EOTO3: Barlett and Steele

  Donald L Barlett and James B. Steele are not just one of journalism’s most iconic duos in recent history but a unique partnership that has spanned over 40 years. They’ve worked together at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Vanity Fair, and Time and are the only journalism duo in history to have won two Pulitzer Prizes.

The two men first met in 1970 at The Philadelphia Inquirer after each had successful careers at other papers throughout the years. They hit it off immediately, and their brand of investigative journalism quickly became a staple of the industry.

Donald L Barlett

Bob Woodward, fellow investigative journalist and associate editor at the Washington Post, described them as an institution. “They have kind of perfected a method of doing their work, and I have the highest regard for it. Systematic, comprehensive - they take a long time, and they don't mind saying what their conclusions are."

James B. Steele

Barlett and Steele’s first Pulitzer was for a series they published, “Auditing the Internal Revenue Service,” which exposed the unequal application of federal tax laws. Their second was for their coverage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. They were watchdogs over the House of Representatives, calling out the addendums consistently slipped into the act. They kept the government accountable, telling the public exactly what they were doing and how they did it.

They are also known for popularizing technology in violent crime reporting. They used a computer to analyze over 1,000 cases of violent crime, finding patterns and other vital data in the biggest computer-assisted journalism venture of the time.

After 26 years at the Inquirer, Barlett and Steele left to become editors-at-large for Time Magazine. Their work earned them two National Magazine Awards. The awarded series were "What Corporate Welfare Costs You" and "Big Money and Politics: Who Gets Hurt." Full records of their most notable stories are available on their website.

Title & Opening

From 2006 to 2016, the pair acted as editors for Vanity Fair, continuing to follow the difficult stories that won them their reputations. They covered the disappearance of billions of dollars in cash the U.S. airlifted to Baghdad at the outset of the Iraqi war, the strong-arm tactics of Monsanto against America's farmers, and many other notable events.

Today, both men have retired from reporting. Steele lectures at universities nationwide, and Barlett lives at home with his family. They are journalism heroes in the truest sense, and their impact on the industry will be remembered.

EOTO3 Reaction

 I enjoyed the presentation about CNN founder Ted Turner. He is the father of the 24-hour news cycle, as CNN was the first 24-hour news station, with many others following in its footsteps.

Turner started in his family’s billboard advertising business in Atlanta, “Turner Advertising,” working his way up the ranks to manager. After his father passed, he took over the company and renamed it “Turner Broadcasting.” He later sold the company to Time Warner for $7.3 billion and purchased two stations, one in Atlanta and one in Charlotte, NC.

In 1988, he launched Turner Network Television (TNT), intending to air classic films and television shows to which Turner Broadcasting had access.  In 1995, the network acquired Cartoon Network, and they began producing and airing more cartoon shows.

While I grew up on a cartoon network, I knew nothing about its origins. Ted Turner and his companies have had significant effects on television broadcasting, and without him, the landscape of television would not be what it is now.

EOTO2 Reaction

 Even though I am most interested in writing, the history of radio and television news fascinates me. I also know very little about sports, but I found it interesting to learn about their influence on the development of broadcast.

A boxing match was the first sport broadcast over the radio in 1921. It was an excellent choice for this first broadcast because boxing is easy to follow along with narration because there are only two participants. It was a great boon to the broadcasting industry, too, as interested sports fans who couldn’t attend in person could still listen in and participate.

The impact of sports on radio listenership was further demonstrated in the same year. In October, the match between the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University became the first college football game to be broadcast. The excitement about football was palpable, and it rapidly increased radio listenership. The advertisements in the broadcasts not only earned extra income for both the colleges and the stations but also highlighted the commercial potential of sports broadcasting.

When TV was introduced, already-existing worries that people would stop attending games flared more than during the radio era. Athletic departments were afraid that if people could watch from the comfort of their own homes, no one would want to go to the stadiums anymore.

