages 54-79 The Stimulus of War....Pages 80-101 Expansion of the Press....Pages 102-128 Gossip and Other Matters....Pages 129-153 The New Journalism: Pulitzer and Stead....Pages 154-182 A Mass Press: Hearst and Harmsworth....Pages 183-210 The Modernization of Journalism....Pages 211-234 Back Matter....Pages 235-253