My assessment after doing research on the Socially Responsible Press era is that it was a cornerstone for journalism at time when newspapers were our primary source for news. The country was undergoing so many changes in the 1890’s that it was inevitable for the press to change along with it. False stories and irresponsible journalism were so influential before this era, that they were even accused of starting a war. Keep in mind that there was no television or Internet. Therefor people heavily relied on what was written. Muckraking, which was a big part of this Socially Responsible Era, was the most important in my opinion. Not so much that Newspapers began separating opinion from facts, but that this era started investigative journalism. Without these Muckrakers, our food would not have been regulated. Our medication could kill us more than it already does. Watergate wouldn’t have ever happened. Consequently, this era was the tool people needed to gain insight and open their eyes to the truth. I hope that you have gained some knowledge from our posts about the SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PRESS ERA.
Month: March 2016
Reflections
The era we were given was kinda hard.I later understood it though.I was very impressed by Robert Hutchins.I read that he was a big advocate for educational change.I to also believe that a change in the system needs to happends.Also reading about Soical Responsible Theory,what I liked about that was how it brought about a big change not only to media but business all over.Holding them more accountable for their actions is something that I think is good as alot business tend to whatever because they know there is very little to none consequences to their actions.
Fill in the blank
My childhood friend Robert had got a call from( 1).Henry Luce, publisher at Time and Life Magazine. With all the recent uproar and concern about the state of media ,(2)Henry need someone to oversea the media and all the current problems it was having. (3) Henry asked Robert to put together a committee to assist him in overseeing the problem. Knowing the good ,educated guy Robert was , this didn’t surprise me. I mean shoot , he’s president at the (4) University of Chicago, so I knew he would be the perfect candidate to do something that big. Every front page of a newspaper , there he was , my man Robert and the (5)Hutchins committee. Dang I was so proud of him. News spread quickly that maybe all the problems the media was having would be bought to light. Robert spend the next few years dedicating himself to finding and fixing the problem the media was having.Robert went on do to more great things. He was always telling me how messed up the education system was and how it needed to be fix. He was the biggest advocate of education , he strongly believed in it. Robert passed away in (6) ’77.Though it has been a few years since he’s been gone, everything that Robert was and stood for has not.
Answers
1.Henry Luce
2.Henry
3.Henry
4.University of Chicago
5.Hutchins Committee
3.1977
Socially Responsible Theory..Today
Socially Responsible Theory has changed media and business in a big way. For one media and business are now expected to be responsible for their own action. Years ago business and media was hold accountable for their actions ,so there was a lot outcry from people and crooked business going on. With media and any other business people want to know that the public interest is at heart. With media Journalist are now expected to uphold their ethical responsibility. For example they can’t write anything that one might consider biased and they must make sure to do in-depth research before reporting on it. Since bought light in the 40s ,Socially Responsible Theory has given media the uncensored they wanted but still hold them obligated to government interventions. Business are now expected to uphold their professional ethical behavior more than ever. In earlier times journalist could report on whatever , business didn’t have to answer whatever shady thing they had going on. People were becoming more and more concern about media. Socially Responsible Theory didn’t just changed journalism it changed all business as a whole.
Examples of Socially Responsible Theory
Examples of Socially Responsible Theory at work today are a lot but a few are
Restaurants are required to follow food and health reqaulations.If they do not comply with those rules they face interference from agencies such as the health department.They also can get fine and even worst , shut down.There are tons of restaurants now that are/facing actions from agencies such as the health department.They fail an inspection or get a complaint from a customer and are now getting closed down , fined and sometimes can face legal actions.
Another example is in media they if something they wrote is inappropriate or slander
someone/s they can be investigated by multiple outlets. People want to know that what is being reported in media is truth ,for the better of people and upholds the media ethical position.
People have sued because of pictures that were published , and because of words that were said.
What and Who
Socially Responsible Theory was introduced in the 1940s.The theory states that media shouldn’t be censored but it should be regulated to male sure it has the public interest at heart and it upholds it ethical position. Socially Responsible Theory was brought to light by Robert Maynard Hutchins and the Hutchins Commissions. Hutchins was asked by Time and Life newspaper publisher ; Henry Luce to recruit a commission to oversee the media. The commission stated that the media has an ethical position it needs to maintain for themselves and that it should have the public best interest at heart. People at the time felt the media was neither upholding to their ethical position and didn’t have the public best interest at heart.