However, these fears were unfounded, as many people still wanted to see the games in person, considering them a special event and outing. Advertising on television also gave a fantastic boost to sports programs. The first game on TV was a baseball game, Columbia vs. Princeton, in 1939.

I learned that sports and journalism are highly intertwined in history and current practices. Without journalism, sports would never have become the massive, culturally changing industry it is. Without sports, journalism would have less appeal to the masses, and a massive job market would never exist.

EOTO1 Reaction

 One of my classmates gave a presentation about William Randal Hearst, developer of America’s largest newspaper chain and media company. Despite his family’s insistence that he go into the mining field, he refused and convinced his father to give him The San Francisco Examiner. His father only owned it as it was given as repayment for gambling debt.

William Hearst

Hearst used his family’s fortune, hired top-of-the-line reporters, and took on sensationalist stories, skyrocketing the business from a failing one losing money to one cranking out a profit in just three years. The number of papers in circulation went up from 5,000 before Hearst took over to 55,000.

Hearst purchased the Morning Journal in 1895, rescuing the failing business from the brink of disaster and beginning to refocus its audience. He aimed to appeal to the middle class, primarily immigrant workers. The paper now sought out stories calling out corruption in the government and advocating for better working conditions, causing circulation to soar.

After this, he attempted to run for president after being elected to the House of Representatives in 1902 but never managed to land the Democratic nomination. He never held another elected position. Instead, he focused on his massive media empire and founding Hearst Communications.

Without Hearst, several papers that are well-known companies today would not exist, and journalism as we know it may look completely different without their influence.

The Front Page

 “The Front Page” is a comedic depiction of the newspaper industry in the early 1920s. Thanks to its light-hearted nature, this movie was a breath of fresh air compared to “Shock and Awe” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

The movie follows Hildy Johnson, an ace reporter at the Chicago Examiner. Our introduction to him is watching him cheerfully sing his way to his boss's office, relishing the process of quitting, effective immediately! He’s off to Philadelphia to be married, with a new job at his Fiancée’s uncle’s advertising business.

Meanwhile, his boss, Walter Burns, is as unusual and forceful as always, proudly showing off the hidden ankle camera he made to take illegal pictures of the execution of leftist Earl Williams. When he hears that Hildy is quitting, he immediately accuses him of going to work for a competitor and then, after learning the truth, begins to try to sabotage Hildy’s relationship to keep him at the paper.

He stops short at nothing, even trying to convince Peggy Grant, Hildy’s fiancée, that he’s on probation for exposing himself in public, encouraging her to run away without him. This fails once Hildy calls and realizes what his boss is doing, cursing him out before slamming down the phone.

Meanwhile, Earl, the communist, has escaped from prison. As it turns out, his only actual crime was stuffing fortune cookies with messages about freeing two men from death row who were there for overblown murder convictions.

The movie is consistently light-hearted, with gags and overdramatic moments throughout. When Burns pretends to be Hildy’s probation officer, the “badge” he flashes is an aluminum star he pulled from a poster. The man who was supposed to be a dangerous communist is a bumbling, awkward man who wants to run away with Molly Malloy, the $2 whore, as she calls herself.

As the movie continues, Earl and Hildy meet, and of course, Hildy can’t possibly pass on the biggest story of his life. Earl hides in a desk while the room searches for him, constantly interrogating people in increasingly aggressive and funny ways.

While journalism is a serious field with many contributions to the world, it’s important to remember that it’s not all darkness and war. There’s fun in journalism, as there is in any field.

 

Shock and Awe

 September 11, 2001.

It’s a date that’s burned into the minds of generations, even those not yet born that day, due to the tragedy that took place and the egregious loss of life. The pain rippled through the country, causing a surge of patriotism and sending many young men and women rushing to enlist in any military branch they could.

But behind the scenes, the narrative was guided, and the government pushed a narrative most journalists refused to dispute.

The 2017 blockbuster Shock and Awe is based on the true story of the Knight Ridder Paper and how it stood above the rest as a pillar of truth in a time of high-strung emotions.

