The obtainment of information and news is an important aspect in the culture of American life. By understanding how information is brought into American homes one can better understand the lifestyles of the people who reside there. By incorporating the methods of Barbara Carson in her article, “Interpreting History through Objects” our group plans to trace the development of news media from newspaper, radio, television to the internet. We will interpret these objects in terms of their introduction to the media market and also evaluate their changing roles in society and their current place in today’s culture.
The newspaper has been the oldest form of mass communication in the United States. It has existed since the American Revolution, and the writings such as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense even helped mobilize the colonies to rise up against the British. Originally the main source of information for the American home, newspapers have fallen much in prominence and importance as other information sources have come into existence(Grimsted, 115.)
During the 19th Century, the Newspaper was part of an overall expression of ‘high culture’ in which classic texts and other works, along with current events, were discussed. Along with this came the participation of large numbers of working-class members of society in the creation, editing and distribution of large numbers of working-class newspapers. These papers were different than the capitalist, for-profit newspapers because instead of just seeking profit, they allowed for a normally voiceless public to participate and debate the great issues of the time. This was not just limited to the home, as “…craftsmen[and other factory workers] would hire somebody to read to them while they were working because they were interested and had libraries.”(Chomsky, 5)
There are numerous examples of such participation, and the great social movements of the 19th and early 20th century were done on the backs of the working-class press. This press was unique because it got out the movements message in the participants own words. During the struggle to end slavery, for example, abolitionist newspapers played a very significant role. Two prominent abolitionists during this period who utilized the right of free press were William Lloyd Garrison with the Liberator and Frederick Douglass with the North Star. They used this forum, the only one at the time that could be used to convey information and to gain support for their cause.
At the same time, it was illegal for blacks to learn how to read because slave masters realized the power of newspapers in organizing both slaves and freemen to fight for freedom. The race of Douglass, for example, was very significant. His written words were invaluable to convincing whites of African Americans inherently equality, a primary reason why they deserved freedom from slavery. The most prominent abolitionist writing, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s (the woman Lincoln credited with being responsible for brining upon the Civil War) Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was also originally published in serial form in newspapers.(David Grimsted, American Visions and Revisions 1607-1865, 245 )
Referring back to the Carson model, one has to keep in mind the ownership of newspapers. These questions all help to explore the media’s role in a democratic society. It is very important to note that the positions that the working-class press took on important issues were many times the opposing viewpoint of the for-profit corporate press. It goes without saying that the working-class press was often at odds with the imposition of the capitalism without limits during this period. The process of media consolidation was the corporate newspapers response. Media consolidation means that ownership of media outlets are increasingly being controlled by fewer and fewer corporate entities was carried out and has severely affected newspapers. Media consolidation, along with other pressures, meant the end of the working-class press during the middle 20th century. When alternatives to corporate media sources are absent, an important study concludes, “the legitimization of existing authority and power relations is more readily maintained, and the myths that act to place primary reason in abeyance (i.e., the inherent good of the “free market,” economic competition, U.S. nationalism,) are invariably perpetuated…”( James F. Tracy, “Smile while I cut your throat”, 3)
As early as the middle 19th century, the working-class press was aware of this new trend, and “according to Yale University labor historian David Montgomery, condemned what they called the "bought priesthood," referring to the media, the universities and the intellectual class, that is, the apologists who sought to justify the absolute despotism that was the new spirit of the age: “gain wealth, forgetting all but self”(Noam Chomsky, Democracy and Education). The independent press was powerless to oppose this trend, and its ability to represent popular movements and provide an alternative to the corporate media was destroyed.
“In 1920 there were 700 cities” in the U.S. “with competing dailies.” By 1986, however, despite a doubling of the population, “there were only a dozen cities with competing dailies.(Ben Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, 9) The ideological battle to oppose the new ‘spirit of the age’ was also lost. By 2004, the media was controlled by just six intertwined corporations.iTo sum up the defeat, one can quote “Nobel Prize winning economist James Buchanan, [who]writes 'what each person seeks [today]…is mastery over a world of slaves.(Noam Chomsky, Democracy and Education)."
↔
In the study of information media in the American home, one has to keep in mind that America is a democracy. In a democracy, the media plays the essential role of informing the citizen of the current events that are occurring in their neighborhood, city, state, nation, and worldwide. How, by whom, etc this information is presented makes an enormous impact in effect that this information has on the reader. Because the other members in my group decided to do more current artifacts, I chose the natural historical counterpart, newspapers. Overall, the effect of media consolidation has had a huge impact on how citizens gain their knowledge of the world; this trend started with newspapers and has continued in parallel to the other artifacts we have studied. I wish to raise awareness in the reader’s mind of this very important and understudied issue, so the reader themselves can decide how this has impacted their own lives.
I had a fantastic time working with my group. I honestly don’t think there is a single bad thing I could say about any of them. Being a History major, group projects are completely new to me, but the other group members were able to guide me through the process and I have them to thank for the fact that our project ended up a very polished and informative collaboration.
Having had a similar interest in the area in which you all chose to work, how well do you think you all actually worked together?
Our group worked very well together. There were no personality conflicts, nor did a single person try to impose their will or vision on the other members. I think this was an essential factor in our project coming together so seamlessly. The project allowed for personal freedom in our individual artifact analysis, but also time for group critique.
Every group member was able to take the lead in the various meetings at various times. Jasmine seemed the most comfortable with the whole group project concept, as I already stated, this is completely new to me. She was able to organize the meetings, organize the folders and do the small things that made the whole project come together.
I would have definitely preferred to work in a group, and I think this is essential for this type of project and type of class. If one student worked alone on this entire category(media-information) there is no way they could have done an as thorough job as we were able to do through a combined effort. Also, the group process allows for the critique of the other members, and forces members to find connections between the artifacts which I believe is essential for the entire project to come together, and for it to have a convincing overall argument on this vast topic.
I found that our group members largely shared our world view concerning our topic. I because I have a particularly nuanced interest in my topic, my analysis may have been more historically based, and more advanced in a sense, but I don’t think that necessarily made my part superior in anyway. I believe because we had a lot to share with each other, we were all able to learn a lot about the topic, and I don’t think anyone can argue that this is a bad thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment