Yellow journalism and the Spanish-American War of 1898

Yellow Journalism is a term used for the use of negligent and flamboyant newspaper reporting, without regard to facts. With yellow journalism the truth is usually misrepresented or concealed, more often than not, there may be no truth to the story at all. In its infancy, the term yellow journalism was used to describe the writing tactics used by William Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. These men used yellow journalism to exaggerate and misguide the American public on happenings in Cuba; such reporting may have even sparked the Spanish-American war. Yellow journalism is by no means a memory in America's distant past; even the most conservative newspapers still practice it in a refined form today. Tabloids such as the Star and the Inquirer are notorious for sensationalizing and even falsifying headlines. Additionally, every once in a while straight edged newspapers papers such as the Wall Street Journal may get into the act as well. In 1996, ABC News was singled out for reporting that Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu had called then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin a traitor, further investigation revealed that the accusation was false.

This paper will present a discussion on the past and present uses of yellow journalism and the impact that such reporting has had on history.

History of Yellow Journalism

Yellow journalism originated around 1896 when William Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World begin competing for readership. During these early times it was virtually impossible for individuals to fact check information for accuracy. The newspaper was the main source of information during these times, people trusted and believed what was reported. The reporting styles of these newspapers were filled with promotional stunts mainly focusing on attention grabbing headlines of sex crime and violence. These reports usually were extremely biased, inaccurate and exaggerated. Yellow journalism at that time did not promote journalistic integrity but resorted to remedial tactics to distort and essentially create news without regard to the truth.

In the late 1800's when the Cubans rebelled against the Spanish, the Journal and the World capitalized on these events by stretching the facts and reporting fabricated stories of human rights violations. The reports said that the Spanish committed almost every type of carnage imaginable to Cuban rebels. In 1898 when the Maine, a U.S. battleship patrolling the Havana harbor exploded, headlines the following day immediately blamed the Spanish, even though the true cause of the explosion was unknown. Newspaper headlines read, "Remember the Maine!" And Americans urged the U.S. government to rally behind Cuba and to assist the rebels in defeating the Spaniards. The entire livelihood of this period of yellow journalism can be characterized by a conversation that William Hearst had with one of his reporters Frederick Remington. Remington was sent to Cuba to report on the war, upon his arrival he realized that there was no war to report, he informed his boss, William Hearst about the lack of events transpiring. In a cable message, Hearst replied to Remington, "Please remain. You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." Such is the heart of yellow journalism; the principles do not lie in factual reporting but rather sensationalizing events for the sole purpose selling newspapers.

Conclusion

Yellow journalism, which made its debut over one hundred years ago, still impacts the media and the way in which news is reported today. Most media outlets are guilty of putting a yellow spin on the news at one time or another. As American's, the news in which we know it is extremely sensationalized simply because that is what we prefer, as demonstrated in our demand for news with scandalous headlines. As James Creelman, who worked for both the Journal and the World in the late 1800's reportedly wrote of yellow journalism in his memoirs, "how little they know of "yellow journalism" who denounce it! How swift they are to condemn its shrieking headlines, its exaggerated pictures, its coarse buffoonery, its intrusions upon private life, and its occasional inaccuracies! But how slow they are to see the steadfast guardianship of public interests which it maintains!" Yellow journalists of yesterday have shaped the face of journalism today. The media today is a pale yellow, as it exhibits some restrained characteristics of true yellow journalism. For the most part, Americans in the year 2002 love it just as much as American's did in 1896 whether they choose to admit it or not.