Oasis

1896 · rif. 88318 — Philadelphia: Published By The Author 1896. Presumed First Edition First printing. Hardcover. Fair. 88 2 pages. Illustrations. RARE surviving copy. Ex-library from the New York World newspaper's library with some of the usual library markings. Author inscription inside the front cover reads "With the compliments of the author Curtis Haven Phila. Pa. Mar. 12 1900". The book has a significant amount of wear and tear and some moisture stains. Curtis Haven was a journalist author and teacher with over twenty years' experience. He authored an impressive number of 'how-to' books and yet is largely forgotten and unknown today. The contents include Duties of the Writers on a Great Newspaper; City Editor's or Local Department; Night Editor's Department; Telegraph Editor; Editorial Department; Exchange Editor; Literary Editor; Proof Reading; and Writing Advertisements. This is a fascinating snapshot of the "Great City" newspaper business at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events facts ideas and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word a noun applies to the occupation professional or not the methods of gathering information and the organizing literary styles. The appropriate role for journalism varies from country to country as do perceptions of the profession and the resulting status. In some nations the news media are controlled by government and are not independent. In others news media are independent of the government and operate as private industry. In addition countries may have differing implementations of laws handling the freedom of speech freedom of the press as well as slander and libel cases. The late 19th and early 20th century in the United States saw the advent of media empires controlled by the likes of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Realizing that they could expand their audience by abandoning politically polarized content thus making more money off of advertising American newspapers began to abandon their partisan politics in favor of less political reporting starting around 1900. Newspapers of this era embraced sensationalized reporting and larger headline typefaces and layouts a style that would become dubbed "yellow journalism". Newspaper publishing became much more heavily professionalized in this era and issues of writing quality and workroom discipline saw vast improvement. This era saw the establishment of freedom of the press as a legal norm as President Theodore Roosevelt tried and failed to sue newspapers for reporting corruption in his handling of the purchase of the Panama Canal. Still critics note that although government's ability to suppress journalistic speech is heavily limited the concentration of newspaper and general media ownership in the hands of a small number of private business owners leads to other biases in reporting and media self-censorship that benefits the interests of corporations and the government. In the 1920s in the United States as newspapers dropped their blatant partisanship in search of new subscribers political analyst Walter Lippmann and philosopher John Dewey debated the role of journalism in a democracy. Their differing philosophies still characterize an ongoing debate about the role of journalism in society. Lippmann's views prevailed for decades helping to bolster the Progressives' confidence in decision-making by experts with the general public standing by. Lippmann argued that high-powered journalism was wasted on ordinary citizens but was of genuine value to an elite class of administrators and experts. Dewey on the other hand believed not only that the public was capable of understanding the issues created or responded to by the elite but also that it was in the public forum that decisions should be made after discussion and debate. When issues were thoroughly vetted then the best ideas would bubble to the surface. The danger of demagoguery and false news did not trouble Dewey. His faith in popular democracy has been implemented in various degrees and is now known as "community journalism". The 1920s debate has been endlessly repeated across the globe as journalists wrestle with their roles. Published By The Author hardcover