Journalism History

Historian Kathryn McGarr takes aim at the conventional view of the Cold War Washington press corps as a group of naïve transcriptionists. In this episode, she details the sense of responsibility driving Washington reporters in the '40s and '50s and explains their resulting complicity in passing lies and misinformation to the public. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Researcher Tracy Everbach discusses the 25th anniversary since the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair became national news and the problematic coverage that Lewinsky endured in 1998. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

University of Kansas student Chloe Martens discusses her research examining how advertisers framed their products during the Dust Bowl/Great Depression years. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Former New York Times reporter, book author, and historian Andrew L. Yarrow shares the overlooked history of Look magazine, a photojournalistic rival to better-known Life that featured pioneering coverage of topics like civil rights and gender and that both reflected and helped build the American post-war consensus. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Curator Jannelle Legg discusses a new online exhibit examining the role of Deaf printers in journalism history. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

For the 90th anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt becoming president, author Harold Holzer discusses FDR's relationship with the press and public relations, as well as his mastery of mass communication. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Author Andie Tucher discusses the early history of U.S. newspapers and her new book, Not Exactly Lying: Fake News and Fake Journalism in American History. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Author Jane Rhodes discusses her book, "Framing the Black Panthers: The Spectacular Rise of a Black Power Icon." Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Historian Caryl Cooper shares the career of Rebecca Stiles Taylor, who used her column at the Chicago Defender to champion social justice and political empowerment in the 1940s. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Researcher Edward Alwood explains how activists in the Gay Rights Movement used public relations practices to reframe media coverage in the 1950s and '60s. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/