Newspaper Journalism

Since newspapers began as a journal (record

of current events), the profession involved in
the making of newspapers began to be called
journalism. Much emphasis has been placed
upon the accuracy and fairness of the
journalist - see Ethics.

In the yellow journalism era of the 19th

century, many newspapers in the United
States relied on sensational stories that were
meant to anger or excite the public, rather
than to inform. The more restrained style of
reporting that relies on fact checking and
accuracy regained popularity around World
War II.

Criticism of journalism is varied and

sometimes
vehement.
Credibility
is
questioned because of anonymous sources;
errors in facts, spelling, and grammar; real or
perceived bias; and scandals involving
plagiarism and fabrication.

In the past newspapers have often been

owned by so-called press barons, and were
used either as a rich man's toy, or a political
tool. More recently in the United States, a
greater number of newspapers (and all of the
largest ones) are being run by large media
corporations such as Gannett (the largest in
the United States), The McClatchy Company,
Cox, LandMark, Morris Corp., The Tribune
Company, etc. Many industry watchers have
concerns that the growing need for profit
growth natural to corporations will have a
negative impact on the overall quality of
journalism.

There is no doubt, however, that newspapers

have, in the modern world, played an
important role in the exercise of freedom of
expression. Whistle-blowers, and those who
'leak' stories of corruption in political circles
often choose to inform newspapers before
other mediums of communication, relying on
the perceived willingness of newspaper
editors to expose the secrets and lies of those
who would rather cover them. However,
there have been many circumstances of the
political autonomy of newspapers being
curtailed. In 2003, there was widespread
outrage and condemnation when the Spanish
Civil Guard closed down the offices of
Egunkaria, the only Basque language
newspaper, and arrested its staff, with
allegations of collaboration with the terrorist
Basque separatist movement, ETA.

Even though the opinions of the owners are

often relegated to the editorial section, and
the opinions of the readers are in the op-ed
("opposite the editorial page") and letters to
the editors sections of the paper, newspapers
have been used for political purposes by
insinuating some kind of bias outside of the
editorial section and into straight news. For
example, The New York Times is often
criticised for a perceived leftist slant to its
stories, or, by others, for supporting the
American political establishment, whereas the
opinion pages (but not the news pages) of the
The Wall Street Journal generally take rightwing positions.

Some ways newspapers have tried to improve

their credibility are: appointing ombudsmen,
developing ethics policies