JOUR205: History of American Journalism • Spring 2018 • TR 9:30–10:50, 1090 Lincoln Hall

Surveys the history of the field of journalism since pre-colonial times. Includes the evolution of the media in the United States and the evolution of
cultural concepts concerning the media, including rights granted under the First Amendment.
Dr Josh Heuman • [email protected] • 446C Gregory Hall • Office hours: F 1:00–3:00 by notification, and by appointment

This course explores the history of American journalism; not only but not least, we’ll engage journalism’s past as a scene for clarifying and perhaps
complicating our sense of its present, and future. Through the length and breadth of our history, we’ll follow a series of major movements (with an
emphasis on formative movements toward politicization, commercialization, and professionalization, on the way to more recent movements toward
conglomeration and digitalization), across a grid of running concepts and themes (press freedom; objectivity; the content of news; the presentation of
news in various forms, styles, and media; journalism and the state; journalism as representation of society, and especially social stratifications; the
news audience, as market and public; the business of news, from corporations to workers). At the end of this course, you should be able to: •Define
and characterize major movements in journalism history; •Define and explain key concepts and themes in journalism history; •Identify decisive
events and actors in American journalism history; and most importantly, •Recognize and analyze relationships across these different levels, as well as
between their past and present moments.

Course materials

As our primary textbook, we’ll be reading Christopher B Daly’s Covering America: A Narrative History of a Nation’s Journalism (Amherst MA:
Massachusetts, 2012), available electronically at http://muse.jhu.edu/book/13662 and from our Compass page. We’ll also supplement readings from
Daly with additional readings, also available electronically in Compass.

Course requirements

Readings, attendance, participation, and pop quizzes ...................................................................................................................................................... 50

Alongside responsive reading, consistent attendance and engagement is a prerequisite for doing well in this course (typically missing more than
a week’s worth of class will affect your mark; if you do miss class, you should plan to catch up on what you missed with notes from a colleague.
For University attendance policies, see http://studentcode.illinois.edu/article1_part5_1-501.html.) Along with day-to-day responsibilities (like
signing up for assignments), your participation grade will primarily reflect the quality and quantity of your in-class engagement; it also includes
informal catchup-and-wrapup assignments (see p5), pop quizzes, in-class writings, and so on. In class, you should carry yourself in a way that
reflects your good scholarship and citizenship in a prestigious institution (no smartphoning, please, and so on).
Homework assignment .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 100
You’ll sign up for one 2–3 page homework assignment, in which you’ll describe and analyze an historical newspaper, magazine, newsreel, or
radio news broadcast (see pp5–7 for further instructions and guidelines).
Group quizzes (3x50) ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 150
In small groups, you’ll discuss and answer a series of questions asking you to synthesize and apply our course material; labs are open note, but
not open network—be sure to print notes that you might want for the lab in advance.
Midterm exam.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 200
Final exam....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 250
In the middle and at the end, you’ll take blue-book midterm and final exams; in advance of each exam, you’ll see a review sheet with the exam
format, and material and strategies for review.
Final paper...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 250
In a 7–10 page final paper, you’ll pursue in depth some problem in journalism history (see pp5–7 for further instructions and guidelines).
Total .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1000

Evaluation in this course considers the form of your work as well as its content. Substance counts more than style, but the effective communication of
ideas implies their effective presentation as well. It’s a primary expectation that work composed outside of class will follow standard rules of form
and style. Evaluation is holistic; things like form and content are considered as parts of a whole, rather than separate parts assigned separate points.
Evaluation is more additive rather than subtractive; you earn your “A” by doing things well, not by not doing things poorly. And finally, evaluation is
not negotiable. •A (965–1000=A+; 925–964=A; 895–924=A-): In the A range, work not only meets but exceeds assignment expectations, in the
exceptional elegance of its form as well as the exceptional creative insight of its content. •B (865–894=B+; 825–864=B; 795–824=B-): In the B
range, work meets all assignment expectations, demonstrating strong competence across the levels of both content and form; at the lower end of the
range, minor lapses might diminish, but not endanger, that demonstration of competence (e.g., more than a handful of technical mistakes, an
occasional slip or omission of argument). •C (765–794=C+; 725–764=C; 695–724=C-): In the C range, work meets all assignment expectations, but
with more significant lapses that suggest only partial mastery at the levels of form and style (e.g., a pattern of technical mistakes, a lack of sufficient
research appropriate to the assignment, a discussion limited to surface description, without sufficient depth of analysis). •D (665–694=D+; 625–
664=D; 595–624=D-): In the D range, work approaches and substantively engages assignment expectations, but ultimately unsuccessfully, whether
in not meeting major requirements (e.g., page count, research guidelines), or in other significant lapses in content or form (e.g., a lack of writing
proficiency that falls below a university standard). •F (0–594): In the F range, work falls significantly short of meeting assignment expectations, or
violates certain course policies listed in this outline (like plagiarism or late submission).
 Course policies