The story follows John Walcott, Johnathan Landay, and Warren Strobel as they fight back against the nationalistic movement the government was pushing and expose every lie President Bush told the people.

Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel

Alongside the journalists, we follow a young veteran, Adam Green. After the attacks of 9/11, he felt compelled to serve in the military, desperate to save his country from more danger. At 19, Green went behind his parent’s backs and enlisted despite their worry and terror.

Three hours after he was deployed into Iraq, his transport exploded. He was left wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life for the war.

 Meanwhile, the reporters are shocked to hear that the government was going after Iraq when the evidence pointed towards Al Qaeda, an Afghan terrorist organization. Strobel, in particular, was chasing down sources while getting anonymous sources telling them the truth that Iraq wasn’t to blame.

The movie reflects on a recent but horrifying period where American men and women died and were permanently injured in the name of freedom, fighting with the truest intentions to protect their country while failed by their government. It’s implied in the film that at least some of the reasoning is to keep the interest in the wars alive since taking out the real threat in Afghanistan would wipe out public interest in it, and military funding would drop.

Knight Ridder’s part in spreading truth in a time when misinformation ran through the wires, presenting itself as truth in the minds of many, needs to be memorialized for its actual impact on the country. Their desperate attempts to share the truth shine as a beacon of journalistic integrity and dedication to fact. Regardless of mainstream media’s refusal to pick up their stories, they refused to stop writing in truth.

The secondary plotline with Green was a bone-chilling display of the harm done to our military service members. It added an emotional connection and draw to the film that made each moment feel more significant and personal.

Shock and Awe is a masterful tribute to the political climate of the early 2000s. The actions taken and choices made have a ripple effect throughout the future, and remembering where they started is crucial so as not to repeat our mistakes. 

Good Night, and Good Luck.

 Good Night and Good Luck is a film set during McCarthyism. It follows journalist Edward R. Murrow and his battle against the oppression and silencing of the press, specifically his battles with Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Edward R. Murrow

Murrow hosted the show See It Now, which focused on controversial issues in the 1950s. However, the show is best known for its willingness to criticize Mccarthyism and the Red Scare. It significantly contributed to Senator McCarthy's downfall if it wasn't the leading factor.
"Good Night, and Good Luck." got its name from Murrow's iconic closing line. He signed off every broadcast with that statement.

The movie begins with McCarthy on TV claiming that there are over 200 communists in the government and the news team discussing what they want to cover. Murrow decides he wants to go against the government and defend an Air Force member who is being tried because his father and sister had been accused of being communist sympathizers.

Senator McCarthy

Murrow's motivation to pursue that story comes from the fact that the charges against Milo Radulovich, the active service member, were in a sealed envelope, and no one knew its contents.

The next airing of See It Now included an interview with Radulovich, even though the military tried to intimidate Murrow out of it. The news team then focused on McCarthy, challenging his questioning techniques and the lies he spewed in hearings. Murrow had to pay for the newspaper advertising, as CBS wasn't allowing him to use its money.

During the program, which in real life was titled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy," Murrow used clips from the senator's speeches to point out where he contradicted himself, criticize him and challenge his questioning methods.

Murrow then publicly invited McCarthy to speak on the show uninterrupted so he could defend himself, which the senator did on April 6, 1954.

"Ordinarily, I would not take time from the important work to answer Murrow. However, in this case, I feel justified in doing so because Murrow is a symbol, a leader, and the cleverest of the jackal pack, which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors." - Senator Joseph McCarthy.

During his rebuttal segment, McCarthy accused Murrow of being a communist and a member of the Industrial Workers Of The World. At the time, this labor union was described as "revolutionary industrial unionism" and had ties to socialist, syndicalist, and anarchist labor movements.

Murrow expected these claims and denied both accusations in the following program. He pointed out that in the 30-minute segment, McCarthy had never once commented on Murrow's statements of fact. He also highlighted the fact that anyone who dared to speak against McCarthy immediately had a finger pointed at them in accusation.

