At the Heritage Museum History of journalism examined
How do we get our news?
According to Penn State University professor, Ford Risley, journalism is the process through which “news” gets made.
The role of journalism, he continued, is to inform, analyze and explain, assuming informed citizens can make sound decisions.
Journalism’s role also is to hold public leaders accountable and provide a forum for comment and criticism, he said.
Risley, a distinguished professor in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State since 1995, is the author of “How America Gets the News: A History of U.S. Journalism.”
He recently explored that history at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown and signed copies of his new book.
Risley traced how journalism progressed over the centuries, beginning with the founding press in 1690 to 1765, before the U.S. was formed.
Colonists prized the news, he explained, noting printers had to be licensed and needed the approval of British authority to publish.
“There was very little original reporting,” he said. “It was mostly secondhand information.”
During that period, Risley added, “Newspapers became increasingly critical of Britain.”
In fact, John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, was arrested and tried in the 1730s for “seditious libel” because he was critical of the Colonial governor.
Zenger’s victory in the case, because his newspaper’s criticisms were true, gave editors the confidence to speak out and criticize and was a landmark victory for freedom of the press and free speech.
After the Revolutionary War, the role of the press became important in politics, according to Risley.
The telegraph opened up the modern era of communications and led to the founding of Associated Press, a news cooperative that gathers the news and shares its journalism with approximately 15,000 print and broadcast media outlets globally.
The nonprofit AP is one of the most valuable sources of news, Risley said, because its goal is to be fair and objective, and it is known worldwide for accuracy and honesty.
“They have to play it straight,” he maintained.
War news was always of interest to the public.
More than 500 reporters covered the Civil War for the North and the South, he explained.
And, during World War II, about 1,500 journalists covered the action.
During World War II, reporters had the freedom to go anywhere they wanted and they gave Americans a complete picture of the war.
Ernie Pyle, a columnist for the Scripps newspaper chain, lived with the soldiers and wrote beautiful human interest stories, according to Risley.
Pyle was killed by the Japanese in the Pacific during the war.
Risley discussed the role of emerging news sources, such as the alternative press, which he described as adversarial and skeptical of government.
Public broadcasting also offered an alternative, he said.
Cable television provided news all the time and exemplified the changing relationship of government and the press.
“They became adversaries,” Risley explained.
The digital press/internet disrupted the way traditional media operated.
Today, many people seek digital-only news sources and, since 2005, more than 3,000 newspapers have ceased publishing.
Risley described himself as an optimist, declaring, “The practice of journalism will continue as long as people need and want the news.”
Although it may take a different shape, journalism will always play a major role in keeping citizens informed about important issues, such as unethical business practices, and problems in society and the government, he added.
The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, a teaching institution, hosted Risley, in keeping with its mission to share America’s history with a diverse audience.
The program was funded in partnership with the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.