Statement of inclusion (see http://inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu/mission.html). “As the state’s premier public university, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign’s core mission is to serve the interests of the diverse people of the state of Illinois and beyond. The institution thus values
inclusion and a pluralistic learning and research environment, one in which we respect the varied perspectives and lived experiences of a diverse
community and global workforce. We support diversity of worldviews, histories, and cultural knowledge across a range of social groups including
race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, abilities, economic class, religion, and their intersections.”

Accommodations for students with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides
comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be
guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an
accommodation, please contact Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) at disability.uiuc.edu, 333-4603 (V/TTY), or 1207 S Oak St.

Academic integrity and plagiarism (see http://studentcode.illinois.edu/article1_part4_1-401.html). By submitting material for review, you certify that
all work presented is your own (performed independently or as a member of a designated group, for group assignments). Whether malicious or
negligent, and whether in individual or group work, academic dishonesty won’t be tolerated. Plagiarism is an especially serious offense, and
penalties for plagiarism will always exceed a failing grade on the plagiarized work. When you borrow someone else’s words, images, or ideas, in
direct quotation or paraphrase, you must acknowledge the borrowing with a specific in-text citation and on a list of references, distinguishing clearly
where the borrowing ends and where your own work begins (in research as well as in writing, with Wikipedia as well as with any other source). As a
rule of thumb, whatever doesn’t come from your own mind should be cited. If you’re not sure, ask!

Late assignments and missed classes: Late submissions of out-of-class work or make-up quizzes and exams for full credit will only be allowed in
well justified and/or extreme circumstances—like religious observations or severe illness or injury or death, of oneself or a family member (not for
flat tires, computer crashes, and so on). Apart from such well justified and extreme circumstances, there is a presumption that late submissions and
make-ups will not be allowed. If other circumstances warrant, however, late submissions or make-ups might be allowed, for partial credit. Unless
you’re documentably incapacitated, please email me before class if you won’t be able to attend a session with graded work.

Writing skills: Apart from quizzes and exams, all written work will be evaluated on the basis of writing skills—not only on points of grammar, but
also on points of style like clarity, organization, and flow of ideas. Especially when dealing with complicated material, style matters: Give some care
to the process of writing, revise your written work, peer edit, and so on!

Mature content: Some of the examples screened and discussed in this course may include mature content (PG–R). If you have questions or concerns
about viewing such content, let me know as soon as possible.

Electronic communications: Much of the communication among us will travel electronically, whether on Compass or over email. You’re responsible
for maintaining and checking working Compass and email accounts.

Course materials and copyright: All of my materials from this course, including but not limited to syllabi, quizzes, exams, in-class materials, and
review sheets, are copyrighted, and can’t be copied, shared, or sold without permission.
 Preliminary course schedule

Week: TOPIC/S
Day Date: Subtopic/s Reading/s
Assignment/s

Week 1: INTRODUCTIONS; PRESS FREEDOM, IN PRINCIPLE, PRACTICE, AND POLITICIZATION (1)

T 16 Jan: Introducing JOUR205
Introducing history / of American journalism (a)
R 18 Jan: Introducing history / of American journalism (b) Daly, “Major Periods in the History of U.S. Journalism”
Approaching “press freedom” (a) Hallin and Giles, “Presses and Democracies”
Read syllabus pp1–2, and skim the rest
Bring questions on structures, policies, and assignments
Bring prefs for HW signups, or email me by 3PM Wed (say “205”!)

