- The Old School...PRINT -
Data and pagination by Jenny Wilson
What Is Print News?
The very first version of print newspapers started around the 16th century in Renaissance Europe. Handwritten sheets of paper passed among merchants about wars, the economy, and social matters. The first published title, The Weekly Newes, started in 1622 in the English speaking world. The London Gazette, published in 1666, was the first successful and true paper of the time.
Publick Occurrences, was the first newspaper in America in 1960. It started in Boston, but was destroyed quickly after printing started. Later on, the American Revolution created demand for news distribution around the 13 colonies, and continued to be in demand after the war. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution gave all citizens freedom of the press and speech. This allowed newspapers to publish information without the need for approval by the government. In the year 1814, over 300 papers were in circulation in the United States. (Barber, 2015)
During the Industrial Revolution and wars, newspapers were especially popular. People were able to keep up on affairs nationally and internationally on a day to day basis. Circulation of newspapers increased until around the late 1980's and early 1990's, when the Internet was becoming more accessible to the public. Since then, many people chose to use internet to obtain news. Print is becoming less and less popular over the years as technology improves, yet usually contains the most accurate information. (Barthel, 2017)
Publick Occurrences, was the first newspaper in America in 1960. It started in Boston, but was destroyed quickly after printing started. Later on, the American Revolution created demand for news distribution around the 13 colonies, and continued to be in demand after the war. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution gave all citizens freedom of the press and speech. This allowed newspapers to publish information without the need for approval by the government. In the year 1814, over 300 papers were in circulation in the United States. (Barber, 2015)
During the Industrial Revolution and wars, newspapers were especially popular. People were able to keep up on affairs nationally and internationally on a day to day basis. Circulation of newspapers increased until around the late 1980's and early 1990's, when the Internet was becoming more accessible to the public. Since then, many people chose to use internet to obtain news. Print is becoming less and less popular over the years as technology improves, yet usually contains the most accurate information. (Barthel, 2017)
My Grading Scale:
(Other relics of the early 2000's)
A
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B
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C
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D
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F
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The Denver Post
The Denver Post has been established in Denver, Colorado since 1892. It was originally called the Evening Post and was a Democratic paper. The Evening Post was against the purchase of silver by the government, Colorado's most expensive export. These views made the paper unpopular. In 1895 Harry Here Tammen, a businessman, bought the paper and changed the name to Denver Evening Post. Although he had little journalism experience, being a businessman he knew what people wanted to read. The Denver Evening Post went on to be more popular than the other 3 local papers combined. (Denver Post Editors, 2016) It was bought by MediaNews Group Inc. in 1987 from Times Mirror Co. The Denver Post, along with 40 daily and 65 non-daily newspapers, were owned by MediaNews Group Inc. until the merge in 2013 with Digital First Media to bring in a combined revenue of $1.3 billion in 2013 from its 800 multi-platform news outlets. Over 67 million people in the United States help contribute to bring in this revenue through the many outlets provided. (Cooper, 2013) In 2016 the Denver Post had a weekly circulation of 253, 261 and a Sunday circulation of 134,537, making it the 14th most read newspaper in the United States. (Sanchez, 2016)
The paper had its highs and lows with popularity, but really gained its fan-base after denouncing "mccarthyism" in the 1950's and 1960's. While other papers were following suit, the Denver Post stuck out because of the editor, Palmer Hoyt's refusal to capitalize "mccarthyism." (Simpson, 2017)
The Denver Post is considered to have a left-center bias making it lean more towards a liberal outlook. Left-centered views make this paper accurate, but may require extra investigation. (Media Bias/Fact Checking Editors, 2016)
The Denver Post's slogan remains the same over the years: "The Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire." (Denver Post Editors, 2016)
