When Did the Media Become a “Watchdog?”
The media changed its coverage over the course of the Vietnam War. But it may not have become more adversarial.
Nineteenth-Century Clickbait
Online publications that offer clickbait and easy entertainment mirror some of the most popular nineteenth century British magazines.
The History of “Your Body Is A Battleground”
Revisiting the iconic work of Barbara Kruger (“Your Body is a Battleground”) that has just as much resonance today as it did a quarter century ago.
How Hitler Played the American Press
Did the AP and other news organizations get tricked into sympathetic coverage of Hitler?
O.J. Simpson: Media Spectacle Then and Now
O.J. Simpson is back in the news, and a whole new journalistic frenzy has begun.
Outfits, Graphics, and the News Room: Why the News Looks the Way It Does
The evolution of the way TV news looks has much to do with principles of modernity and design.
How the Media Made Queen Victoria
How nineteenth century media helped make Queen Victoria who she was.
Why Bias Helps News Channels—and Maybe Viewers Too
According to a 2005 paper about bias in newspapers, reporting that tries to play things straight down the middle isn't necessarily a winning move.
Privacy, Journalism, and the Gilded Age
The interview is now such a standard part of journalism that it may come as a surprise to read that the New York Times editorialized against it in 1874.