Week 2: PRESS FREEDOM / POLITICIZATION (2)

T 23 Jan: Approaching “press freedom” (b) Daly Ch1, “Foundations of the American Press”
The colonial press (a)
R 25 Jan: The colonial press (b) Franklin, “An Apology for Printers” (through “utmost Severity”)

Week 3: PRESS FREEDOM / POLITICIZATION (3)

T 30 Jan: The press in the revolution and early republic (a) Daly Ch2, “Printers Take Sides”
R 1 Feb: The press in the revolution and early republic (b) Nord, “Newspapers and American Nationhood, 1776–1826”
Paisley, “The Newspaper-Based Political System of C19US” (1–10/+?)

Week 4: PRESS FREEDOM / POLITICIZATION (4)

T 6 Feb: Catchup and wrapup
Homework 1—Dateline 1775
Catchup-and-wrapup from HW5’ers (email me by end-of-day Sun)
R 8 Feb: GROUP QUIZ 1 Review and print notes for Group Quiz 1

Week 5: COMMERCIALIZATION, AND NEW FORMATIONS OF NEWS MARKETS AND PUBLICS (1)
T 13 Feb: The penny press (a) Daly Ch3, “Putting the News in Newspapers”
R 15 Feb: The penny press (b)

Week 6: COMMERCIALIZATION / NEW MARKETS AND PUBLICS (2)

T 20 Feb: The press in the Civil War Daly Ch4, “Radicals All!”
R 22 Feb: New(ish) news in a new(ish) society— Daly Ch5, “Crusaders and Conservatives”
Info and story in Progressive-era journalism
(a): Journalism in gray

Week 7: COMMERCIALIZATION / NEW MARKETS AND PUBLICS (3)

T 27 Feb: New(ish) news (b): Yellow journalism Lewis, from The Jungle Ch XIII (skim for flavor and form)
R 1 Mar: New(ish) news (c): From muckraking to public relations

Week 8: COMMERCIALIZATION / NEW MARKETS AND PUBLICS (4)

T 6 Mar: Catchup and wrapup
Homework 2—Dateline 1840
Catchup-and-wrapup from HW1’ers (email me by end-of-day Sun)
R 8 Mar: MIDTERM EXAM Review for Midterm Exam
Week 9: COMMERCIALIZATION / NEW MARKETS AND PUBLICS (5)
T 13 Mar: New(ish) media, new forms and styles (a) Daly Ch7, “Jazz Age Journalism”
Hersey, “Hiroshima—A Noiseless Flash” (skim for flavor and form)
R 15 Mar: New(ish) media (b)
Homework 3—Dateline mag rack
Homework 4—Dateline movie theater
Homework 5—Dateline ether

SPRING BREAK—BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN!

Week 10: PROFESSIONALIZATION, AND ITS DISCONTENTS (1)

T 27 Mar: Between professionalism and propaganda in WWI Daly Ch6, “Professionalizing the News in Peace and War”
R 29 Mar: “Objectivity” and the postwar propaganda debates Brown, “The Menace to Journalism”

Week 11: PROFESSIONALIZATION, AND ITS DISCONTENTS (2)

T 3 Apr: Catchup and wrapup
Catchup-and-wrapup from HW2’ers (email me by end-of-day Sun)
R 5 Apr: GROUP QUIZ 2 Review and print notes for Group Quiz 2

Week 12: PROFESSIONALIZATION, AND ITS DISCONTENTS (3)

T 10 Apr: Negotiating professionalism and objectivity: Daly Ch8, “Hard Times” (skim)
From Good War— Daly Ch9, “The ‘Good War’”
Pyle, “Digging and Grousing” (skim for flavor and form)
R 12 Apr: —to Cold War Daly Ch10, “Creating Big Media”

Week 13: PROFESSIONALIZATION, AND ITS DISCONTENTS (4)

