By Hannah Cha, VI Form

Editor’s note: Hannah Cha is the recipient of the Shen Prize of 2024. The Shen Prize is awarded to the winner of a public speaking contest among Advanced United States History students on the topic of democracy.

A renowned author Oscar Wilde once said, “In America, the president reigns for four years, but journalism governs forever and ever.” Journalism is often referred to as the fourth estate, possessing both the explicit capacity of advocacy and the implicit ability to frame political issues. While serving as a primary disseminator of raw information, opinionated journalism has also served as a source of falsehood and bias—also famously called, yellow journalism.

Yellow journalism is a style of sensationalist reporting, often containing a degree of exaggeration and lurid details to attract readers. The term originated from the fierce rivalry between the two newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Their overheated competition eventually led to an indistinguishable amount of misleading and exaggerated news, hindering the primary definition of democracy in the country. Historians note that unbiased political discourse, free from external influences, fosters public opinions crucial for achieving true democracy in America. Unfortunately, mass media in the late 19th century did not support this primary right.

During the height of their rivalry, Pulitzer and Hearst transformed journalism into their battleground where sensationalism reigned supreme. Not even two days after the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, newspapers were dominated with headlines such as “Maine Explosion Caused by Bomb or Torpedo?” or “Spain Guilty!,” directly accusing Spain of the phenomenon. This inflammatory rhetoric not only fueled war sentiments but also exerted pressure on the political leaders to take decisive action against Spain, contributing to the Spanish-American War. In their pursuit of profit and influence, Pulitzer and Hearst blurred the lines of journalism and propaganda, leaving a lasting legacy of yellow journalism in the history of American media.

Regardless of the questions arising from the credibility of the newspapers, it was evident that these journals served as a huge media platform. A photo of the New York Journal Office proudly displays the newspaper’s circulation of over 1.3 million copies in a day. Beyond the initial roles of conveying information, newspapers in the era were powerful agents of societal impact, shaping the collective consciousness of a society.

The era of yellow journalism was characterized by sensationalism, moral degradation, and a disregard for factual accuracy. Drawing parallels to modern times, where media platforms are indispensable as sources of information, the relevance of combating misinformation is more critical than ever. Looking into the history of yellow journalism and its impact on the public serves as a reminder for both journalists and citizens to uphold ethical standards and prioritize integrity over the allure of sensationalism.