The industrial revolution, as it transformed all aspects of American life and society, dramatically affected newspapers. Both the numbers of papers and their paid circulations continued to rise. In the 1850's powerful, giant presses appeared, able to print ten thousand complete papers per hour. An astounding 11,314 different papers were recorded in the 1880 census. By the 1890's the first circulation figures of a million copies per issue were recorded. At this period appeared the features of the modern newspaper, bold "banner" headlines, extensive use of illustrations, plus expanded coverage of organized sporting events. The rise of "yellow journalism" also marks this era. Hearst could truthfully boast that his newspapers manufactured the public clamor for war on Spain in 1898.
This is also the age of media consolidation, as many independent newspapers were swallowed up into powerful "chains"; with regrettable consequences for a once fearless and incorruptible press, many were reduced to vehicles for the distribution of the particular views of their owners, and so remained, without competing papers to challenge their viewpoints.
Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. -Thomas Jefferson, 1787.
In the 1890s Chicago becomes the city that put the Midwest on the map. The city expanded to some 180 square miles. Its population rose above one million. The scale of Chicago (in terms of geography, population, commerce, and even the arts) during this time dwarfed any city of the US during this time. No city ever got so big so fast in American history or, probably, in human history.
This is also the age of media consolidation, as many independent newspapers were swallowed up into powerful "chains"; with regrettable consequences for a once fearless and incorruptible press, many were reduced to vehicles for the distribution of the particular views of their owners, and so remained, without competing papers to challenge their viewpoints.
Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. -Thomas Jefferson, 1787.
In the 1890s Chicago becomes the city that put the Midwest on the map. The city expanded to some 180 square miles. Its population rose above one million. The scale of Chicago (in terms of geography, population, commerce, and even the arts) during this time dwarfed any city of the US during this time. No city ever got so big so fast in American history or, probably, in human history.