T 17 Apr: Sixties journalism and the state: Watergate and Vietnam Daly Ch11, “Rocking the Establishment”
Daly Ch12, “The Establishment Holds”
R 19 Apr: Sixties NSMs in the news, the newsrooms, and beyond Thompson, “The Kentucky Derby” (skim and skip for flavor and form)

Week 14: PROFESSIONALIZATION, AND ITS DISCONTENTS (5); CONCLUSIONS AND CRYSTAL BALLS (1)
T 24 Apr: Regulating “fair” representation, in social crisis Daly Ch13, “Big Media Get Bigger” (skim)
Daly Ch14, “Going Digital” (skim)
R 26 Apr: New movements? Conglomeration and digitalization
Catchup and wrapup Catchup-and-wrapup from HW3 + 4’ers (email me by end-of-day Tues)

Week 15 + Exam week: CONCLUSIONS AND CRYSTAL BALLS (2)

T 1 May: GROUP QUIZ 3 Review and print notes for Group Quiz 3
TBA: FINAL EXAM Review for Final Exam
 Assignment descriptions

Homework assignment: You’ll sign up for one 2–3 page homework assignment, in which you’ll describe and analyze an historical newspaper,
magazine, newsreel, or radio news broadcast. “News” varies across moments and media; in this assignment, you’ll explore news in a particular
moment and medium (with an expectation of sharing highlights of your explorations in class): •In HW1—Dateline 1775, you’ll read a few editions of
an American newspaper from around 1775, from the library’s America’s Historical Newspapers collection (e.g., starting from an issue closest to your
birthday in 1775, then going three months forward or back, then six months forward or back); •In HW2—Dateline 1840, you’ll read a few editions of
an American newspaper from around 1840, from the library’s Nineteenth Century US Newspapers or African American Newspapers: The Nineteenth
Century collections (e.g., starting from an issue on or near your birthday in 1840, then going three months forward or back, then six months forward
or back); •In HW3—Dateline mag rack, you’ll read a few editions of an interesting American magazine from the 1930s or 1940s; •In HW4—Dateline
movie theater, you’ll watch a few American newsreels from the 1930s or 1940s; •in HW5—Dateline ether, you’ll listen to a few radio news
broadcasts from the 1930s or 1940s.
Most of your work in these assignments will comprise educated description: as a student of American journalism, what’s interesting about how
news looks (or sounds) in this particular moment and medium? At the same time, however, you can also follow a more analytic edge, mindful of our
continuing concepts and themes (for some starting concepts and themes, see the first page of the syllabus), and/or other larger concerns.
We’ll talk more in class about navigating archives of historical news media, but there are lots of neat places to explore for this assignment (and
perhaps for the final paper), including but not at all limited to:
Communications Library: 122 Gregory Hall and https://www.library.illinois.edu/commedia/ (with lists of scholarly databases, newspaper
databases, and other resources).
The Newsreel Archive: http://www.newsreelarchive.com/
Universal Newsreels at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/universal_newsreels
University of South Carolina Fox Movietone “War Years” Collection: http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/mvtnwarfilm
Fox News Movietone archive: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/movietone-news/index.html
News broadcasts at Old Time Radio Downloads: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/historical/news-broadcasts
WWII Era Audio Recordings at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/wwIIarchive-audio
Vintage newscasts (mostly British) at OTR.Net: http://www.otr.net/?p=news

Catchup-and-wrapup assignment. Before each of our exams and major quizzes, we’ll pause to catch up and wrap up loose ends, to review and gain
perspective on where we’ve been, and so on. Once along the way, you’ll help to lead us through this process with a thought or question (or two) for
summary and synthesis—e.g., a point of your own observation or analysis, a discussion question for the class, a potential quiz or exam question, or a
question about a missing piece of the story that we didn’t cover in class (if you have a question about a piece of the story we did cover, you might
throw in another thought or question for good measure). Our last catchup and wrapup will be cumulative; the rest will focus on material since the last
exam or quiz. The catchup-and-wrapup assignments are staggered by homework groups, and you’ll submit them in advance over email; see our
preliminary course schedule.