The paper had its highs and lows with popularity, but really gained its fan-base after denouncing "mccarthyism" in the 1950's and 1960's. While other papers were following suit, the Denver Post stuck out because of the editor, Palmer Hoyt's refusal to capitalize "mccarthyism." (Simpson, 2017)
The Denver Post is considered to have a left-center bias making it lean more towards a liberal outlook. Left-centered views make this paper accurate, but may require extra investigation. (Media Bias/Fact Checking Editors, 2016)
The Denver Post's slogan remains the same over the years: "The Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire." (Denver Post Editors, 2016)
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Story 1: Road easily paved for $937M package
Story 2: Woman sues over detention for lack of $55 Story 3: Blood-smeared coins help solve 22-year-old murder Story 4: AG Cynthia Coffman tells Post she can bridge the prosperity divide in Colorado Story 5: New evidence of brain damage Story 6: ER Docs save man's life at sandwich shop Story 7: Artist argent died after liposuction |
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Story 1: Going to mat for recruits
Story 2: Boy dying from rare disease gets entirely new skin over his body Story 3: Vouchers for schools hangs by a thread Story 4: Drilling issues still stir up state Story 5: New Security Rules are giving Test Run at DIA Story 6: Upending absences: social worker tackles incidents one case at a time |
Friday, November 10, 2017
Story 1: Mandarin or Spanish first for students, then English
Story 2: Senate plan delays biz cut Story 3: Behind the scenes on proposal for Amazon: Lots of Q's but few A's as Colorado kept bid for firm's HQ2 on the QT Story 4: Senators abandon Moore Story 5: Jail sergeant suspended 40 days for melee in cell Story 6: State regulators agree to rehear arguments about train crossings for A- and G- lines |
Herald Journal
The Herald Journal is a daily local newspaper in Logan, Utah since 1931. It serves the people in Cache Valley and Southeastern Idaho. It was owned by Pioneer News Group until October 2017. This family-owned company owned 23 local papers in states in the north western area of the United States, including, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, and Washington. The Herald Journal allows its readers to post articles and newsletters on its online platform. (Pioneer News Group, 2017) The paper circulation is currently over 15,000 Tuesday-Sunday. (Herald Journal Facebook, 2017)
In October 2017, the three-year-old Adams Publishing Group owned by the Adams family announced it would be purchasing the papers owned by Pioneer News Groups. The Adams family owns over 100 local and community newspapers. They find value in the small community papers and believe it is important to keep them around. While the revenue of the papers is not disclosed, there is no worries when it comes to money, as the Adams family plans to help keep papers afloat with personal funds if necessary. (Edmonds, 2017)
Although it is difficult to find an official website stating the position of the Herald Journal, after reading through the paper, it seems to follow similar views as the people of Cache Valley and Southern Idaho. I believe the paper is more right-center. There is a sense of conservatism among its readers due to the heavily influenced religious population.
In October 2017, the three-year-old Adams Publishing Group owned by the Adams family announced it would be purchasing the papers owned by Pioneer News Groups. The Adams family owns over 100 local and community newspapers. They find value in the small community papers and believe it is important to keep them around. While the revenue of the papers is not disclosed, there is no worries when it comes to money, as the Adams family plans to help keep papers afloat with personal funds if necessary. (Edmonds, 2017)
Although it is difficult to find an official website stating the position of the Herald Journal, after reading through the paper, it seems to follow similar views as the people of Cache Valley and Southern Idaho. I believe the paper is more right-center. There is a sense of conservatism among its readers due to the heavily influenced religious population.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Story 1: Staying the course: Daines elected Logan mayor; Anderson, Bradfield elected to council
Story 2: Cache Valley cities, towns report unofficial election results Story 3: CAPSA starts 'Give Local' campaign Story 4: Jury sides against woman shot in eye by officer Story 5: Cache Valley Visitors Bureau taking grant applications Story 6: UVU President stepping down to become LDS mission president Story 7: USU offers 19th century portrait-taking, Utah pioneer women exhibit |
Analysis: While these articles have emotional appeal, there are no stories that contain life-changing news for the community. Many articles lack sources, and where there are sources they are generally not diverse. There was one article, however that did have diverse, credible sources. That one article did raise the overall grade.
