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Revision as of 05:05, 17 February 2003 by Stevertigo (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The name Yellow journalism refers to a type of journalism where sensationalism triumphs over factual reporting. This may take such forms as the use of colorful ajectives, exaggeration, a careless lack of fact-checking for the sake of a quick "breaking news" story, or even deliberate falsification of entire incidents.
The sensationalized human-interest stories of the yellow press increased circulation and readership heavily throughout the 19th century, especially in the United States. Early practictioners, such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, seem to have equated the sensational reporting of murders, gory accidends, and the like, with the need of the democratic common man to be entertained by subjects beyond dry politics. Two early yellow newspapers were Pulitzer's New York World and Hearst's New York Journal American.
The term derived from the color comic strip character The Yellow Kid, who appeared in both these papers.
Probably the most famous anecdotal example of yellow journalism is often repeated as having come from William Randolph Hearst, who in 1897 sent the writer and journalist Richard Harding Davis to Cuba to report on the Spanish-American War. Hearst is reputed to have told Davis, in a telegram, "You supply the pictures, and I'll supply the war."
See also: Junk food news, infotainment