Final paper: In a 7–10 page final research paper, you’ll pursue in depth some problem in journalism history. Though you should plan to discuss
your topic and approach with me in advance, the assignment’s meant to allow a lot of latitude for following your own interests. As broad tendencies,
for example, some papers might emphasize arguments from original analysis of primary documents (there might be a healthy handful of interesting
questions to follow in a relatively short run of Ladies Home Journal), while others might synthesize arguments from existing scholarly conversations
(perhaps around some angle on questions of privacy, objectivity, wartime censorship, photojournalism, or so on). We’ll talk more in class about the
process of building the paper (and I’m also glad to talk out of class); along the way, don’t forget about the guidelines in our “Things to think about
when writing a final paper (or anything else)” handout, below.
 JOUR205: Homework assignment signup sheet

HW1—Dateline 1775

HW2—Dateline 1840

HW3—Dateline mag rack

HW4—Dateline movie theater

HW5—Dateline ether
Things to think about when writing a final paper (or anything else!)

Before you sit down to write a final paper, you should have a topic that you’re writing about, and a strong sense of what you want to write about it.
Don’t try to get started from a firm topic; rather, start from a broader interest, which you can develop and sharpen toward a topic (and eventually
a thesis) as you get a sense of larger conversations. And as it’s developing, be sure to check your topic with me.
There are lots of places those conversations might be taking place, and different scenes of conversation offer different kinds of value. One might
well build a strong paper largely from online fan discussion of a television show (or other sources on the web), but more authoritative sources will
make for a stronger foundation. As applicable and appropriate, you should expect to engage scholarly and trade sources relevant to your topic.
Especially in preliminary research, Google Scholar can be a very useful wide net. But as you go further, you’ll find more depth in the library’s
subject-area electronic databases (like Communication and Mass Media Complete, FIAF Index to Film Periodicals, WestLaw, and so on).

Organization. Organization might be the most underappreciated part of writing, from the level of the paper as a whole to the sentence-level.
Your paper should have an explicit thesis or central idea that specifies a through line of argument, and how that line moves through a series of
main points. This doesn’t have to be an original claim for proof (“The plays attributed to Shakespeare were written by Stephenie Meyer, as shown by
close analysis of R&J, Lear, and Tempest”); but it should put a coherent umbrella over everything you want to say, and it should let the reader know
exactly what the paper will be doing. For your final paper, your thesis should set up an informed engagement within some larger conversation, rather
than (only) a summary of other people’s ideas or a statement of your opinion. Your thesis should stake out an appropriately sized question, in a way
that lets you develop a meaningful and authoritative discussion of your topic. Everything you say in the paper should go toward your thesis; avoid
facts of questionable value to your thesis. Your thesis and main points should be explicit in an introduction. That’s the most important part of the
intro; intros also tend to do work to hook the reader’s interest, to put the topic in its broader context, and so on.
After the intro, the body of the paper should have an explicit structure of its own. Especially in papers focused on a specific case study, it’s
likely that you’ll spend a first section exploring the general themes in play (if I’m writing about a contested work of public art, I might spend a
substantial section on the notion of “art”). Other papers lend to other kinds of organization; rather than moving from general to specific, for example,
you might start with a very brief setup before moving among parallel main points. The key idea here is “movement”: set your paper up to go
somewhere in a planned and deliberate movement. NEVER, EVER write a paper that chronicles your own shifting thoughts through the process of
writing. And beware the risks of “just sitting down to write” without an outline (see “Things to do the night before”).
Paragraphs chunk points together around a specific idea (whose development supports your overarching thesis); that idea should be stated in a
topic sentence. (There are models of a “MEAL” plan—“Main idea, Examples and Analyses, Link back to thesis.” I’m not looking for paragraphs on
that model, but keep it in mind!) I like more substantive topic sentences, which tell not just what the paragraph’s about, but also what its point is
(rather than “Lighting is an important part of the effect of this scene,” say “Lighting emphasizes Carol’s ambivalence in this scene”; rather than
“Cinematography and editing are important parts of the filmmaker’s toolbox,” say “Cin and editing contribute to a sense of disorientation”).