Robert Maynard Hutchins stated:
“Are intent is to discover where free expression is or is not limited, whether by government censorship, pressure from readers or advertisers or the unwisdom of its proprietors or the timidity of its management”. 28,Feb 1944
Samuel Hopkins Adams
Samuel Hopkins Adams was an American writer who was publicly known for his writings on public health and patent medicines. He wrote “The Great American Fraud” in Colliers in 1906. He was one of the first journalists to write articles on health, which were understood by the average reader (Barlow, 2016). Adams has successfully brought awareness to safety issues stemming from careless food preparation, increasing drug and alcohol addiction from patent medicines (u-s-history.com, 2016). They also report that food was being adulterer with waste and decomposed animal matter. Thanks to Adams investigative journals, he was given much of the credit for the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act (PHD, 2010).
Barlow, J. F. (2016, march 13). Samuel Hopkins Adams . Retrieved march 13, 2016, from imdb.com: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0011343/bio
PHD, E. F. (2010, August 10). Samuel Hopkins Adams (1871–1958): Journalist and Muckraker. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from Am J Public Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901284/
u-s-history.com. (2016, march 13). Pure Food and Drug Act: A Muckraking Triumph. florence , or, usa.
Socially Responsible Press Study Questions
- In what century did the Socially responsible Era begin?
The 20th century
- What was the Muckraking Era?
An era of investigative journalism, exposing the faults of expansion and industrialization
- What era ended with the beginning of Socially responsible journalism?
Yellow Journalism Era
- What kind of media was available to the public during this era?
Newspaper, Radio and Magazines
- Who was the first female investigative journalist?
Ida Tarbell
- What important political event was covered by the press in 1912?
The four-way presidential election in 1912, with Woodrow Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt and Eugene Debs.
- What war was going on during this time?
World War 1
- Who was the first President to have his life and career captured on film?
Theodore Roosevelt
- Who coined the phrase “Muckraker”?
Theodore Roosevelt
- Which magazine profited from the business of Muckraking?
McClures Magazine owned by Samuel McClure
- Which amendment allowed Responsible journalism to exist?
The First Amendment
1920’s Jazz and Journalism
Jazz and Tabloid Journalism commenced a new era of sensationalism focusing on sex and crime (Musser, 2013). Jazz journalism started printing stories in tabloid format. During this time, F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby, during this time of prohibition. Some other famous journalist’s of the early 1900’s were David Sarnoff, William S. Paley, Will Rogers, Walter Winchell, John R. “Doc” Brinkley just to name a few. Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis were part of a generation of writers, artists and musicians who were the most innovative in the country’s history (Musser, 2013). This progressive era led to reforms to end wife beating and child abuse.
Bibliography
Musser, P. E. (2013, December 31). History of American journalism. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from history.journalism.ku.edu: http://history.journalism.ku.edu/1920/1920.shtml
Women and the Press
Ida Tarbell, born November 5, 1857, grew up within the derricks of the Oil Region (pbs.org, 2016). 45 years Later she was determined to out John D. Rockefeller Sr. and his unfair practices in his Oil Business. She was a true pioneer of the beginning of the Muckraking era. Ida began her 19-part magazine series, “The History of the Standard oil Company.” “Ida Tarbell led the way for female journalists in an era when men dominated the profession” stated by Lane Hartill (Hartill, 1999). She was McClure’s Magazine most successful writer when she published a biography on Abraham Lincoln. Her investigative journalism made her the most influential women in the country at the time.
Works Cited
Hartill, L. (1999, March 16). Women’s history: Muckrakers dug up dirt on big-business . (S. w. Monitor, Editor) Retrieved March 13, 2016 , from csmonitor.com: http://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0316/p14s3.html
pbs.org. (2016, march 13). American Experience. Retrieved march 13, 2016, from Pbs.org: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/rockefellers-tarbell/
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