Journalism History

Episode 74: The Great War Through the Lens

Researcher Elisabeth Fondren discusses World War I photographer Percy Brown who captured significant photojournalism history during his time in captivity in a prison camp after he was accused of being a spy. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Episode 73: The Power of Political Cartoons

The 1884 presidential election may be forgotten today, but its divisiveness provided ample material for political cartoonists. Guests Harlen Makemson and Flora Khoo discuss the influence of political cartoons in this era. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Episode 72: The Black Press & the Fight for Racial Justice

Author Fred Carroll describes the evolution of African American newspapers after the commercial and alternative Black press began to cross over in the 1920s. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/.

Episode 71: Black Ballplayers as Foreign Correspondents

Historian Brian Campbell describes the experiences of African American athletes who played baseball and achieved social status in Latin America and the Caribbean from the 1930s to 1950s, and he discusses how journalists used their stories of racial equality abroad to critique the color line in the United States. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/

Episode 70: Enforcement Journalism and the Keating Five Scandal

Historian Rob Wells tells the story of how a trade publication uncovered a scandal involving five U.S. senators in the midst of the 1980s savings and loan crisis. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Episode 69: Coverage of Detroit’s 12th Street Riot

Researcher Brandon Storlie discusses problematic news coverage of the July 1967 riot in Detroit, one of the most violent race-related conflicts in recent American history. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Episode 68: Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

As a holiday tradition, we re-air our episode where hosts of the Journalism History podcast come together for a special Christmas episode that tells the story of an 8-year-old girl and the most reprinted editorial in the English language. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Episode 67: Media Relations & First Ladies

Editor Lisa Burns discusses her new book, Media Relations & The Modern First Lady: From Jacqueline Kennedy to Melania Trump, and shares stories of successes and failures of first ladies' media strategies. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Episode 66: Newspaper Titans: William Randolph Hearst

In the second of two episodes on the newspaper titans who transformed American journalism, historian Chris Daly returns to discuss the career of Joseph Pulitzer’s rival publisher, William Randolph Hearst, and we take a virtual tour of Hearst’s former home, Hearst Castle in California. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/. 

Episode 65: Newspaper Titans: Joseph Pulitzer

In the first of two episodes on the newspaper titans who transformed American journalism, historian Chris Daly reviews the sensational career of publisher Joseph Pulitzer before we take a virtual tour of the Missouri History Museum in Pulitzer’s adopted hometown of St. Louis. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/.