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Grade: 62%
Score: 83/133 |
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Story 1: Bailey Wins North Logan mayoral seat
Story 2: Green Canyon marches on Story 3: Blanding likely to keep booze prohibition Story 4: Professor speaks on scientific evidence of Sasquatch Story 5: Stone-cold mystery Story 6: Smithfield elects new mayor, council members Story 7: Reward offered in possible poisoning of dog in legal fight |
Friday, November 10, 2017
Story 1: Senate hopeful faces lurid allegations
Story 2: Cache Summit brings collaboration on growth Story 3: New Logan Library meeting rooms under discussion Story 4: Senate Republicans release details of tax bill Story 5: Sour Grapes Story 6: Wendy's coming to historic Preston site Story 7: Made to last: Leatherworker shares passion, craft with USU |
Analysis: This issue of the Herald Journal ranked better than any other issue of the Herald Journal that I had analyzed. In fact, this day might have scored higher than a 70% if the peripheral story was not there. Diversity of sources was better than any other day and impact also scored higher.
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Grade: 65%
Score: 87/133 |
Herald Journal Analysis: The Herald Journal scored mainly two's and three's throughout the scorecards in regards to the articles' impacts. For a small town local paper, I feel this is an accurate representation of the impact of news that would circulate. There were no unnamed sources in all the articles, however there were very few cited sources. In fact there was only one article over all three days that scored a four in credible sources. And among the few cited sources, very few were diverse. This did not come as a shock to me, however, because of the demographics of Cache Valley and Southeastern Idaho. There was only one article that was a peripheral story throughout all three days.
Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal was established in the early 1880's by Dow Jones Company as The Journal founded by Charles H. Dow. It started off as a paper to report business and financial news. It became the Wall Street Journal in 1889. Up until the Great Depression the Wall Street Journal did not stray from its agenda of business and finances. However during and after World War II, it began to carry feature articles here and there. Around the 1960's, the Journal had two feature articles every issue. (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017)
The Wall Street Journal is the second most popular newspaper read today. The Wall Street Journal reported its print circulation to be about a million papers as of June 2017. Based out of New York City it is one of the most circulated newspapers in the United States. (Wall Street Journal Report, 2017)
The Wall Street Journal is considered to be a right-center outlook, causing it to have a slightly conservative outlook. This still considers it to be an accurate source, but more investigation might need to be done. (Media Bias/Fact Checking Editors, 2016)
The Wall Street Journal is the second most popular newspaper read today. The Wall Street Journal reported its print circulation to be about a million papers as of June 2017. Based out of New York City it is one of the most circulated newspapers in the United States. (Wall Street Journal Report, 2017)
The Wall Street Journal is considered to be a right-center outlook, causing it to have a slightly conservative outlook. This still considers it to be an accurate source, but more investigation might need to be done. (Media Bias/Fact Checking Editors, 2016)
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Story 1: Gun Record Lapses in Focus
Story 2: Trump Changes Approach on North Korea Story 3: Jet-Set Debt Collectors Hunt Elusive Targets: the Superrich Story 4: Activist Ackman Gets Rebuke on ADP Vote Story 5: These People Love Horror Movies, They Just Never Watch Them Story 6: New York Fed Begins Search for New Chief Story 7: Puerto Rico Utility's Leader Skips Hearing Story 8: Vegas Raises Race Security |
Analysis: Only the very first article had an impact of four points. Many of the articles lacked diversity among the sources used as well as most sources were white males, usually in political positions. The Wall Street Journal did a good job about presenting both sides in most of their articles.
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Grade: 56%
Score: 85/152 |
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Story 1: U.S. Threatens to Derail AT&T Deal
Story 2: Republicans Take Stock After Election Losses Story 3: Business Contracts Kick off China Visit Story 4: T-Mobile's CEO Has a Side Gig: Hosting an Online Cooking Show Story 5: Tencent Invests in Fledgling U.S. Firms Story 6: Trump Should Give Thanks for Solid Economy Story 7: Democratic Wins Cloud ACA Appeal Story 8: Video Shows Shooter Acted Methodically |
Analysis: For this day, all articles scored between 10 and 12 points, with one exception. This caused the overall average to be low. However, the issues in each article differed. Some articles had unnamed sources that brought the score down, while others simply lacked sources altogether.
