Seminar: wt Stead and the first ‘New Journalism’

Seminar/essay question:

According to W.T. Stead, what are the governing principles of ‘New Journalism’? Are these exemplified in the examples of Stead’s writings in the ‘Maiden Tribute’ campaign against child prostitution in the Pall Mall Gazette?

KEY TEXT:

Photocopies of Stead’s article and the Maiden Tribute coverage in the Pall Mall Gazette

BACKGROUND READING:

Boyce, G., Curran, J. and Wingate, P. (eds) (1978) Newspaper history from the 17^th Century to the present day. London: Constable. (pp.27-29)

Chapman, Jane (2005) Comparative media history. Cambridge: Polity

Conboy,M. (2004) Journalism: a critical history. Sage. (Chapter 9)

Jackson, Kate (2001) George Newnes and the new journalism in Britain, 1880-1910 : culture and profit. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Robertson Scott, J. W. (1952) The life and death of a newspaper: an account of the temperaments, perturbations and achievements of John Morley, W. T. Stead, E. T. Cook, Harry Cust, J. L. Garvin and three other editors of the Pall Mall Gazette. Methuen.

Wiener, Joel H. (ed) (1988) Papers for the millions: the new journalism in Britain, 1850s to 1914. Greenwood.

www.attackingthedevil.co.uk ; Channel 4 website article by Roy Hattersley on Stead.

See also books and journals on media history listed elsewhere in the module handbook (e.g. Section A)

Week 5

Thursday 10.2.11

Lecture: The Russian Revolution: politics, ideology, culture (Gary Horne)

Seminar: The press barons Seminar/essay question:

Give a brief outline of the rise of the early press barons in Britain. Then take one press baron in particular, explain how he sought power and influence through his position as a press proprietor, and evaluate how successful he was in this.

KEY TEXTS:

Curran, J. and Seaton, J. (2003) Power without responsibility: the press, broadcasting and new media in Britain.6^th edition. London: Routledge. (Chapter 5 – ‘The era of the press barons’.)

Engel, Matthew (1997) Tickle the public: one hundred years of the popular press. London: Indigo.

Williams, Kevin (2009) Get me a murder a day! A history of mass communication in Britain. 2^nd edition. London: Arnold.. (NB section on the Northcliffe revolution and the rise of the popular press)

BACKGROUND TEXTS:

Brendon, Piers (1982) The life and death of the press barons. Secker & Warburg.

Catterall, Peter et al (eds.) (2000) Northcliffe's legacy: aspects of the British popular press, 1896-1996. Palgrave Macmillan

Chester, L. & Fenby, J. (1979) The fall of the house of Beaverbrook. London: Deutsch.

Chisholm, Anne (1993) Beaverbrook: a life. London: Pimlico.

Coleridge, Nicholas (1993) Paper tigers: the latest, greatest newspaper

tycoons. London: Heinemann.

Conboy, Martin (2001) The press and popular culture. London: Sage.

Cranfield, Geoffrey (1978) The press and society: from Caxton to Northcliffe. Longman.

Cudlipp, Lord (1980) The prerogative of the harlot: press barons and power. London: Bodley Head.

Ferris, Paul (1971) The house of Northcliffe: the Harmsworths of Fleet Street. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Greenwall, Henry J. (1957) Northcliffe: Napoleon of Fleet St. London: Allan

Wingate.

Rickard, Graham (1982) Great press barons. Silver Burdett.

Taylor, Sally J (1996) The great outsiders: Northcliffe, Rothermere and the Daily Mail. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Thompson, J. Lee (2000) Northcliffe: press baron in politics, 1865-1922. London: John Murray.

Wood, Alan (1965) The true history of Lord Beaverbrook. London: Heinemann.

Week 6