Journalism History

Researcher Joy Jenkins describes how the language used in news media to describe people with disabilities has changed through the case of a 1977 protest in support of civil rights regulations. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Researcher Ulf Jonas Bjork explains the criticism voiced in medical journals against reporters, advertisers and the newspaper industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/.

In observance of the 50th anniversary of the Watergate arrests, researcher Jon Marshall explores the role of the press in covering the scandal and the eventual downfall of the Nixon administration. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Researcher Brian Thornton discusses one of the first and most bizarre newspaper frauds in the United States: the infamous moon hoax of 1835, perpetuated by the New York Sun and reporter Richard Adams Locke. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Author Richard Ness reviews Hollywood’s diverse depictions of journalists over the years, from crusading reporters in All the President’s Men and Spotlight to manipulative media executives in Citizen Kane and Network. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/.

Historian Erika Pribanic-Smith uses the hotly contested 1844 presidential election to explain the partisan press era and to draw connections between that era and our own. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Researcher Anna Popkova describes the importance of the immigrant press in the early 1900s to help build and inform communities new to America and how critical these newspapers were during times of sweeping discrimination. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Author Patrick File discusses his book, Bad News Travels Fast: The Telegraph, Libel and Press Freedom in the Progressive Era, and reviews three turn-of-the-century libel suits, including one from world-famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Historian Will Mari gives a tour of the American newsroom as it existed in the mid-20th century, introducing the various roles involved in the newsgathering process both inside and out of the newsroom. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Author Andrew Stoner describes how advice columnists, such as Ann Landers, Dear Abby and Dr. Joyce Brothers, affected public opinion on homosexuality. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. Editor's Note: Stoner passed away after the recording of this podcast. We dedicate this episode to his legacy.