After that, McCarthy was investigated.

Murrow is a journalism icon for a reason. His fame in the field comes from his hard-hitting broadcasts and refusal to shy away from the truth, even when his determination cost him his career. Regardless of what else he did, he will be remembered as the man who took down McCarthy.

EOTO2: Women In Journalism

 Women and their contributions to every field have been brushed aside throughout history.  However, journalism stands out as a profession where women shine. 

Since the earliest days of journalism, women have been involved and thrived in the press. In the early 1700s, many women ran newspapers with their husbands, sons and brothers, stepping up as publishers when their male relatives either stopped working for the company or passed away.

Female newsies were also much more common than generally portrayed in media. 

The first female journalist recorded was a Swedish woman named Margareta Momma, who lived from 1707 to 1772. She was the editor for the Stockholm Gazette from 1742 to 1752, and her most famous work is “Samtal Emellan Argi Skugga och en obekant Fruentimbers Skugga.” or, in English, “Conversation between the Shadow of Argus and the Unfamiliar Shadow of a Female.” It was released in 10 installments in 1738 and 1739, addressing foreign policy, social policy, morality, and independence.

In the 19th century, women’s familiar role became much more public with the beginning of the era of stunt journalism. Stunt journalism is when a reporter puts herself at a genuine risk or goes undercover to get a story, no matter what it takes. Many readers trusted the articles that came from these women most as they had experienced the things they wrote about, giving credibility to their words. 

Nellie Bly was the first woman to make a name for herself as a stunt journalist. Her real name was  Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She lived from May 5, 1864, to January 27, 1922, dying at the young age of 57 due to pneumonia. 

When Bly was a young woman, the Pittsburgh Dispatch published a heavily misogynistic article titled “What Girls Are Good For.” It stated that women were for bearing children and house-keeping, and nothing else. Outraged, Bly wrote in an anonymous response to the paper arguing against the article.

 George Madden, the editor, was so impressed by her writing that he requested that she come forward. When she did, she was given the opportunity to write for the paper again under the pseudonym she had used before, “Lonely Orphan Girl. 

Her first article, “The Girl Puzzle,” argued that not all women needed to get married and that better jobs for women were necessary. Her second, “Mad Marriages,” was published under the pseudonym Nellie Bly. It discussed how divorce affected women and advocated for changes to divorce law. After these articles were published, Madden offered her a full-time job.

She worked for The Dispatch for a few years before the factory owners routinely exposed her and complained about her enough to get her moved to cover fashion, society, and gardening. Bly quickly became dissatisfied and left the company shortly after. 

After leaving, By went to New York to try and get her foot in the door there. She bounced between rejections for four months before Joseph Pulitzer agreed to give her a chance at his paper, The New York World. 

Her first assignment was an expose of the abusive conditions at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell Island. 

To get onto the island, Bly first checked herself into a temporary women’s housing and stayed awake for a night to give herself crazy-looking eyes. She then started making false accusations against the other women staying there, making vague threats and acting as strange as possible until the workers called for the police. Once she was examined by a police officer, a judge and a doctor, she was sent to the asylum. 

Bly stayed in the asylum and was subject to the horrifying conditions for ten days, after which The World bailed her out. Her report was published on October 9, 1887, and was an instant sensation. The eyes of the city turned on the asylum, which was forced to make significant reformations to its structure quickly. 

This stunt earned Bly her fame, and she kept the public eye on her by continuing to write stunt journalism stories. She even took inspiration from the book “Around The World In 80 Days,” making the journey herself in 72. To keep interest in the story high as she traveled, The World put on a “Nellie Bly Guessing Match” where readers could guess when she would arrive at certain points down to the second, with grand prizes like a trip to Europe.

In the modern day, stunt journalism is much less common, though women are still prevalent throughout the field. Some modern-day examples are Barbara Walters, the first female co-anchor of a network evening news program; Amber Lyon, who reported on human rights abuses against pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain and police brutality against protesters in the United States; and Anna Politkovskaya, who on political and social events in Russia, including the Second Chechen War before she was assassinated in 2006.

