Widely acknowledged as one of our most insightful commentators on the history of journalism in the United State, David Paul Nord offers a lively and wide-ranging discussion of journalism as a vital component of community. In settings ranging from the religion-infused towns of colonial America to the rrapidly expanding urban metropolises of the late nineteenth century, Nord explores the cultural work of the press.

The influence of the mass media on American history has been overwhelming. History of the Mass Media in the United States examines the ways in which the media both affects, and is affected by, U.S. society. From 1690, when the first American newspaper was founded, to 1995, this encyclopedia covers more than 300 years of mass media history. History of Mass Media in the United States contains more than 475 alphabetically arranged entries covering subjects ranging from key areas of newspaper history to broader topics such as media coverage of wars, major conflicts over press freedom, court cases and legislation, and the concerns and representation of ethnic and special interest groups. The editor and the 200 scholarly contributors to this work have taken particular care to examine the technological, legal, legislative, economic, and political developments that have affected the American media.

This classic work provides a detailed history of American journalism from its origins to the present day. From Ben Franklin's early newspaper to the rise of digital media, George Henry Payne provides a comprehensive look at the evolution of journalism and its impact on American society and culture. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This instructive and entertaining social history of American newspapers shows that the very idea of impartial, objective “news” was the social product of the democratization of political, economic, and social life in the nineteenth century. Professor Schudson analyzes the shifts in reportorial style over the years and explains why the belief among journalists and readers alike that newspapers must be objective still lives on.

Journalism is in crisis, with traditional sources of news under siege, a sputtering business model, a resurgence of partisanship, and a persistent expectation that information should be free. In Covering America, Christopher B. Daly places the current crisis within historical context, showing how it is only the latest challenge for journalists to overcome. In this revised and expanded edition, Daly updates his narrative with new stories about legacy media like the New York Times and the Washington Post, and the digital natives like the Huffington Post and Buzzfeed. A new final chapter extends the study of the business crisis facing journalism by examining the platform revolution in media, showing how Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are disrupting the traditional systems of delivering journalism to the public. In an era when the factual basis of news is contested and when the government calls journalists the enemy of the American people or the opposition party, Covering America brings history to bear on the vital issues of our times.

Excerpt from History of Journalism in the United States, 1920 Man frequently knows little about the phases of existence with which he comes into daily contact. As frequently he is not even curious regarding them. He telephones for a taxicab, is whisked to a labyrinthine terminal in time to catch an express, which clanks across viaducts conjured up by engineering's sheerest magic - usually without query save that prompted by solicitude for his comfort of the moment. Man goes, comes, and eternally accepts, en route. His, for the most part, is a post facto viewpoint. Effect is what really concerns him. He is likely to be bored by those who expound cause. Among the commonest and least comprehended ingredients of living is the daily newspaper. More powerful than public school or college, more vitally affecting destiny than all the churches of all the sects, it thrusts its well or ill conceived messages into the homes and minds of the millions. Coral like, it has reared itself into an all encircling reef, upon which beats the tidal wave of world politics or laps the insignificant ripple of village chatter. The roar of the tidal wave and the lap of the ripple are what men think they hear. Actually they do not. What one hears is the note of the reef - the newspaper. Wherefore let us consider its beginnings. Never have citizens needed more urgently an understanding of the genesis and development of journals which - although they may deny it - shape their trend of thought, their ethics and tastes, and their interest in the matter of national honor. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.