I.

OBJECTIVES

 Differentiate yellow journalism to other types of journalism

 Create news stories

II. LESSON PROPER

Yellow Journalism
 Yellow Journalism is a form of reporting that is based on sensational stories or headlines
that were often exaggerated or false information.
 Yellow journalism is a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized
sensationalism over facts.
 Yellow journalism is a pejorative reference to journalism that features scandal-
mongering, sensationalism, jingoism, or other unethical or unprofessional practices by
news media organizations or individual journalists.
 Coined in the 1890s to describe the sensationalist tactics employed by Joseph Pulitzer
and William Randolph Hearst in their competition over the market for their rival New
York City daily newspapers.
 Yellow journalism faded in the twentieth century, partly due to Pulitzer's direction to
return his paper to a higher quality of objectivity in reporting.
 Yellow has long been used as a reference to cowardice, which is perhaps why Godkin
chose that reference.
 Yellow journalism might infer that the publishers were cowards for choosing the easy
way to gain new readers by inflaming them with sensationalized news, rather than
proper, respectable reporting.

History of Yellow Journalism

 The New York World of Joseph Pulitzer began publishing cartoons during 1890s time
period. The first very popular cartoon was named “Hogan’s Alley” and it had a character
called “The– Yellow Kid”.
 Yellow coloring was not much used (for the first time in a major newspaper to accent the
characters).
 The cartoon strip got so popular, that William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal)
attempted to replicate it, he even hired the writers of comic strip Hogan’s Alley away
from Joseph Pulitzer (New York World). This led to direct competition between the two
newspapers and Hearst and Pulitzer.

The Yellow Kid

The Yellow Kid Comics in America written by Richard Felton Outcault was based on the life
of people living in the slums of New York, which had a character named Yellow Kid.
 It first appeared in the Truth Magazine in 1894.
 It appeared a year later in Pulitzer’s New York World under the name “Hogan’s Alley.”
In this Pulitzer used yellow ink to draw attention to the comic.

Joseph Pulitzer and The New York World

 He was a Union soldier under Lincoln.
 He worked for a German newspaper in St. Louis and later became the owner of the St.
Louis Dispatch Works tirelessly.
 He developed his skills as the editor of a people’s paper, publishing articles that exposed
government, various scams, and business corruption.
 He purchased the Newspaper New York World in 1882.
 He played a very crucial role in the development of the New York World, he increased
the paper’s circulation from 16,000 to 600,000 people in less than 10 years.
 He wanted newspapers to be champions of human rights and speak for those who did not
have a voice (weaker section).
 Pulitzer aimed to use the paper to “expose all evil, fraud and scam practices, fight all
public evils, misdeeds, and abuses, and to battle for the rights of people with earnest
sincerity”.

William Randolph Hearst and The New York Journal

 He was the Son of a wealthy politician and Harvard graduate.
 He was the owner of New York Journal.
 He bought New York Morning Journal 8 years later (1895), and consequently began
stealing Pulitzer’s writing staff (Outcault and others), he also hired famous writers (Mark
Twain, Stephen Crane) and published sensationalist accounts of the Cuban.

Characteristics of Yellow Journalism according to Frank Luther Mott

 Scary headlines or screaming headlines
Scare headlines with excessively large type, in red or black ink. By using red ink
signify everything from energy, passion, and sexuality to aggression, danger, violence, and
war.

 Lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings.

Many photos, some of them faked. Sometimes even if the photos are not faked, it is
seen in other perspective.
 Use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudoscience, and a parade of false
learning from so-called experts.
Yellow journalism was a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism
over facts. The writers just want to attract the readers and increase circulation, the act of
passing something such as money and information. The picture below is an example of a
misleading headline because the fan didn’t really attack Brad Pitt; she was really just running
after him to take a picture.

 Emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips.

Weekly Color Comics. (Sunday Magazines)

 Dramatic sympathy with the “underdog” against the system.

Underdog is anyone at a disadvantage, whether in general or in a particular situation.
As this yellow journalism aims to speak for those who are in the weaker section.

Goals of Yellow Journalism

1. Sell more papers
As discussed previously, yellow journalism was born mostly from a desire to
sell more papers by making reporting more politically non-partisan and selling
advertisements. In order to replace loyal party subscribers, newspaper publishers had
to figure out a way to get the general public to buy their paper in large numbers.
Yellow journalism was the use of sensationalism, hyperbole, and other types of
 exaggeration to appeal to the emotions of readers and get them to become subscribers
or regular customers.

2. Influence public opinion

While newspapers in the early 20th century attempted to bill themselves as non-
partisan in terms of politics, most still had an underlying agenda or bias determined by
their publisher and reporters (as we saw in the first section of this Hack). Papers would
often publish pieces that contained half-truths, hyperbole, or irrelevant details in order to
sway public opinion in line with whatever the stance of the reporter or publisher
happened to be. Newspapers essentially switched from simply telling people exactly
what to think/believe/vote, to manipulating facts in order to allow the public to feel that
they came to that conclusion on their own.

How to Generate News Stories

News Story Component

A typical department news story is between 250-500 words, and includes a concise
headline, a lead paragraph, the body copy, and a conclusion or end quote, as well as a high-
quality image. Longer pieces also should include subheadings. Links to related articles or
additional information are always welcome, when incorporated properly.