Form and style. Manuscript form comprises elements like one-inch margins, no cover sheet, a standard font (like 12-point Times New Roman),
double-spacing, and no extra line spaces between paragraphs. Titles of works complete unto themselves go in italics; titles of works in larger wholes
go in quotation marks. Apostrophes mark possessives, not plurals. Commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, and periods set reading rhythms in distinct
ways, according to fixed rules. Direct quotations running over four lines shouldn’t be in your paper (see below); but if they are, they should be set off
in indented blocks. Spell out numbers that can be written in two words or less. If points like these are unfamiliar, check out a writing guide! Along
with these more general technical points of form and style, I’m also looking in particular at paragraph organization (see above) and sentence flow.
Sentences should flow forward in smooth rhythms and direct phrasings. On one side, read aloud to fit sentences to a natural speaking rhythm
(dropping “howevers” and “for examples” on top of natural pauses, for example, rather than in the free flow of a sentence). On the other, revise for
more pointed phrasing: *Skip over markers that you’re writing an assignment (rather than “In this assignment I chose to analyze the film Finding
Nemo,” say “A key scene in Finding Nemo shows—”); *Avoid passive voice, unmotivated first-person, and other wordy constructions (“One of the
ways that this choice is surprising is—”); *You can assume your reader shares the background knowledge of your classmates; *Keep your ideas
moving forward rather than standing still, or circling around (once you write “I think that the use of lighting in this scene is interesting,” delete all but
“lighting,” and say what you want to say about it!). *When writing about media texts, you don’t have to refer to who’s shooting or who’s watching
(rather than “The cinematographer chose to use a long shot to emphasize Carol’s isolation to the audience,” say “A long shot emphasizes Carol’s
isolation”). You can refer to people on screen by the names of actors or characters (though character is technically better, unless you’re talking about
acting—sometimes you’ll see the character/actor reference), but be consistent.

Sourcing.
Though there’s no hard requirement for sources, you should have sufficient quantity and quality of source material to allow for an informed,
authoritative discussion of your topic. If you’re not using the electronic databases, for example, there should be some motivation in the topic or your
approach -- though there might be topics or approaches that allow such motivation.
In general, keep your own voice in front; use sources to develop your own story, rather than stringing together a collection of other people’s
words and ideas. Avoid direct quotation except when you gain something from it (e.g., if you’re analyzing someone else’s words as evidence).
Even in indirect quotation, cite your sources. ANYTHING BUT AN UNMISTAKEABLY CLEAR LINE BETWEEN THE WORK OF YOUR
SOURCES AND YOUR OWN WORK CONSTITUTES PLAGIARISM -- WHETHER IN WORDS, PHRASINGS, IDEAS, OR RESEARCH. In
indirect quotation, paraphrasing implies putting someone else’s ideas in your own words, rather than re-arranging their words or substituting for their
words. If you want to cite a work that you didn’t read, but was referenced in one of your sources, you need to acknowledge that it was your source
who did the research -- e.g., “X says ‘pancakes are good’ (qtd in Y 1998, 34).” Like any source whose work you draw on, you must cite Wikipedia.
Any consistent and complete INTERNAL citation system is okay with me; I’m looking to see that you’re doing what you should be doing (don’t
ever put URL’s in the body of a paper!), but I’m not policing whether your periods are in or out of the quotation marks.

Things to do the night before. It’s very much in your interest to leave time for revision. *Confirm that your paper follows standard form and style.
*Read it aloud for rhythm, punctuation, and sentence-level flow, clarity, and economy, and to minimize clutter and heavy phrasing. *Soften and
hedge unsupported and unsupportable claims (“Marilyn Manson challenged gender roles in rock as they had never been challenged before” does bad
things for your credibility). *Admire the absolute clarity with which your sources’ words and ideas are marked off from your own. *Reverse-outline
from your draft, and admire the strength and beauty of your through line of argument, anchored to an explicit thesis, unencumbered by facts of
questionable value, moving through paragraphs devoted to unique ideas expressed in topic sentences....