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Grade: 55%
Score: 84/152 |
Friday, November 10, 2017
Story 1: House, Senate GOP Split on Taxes
Story 2: Trump China Visit Comes to an End...Next Stop, Vietnam Story 3: Saudi Tensions Complicate U.S. Policy Story 4: Snap's Splashy IPO Stifled its Doubters Story 5: Banks Shed the Fed as Oversight Costs Rise Story 6: Selling a House to Millennials? Prepare to Stage a Photoshoot Story 7: DHS Chief Resisted White House Story 8: Judge Lets States Sue to Keep 'Dreamers' |
Wall Street Journal Analysis: Many of the the Wall Street Journal articles had high impact. There was not a single article that scored lower than a two in this category. However, sources, or lack there of, was the biggest issue. Certain articles had as many as three and four unnamed sources. There were also many articles with only one or two key sources. There was never an article in the three days that scored a four in credible sources. When there were sources used, there was often a lack in diversity. Many articles only cited white males, usually politicians. There was also a peripheral story every single day, which lost each scorecard a potential of 18 points.
CONCLUSION
I was surprised to see the Denver Post score the highest out of the three sources. It scored the best, ultimately because of the accuracy and diversity of sources used. There were no peripheral stories within the first two pages of the paper on all three days. Peripheral stories took away a potential of 18 points from other news sources score cards, which dropped some an entire letter grade. Therefore keeping peripheral stories to later on in the paper proved beneficial for the Denver Post in this project.
The lowest score went to the Wall Street Journal which also surprised me. I would have thought a national newspaper would do a better job about citing sources and using more diverse sources. However, there were at least three different articles each day that contained one or more unnamed sources. And the majority of sources used overall were white males. These ultimately led to the failing of each day for the Wall Street Journal.
The only stories that were reported by all papers were stories about sexual misconduct allegations against Senator Roy Moore and the new tax plan in the Senate and House of Representatives. Those stories are both very substantial news to the nation.
I expected the Wall Street Journal to rate the best out of all papers because of its high popularity. Being such a well-known paper among Americans, it makes me upset to see that it is the least credible. I did not expect the Denver Post to be so thorough with its sources, which made me feel more confident in the paper I read growing up.
Print has proved to be the best about using correct information and citations. I believe this is because once a story is printed it cannot be modified or changed. Internet articles however, are constantly being updated by writers.
Different news outlets needs to be more clear with Americans about where they are getting their information from. They also need to be more proactive in asking every day citizens about different issues and use quotes to make articles more relatable to the public. Newspapers could also be more consistent in keeping the most credible and impactful stories on the front pages of the newspaper.
The scorecard works really well for this assignment in all but one category for me. While I think controversy is an important factor when looking into stories, sometimes stories do not have controversy or very little. Therefore I wish there would have been a rating for stories that do not contain controversy.
I think that every American should have to see how this project unfolded. I think if Americans knew how to critically read newspapers, the internet, and listen to broadcast in a subjective way, it would force news outlets to be more responsible to the public about being honest and straightforward.
The lowest score went to the Wall Street Journal which also surprised me. I would have thought a national newspaper would do a better job about citing sources and using more diverse sources. However, there were at least three different articles each day that contained one or more unnamed sources. And the majority of sources used overall were white males. These ultimately led to the failing of each day for the Wall Street Journal.
The only stories that were reported by all papers were stories about sexual misconduct allegations against Senator Roy Moore and the new tax plan in the Senate and House of Representatives. Those stories are both very substantial news to the nation.
I expected the Wall Street Journal to rate the best out of all papers because of its high popularity. Being such a well-known paper among Americans, it makes me upset to see that it is the least credible. I did not expect the Denver Post to be so thorough with its sources, which made me feel more confident in the paper I read growing up.
Print has proved to be the best about using correct information and citations. I believe this is because once a story is printed it cannot be modified or changed. Internet articles however, are constantly being updated by writers.
Different news outlets needs to be more clear with Americans about where they are getting their information from. They also need to be more proactive in asking every day citizens about different issues and use quotes to make articles more relatable to the public. Newspapers could also be more consistent in keeping the most credible and impactful stories on the front pages of the newspaper.
The scorecard works really well for this assignment in all but one category for me. While I think controversy is an important factor when looking into stories, sometimes stories do not have controversy or very little. Therefore I wish there would have been a rating for stories that do not contain controversy.
I think that every American should have to see how this project unfolded. I think if Americans knew how to critically read newspapers, the internet, and listen to broadcast in a subjective way, it would force news outlets to be more responsible to the public about being honest and straightforward.