Things to Consider in Generating News Stories

a) Gather Information
The news story must answer the following:
 Who
 What
 When
 Where
 Why
 How
 “Who cares?” (Is there value in the information that the writer are providing, and
who is the target audience?)

b) Lead
- A lead is an opening paragraph that conveys the most relevant facts about a news
story to the public in a succinct and straightforward manner while still maintaining the
readers' interest. The lead should be short – no more than 1-2 sentences, and no more than
about 40 words.
Three Types of Lead
1. Summary, in which the writer summarizes many of the facts listed above in a
concise manner.
2. Anecdotal, in which the writer tells a quick story or describes a scenario that is
directly related to the story.
3. Question, in which the writer draws the reader in by asking a question that relates to
the content (and that the writer answers early on in the piece; do not leave them
hanging).

Note: Never begin a piece with a quote, though the writer may include one as early as the
second paragraph.

c) Body
- Once you have the lead, the following paragraphs should provide more details.
Generally, the body copy should:
 Nice flow.
 - In order to have a nice flow, inverted pyramid structure is recommended. The
inverted pyramid refers to a story structure where the most important information (or
what might even be considered the conclusion) is presented first. The who, what, when,
where and why appear at the start of a story, followed by supporting details and
background information.
 Use concise sentences and avoid unnecessary words.
- Brief but concise. This helps to capture and retain readers' interest.
 Use active voice.
- In the active voice, the subject is performing an action. (The dog chases the girl)
 Include strong transitional sentences.
- Transition sentences show the relationship between two or more ideas. Consider
them as bridges, tunnels, and merges that connect various areas of your writing, with
specific words and phrases serving as road signs. Examples of transitional words are and,
again, and then, besides, equally important, finally, further, furthermore, nor, too, next,
lastly, what's more, moreover, in addition, first (second, etc.)
 Include quotes when you can, and insert them on their own lines.

d) Headline
- As the first taste of a news story, the headline is a first impression and a critical
barometer for news readers on the information that is to follow.The main functions of
headlines are not mutually exclusive. Many headlines attempt to summarize, generate interest,
satisfy immediacy needs, and direct attention.
- Headlines should be about 45 characters and should entice the reader to click and
read more. Try to avoid cumbersome, academic headlines. Focus on action words and the
most interesting details.
Tips in Writing a Headline
 Abbreviating words like Professor (Prof.) or Department (Dept.) [Note: this is not
the style to use for the written content, with the exception of Prof., which can be
used for second and subsequent mentions of a Professor].
 For currency, using “K” for thousand, and “M” for million. Ex: “$25K grant,” “$1M
grant” [Note: this is not the style to use for the written content].
 For ordinal numbers, using “first,” “third,” etc.

e) Images
- Photographs in journalism inform, educate and enlighten readers about current
issues and also reflect on the past as well. Photographs in newspaper enhance the credibility
of the stories. As they depict reality, they also furnish evidence to show the authenticity of a
news story or give proof of an event that occurred.
Tips in Taking Photos
 Plan ahead.
- Whenever possible, select someone ahead of time who will be responsible for taking
and submitting photos from the event/trip/activity.
 Get a diverse mix of photos.
- Don’t just take posed, group shots, and “grip and grin” photos.
 Check for good lighting, and frame your photos well.
- Don’t be afraid to ask people to move to a better location, or direct them in small
ways.
 Get a range of shots: close ups, medium shots, and wide-angle shots.
- For the web we generally try to shoot photos at wide angle and crop the photos
using Photoshop.
 Be aware of surroundings.
- Look for anything that would be a distraction in the background, including bright
lights or windows, dark locations without enough light, logo t-shirts (e.g., students
wearing clothing from another college or university), room clutter or a messy location,
flags or banners.
 Photo Examples
Whenever possible, candid photos are preferable to staged shots. Examples:
 Students working in a lab, or a class discussion on the green, rather than a posed
group shot of the whole class looking at the camera.
 A professor talking with a student, rather than a headshot of the professor.
 An “action shot” from an event (e.g., the speaker talking with students or faculty
instead of a podium shot).
 If a headshot is the most appropriate choice for a specific piece, it must be well-lit,
well-framed, and professional (appropriate attire, no pets or food or other
“accessories”).

III. SUMMARY
 Yellow Journalism is a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over
facts.
 Coined in the 1890s to describe the sensationalist tactics employed by Joseph Pulitzer
and William Randolph Hearst in their competition over the market for their rival New
York City daily newspapers.
 There are five characteristics of Yellow Journalism according to Frank Luther Mott.
 Yellow Journalism has two goals: (1) To sell more papers; and (2) To influence public
opinion.
 There are five things that need to be considered in generating news stories: a) gather
information; b) news lead; c) body; d) headline; and e) images.

IV. ASSESSMENT
1. Who was the owner of New York Journal?
A. Frank Luther Mott
B. Joseph Pulitzer
C. William Randolph Hearst
D. Luther Pulitzer

2. What style of newspaper reporting was emphasized in Yellow Journalism?

A. Unbiased
B. Objective
C. Sensational
D. Serious

3. Headlines should be about __ characters and should entice the reader to click and read
more.
A. 40
B. 45
C. 50
D. 55

V. REFERENCES
How to write a news Story | Livingstone College. (n.d.).

https://livingstone.edu/how-to-write-a-news-story/

OpenStax. (n.d.). Identifying Sensationalism in Reporting | United States

History II.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-ushistory2/chapter/identifying-

sensationalism-in-reporting/

Rust, O. (2023). What was yellow journalism? A history of the free press in

America. TheCollector. https://www.thecollector.com/what-was-yellow-

journalism/

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Yellow journalism |

Definition, History, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/yellow-journalism

Yadav, A. (2022, June 1). What is Yellow Journalism? Meaning, Definition,

(Explained with Examples). EduKedar Project. https://edukedar.com/yellow-

journalism/

Yellow journalism - New World Encyclopedia. (n.d.).

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Yellow_journalism