 

EOTO1: Winifred Sweet Black

Winnifred Sweet Black Bonfils was a major figure in the public eye during the era of Yellow Journalism, making a name for herself through her daring stunts and critical stories.

Winifred Sweet Black, 1913

Sweet was born in Chilton, Wisconsin, in 1863 on a small farm to Civil War General Benjamin Sweet and Lovisa Denslow. She had one sister, Ada Celeste Sweet, the first woman to ever be given a disbursing officer position by the US government. Sweet spent much of her early years attending private school in Chicago and pursuing a career in theater.

When her family took a vacation to California in 1890, Sweet fell in love with San Fransico and promptly moved there to work for the San Francisco Examiner. She wrote under Winnifred Black and her pen name Annie Laurie, a reference to her mother’s favorite nursery rhyme.

The feedback on her first piece was humbling. She was meant to go cover a local flower show and was excited to see her story in the paper. Later in her life, when asked about it, she said she had been dismayed to see that it had been completely rewritten, but that she could see that the important information such as where the show was, who hosted it, who gave out the prizes and who won was included very early on in the rewritten story, where she hadn’t thought to add them at all.

After that, Sweet was determined to prove herself, so she put one of her most well-known plans into action: exposing the poor treatment of women and the lack of ambulances there. She dressed in threadbare clothes and “fainted” in front of a carriage.

She was then poked with a club by the police and put on the hard, wooden floor of the horse-drawn carriage to the hospital. While she was in the ER, she was subject to numerous lewd remarks by the attendants, before being released with the recommendation of drinking mustard and hot water to make her throw up.

Her story was published just 36 hours after she was released from the hospital. It immediately established her as a journalist and caused the hospital to let abusive attendants go and buy a new ambulance.

Undercover reporting became a trademark for Sweet after that.

In 1892, Sweet managed to corner Benjamin Harrison on his campaign train for an interview. She worked with Governor Henry Markham of California to smuggle her onto Harrison’s train. She was hidden under a dining car table that was covered with an extra-large white tablecloth, and when the president sat down, she popped out from underneath with a pen and notepad, forcing an interview.

In the same year, she investigated the conditions of the leper colony on Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands.

On September 8, 1900, Galveston, Texas, flooded. The damage was extreme, and the police cordoned off the entire city during the aftermath. Sweet was determined to get the story, so she disguised herself as a young boy. She successfully slipped past the police cordon to become the first and only woman reporter to enter Galveston during the recovery.

Aside from just reporting on the disaster, Sweet also set up a temporary hospital there and administered relief funds that the Hearst papers had raised. She was known to be a kind soul, and helping those she was reporting on was important to her.  She founded several charities and public benefactor campaigns in San Francisco, spanning all forms it can take.

Sweet's stories are marked by a consistent influence from Lewis Carroll, mainly in their wording. She consistently used onomatopoeias throughout her writing, “Tut-tut” and “Oof” being some of the most common.

Sweet was also one of the most prominent “Sob Sisters,” a label given to female reporters of the time who wrote human interest stories. The story that earned her the title was her coverage of the trial of the murder of Henry Thaw and her descriptions of his wife.

Sweet passed away due to complications with diabetes in 1936 at age 72. She worked for the papers until she died, still writing out stories while half-blind in bed. When she passed, The San Bernardino Daily Sun included these statements from her in the announcement.

To the moment of her death, she insisted she was neither a "sob sister nor a special writer."

"I'm just a plain, practical all-around newspaper woman," said the white-haired 73-year-old woman who began and ended her career in writing for the W. R. Hearst newspapers.

"I'd rather smell the printers' ink and hear the presses go 'round than go to any grand opera in the world," she once said.

Sweet was a massive influence on the journalism world, following much in the footsteps of Nellie Bly as a stunt journalist and a woman in the field. Her stunts and exposes were widely known, earning Sweet her rightful spot in the history books.