Midterm Recap

So far, the JOU-1300-01 class has gone over the importance of journalism and the history it played in the colonies up until the 1980s. While the history of journalism is complex, with it going through multiple phases over the years, what interested me the most out of all the topics covered was the Penny Press Era.

This era started around 1833, when Benjamin Day released The Sun in New York City for only one penny at a time, where the average paper sold for six pennies. This marked a turning point; instead of the newspaper being for the wealthy, stories could be widespread and accessible to the masses. The reason for such a low price was the shift to more steam-powered printing. Day was able to see the potential in creating an affordable and simpler paper.


With the Penny Press Era came the rise of news empires, with the New York Herald being published by James Gordan Bennett in 1835. This paper focused on more local news while other papers at the time focused on reporting on major events. This act helped redefine the way journalism could be used and set up newspaper competition.

Another major player in the Penny Press Era was Horace Greeley, the publisher of the New York Tribune. The Tribune focused on rationalism instead of sensationalism like other penny papers at the time. Greeley published the New York Tribune in 1841 and saw great success.

The Penny Press Era was an important part of shaping modern journalism. With advancements in technology, half-tone photos were able to be printed onto newspapers, which sparked a whole new wave of journalism. While the importance of creating a cheap and available newspaper for the public can not be overlooked, this also led to the sensationalism of journalism.

With a wide appeal and reliance on the common people to continue to buy the paper, this led to publishers focusing on the next story and trying to catch the reader’s eye with headlines and pictures. This is still seen in modern days with the rise of clickbait titles and flashy images to get the reader’s attention. Despite these unintentional effects, the importance of the Penny Press Era can not be overlooked. This era helped make information more available during a time in which only the wealthy could afford to read the paper.