Abstract This essay reengages the familiar topic of yellow journalism through the historical and formal discontinuities introduced by electrical telegraphy during the Spanish-American War. It places popular newspapers such as William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World in the context of signal-processing technologies such as telegraphy and the wire-based press, which allowed for the manipulation of alphanumeric data through electrical signals. By breaking down the continuities of communication into discrete series and signals, telegraphy created the conditions necessary to coordinate action at a distance through the manipulation of serial data: the signs, signals, and other discrete bits of intelligence that were actively reconstructed by newspapers to produce the continuous spectacle of war news and sensational journalism. Journal Information American Periodicals, the official publication of the Research Society for American Periodicals, is devoted exclusively to scholarship and criticism relating to American magazines and newspapers of all periods. It includes essays, notes, reviews, bibliographies, and histories on all aspects of American periodicals, from the earliest 18th-century magazines to the 21st-century 'zines and e-journals. Publisher Information The Ohio State University Press was established in 1957 and currently publishes 50-60 new books a year. We specialize in literary and cultural studies, (including comics, narrative theory, Victorian studies, and medieval studies) American studies, rhetoric and communication, gender and sexuality studies, and race and ethnic studies (including Black studies and Latinx studies). We also acquire books in regional studies on our Trillium imprint, creative works, on our Mad Creek imprint, and linguistics. In addition to its books, the Press publishes a distinguished group of journals including Inks, the journal of the Comics Studies Society, American Periodicals, Victorians, North American Journal of Celtic Studies, and Narrative. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Ryan Hagen Edge Final Paper The Impact Media has During War �Spanish-American War of 1898� It was late in the evening and the battleship the Maine drifted calmly through the water of Havana to �protect Americas interests� stated be Fitzhugh Lee. Everything seemed to be looking bright with a new Spanish ruler in Cuba. Even many of the officers were entertained by the Spanish and thoughts of going home were in the air. The small battleship was second-class to that of its counterparts in the Pacific. It was the biggest battleship to enter the Havana harbor. As soon as the calm night appeared, roaring explosions and blinding flashes filled the air. Could the battleship Maine be under attack while on such great terms? Captain Sigsbee as he was writing a letter to his wife remembered everything. Captain Sigsbee said, �I laid down my pen and listened to the notes of the bugle, which were singularly beautiful in the oppressive stillness of the night. . . . I was enclosing my letter in its envelope when the explosion came. It was a bursting, rending, and crashing roar of immense volume, largely metallic in character. It was followed by heavy, ominous metallic sounds. There was a trembling and lurching motion of the vessel, a list to port. The electric lights went out. Then there was intense blackness and smoke. The situation could not be mistaken. The Maine was blown up and sinking. For a moment the instinct of self-preservation took charge of me, but this was immediately dominated by the habit of command.� (1) Sigsbee climbed to the deck of the ship to see it sinking into the ocean. He had to abandon ship. The wreckage of the ship floated days after this all happened. Investigations of this incident took place by both the Spanish and the United States with both countries coming out with different outcomes. What made this incident burst into such a fiasco? The media was the cause of such an uproar from the general public. Soon after the explosion and before the investigations, the newspapers already wrote about Spain attacking and for the people to be ready for the war. This wasn�t the first time the newspaper started such pandemonium. It all started with Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst starting a form of writing called yellow journalism. These two people brought media into a war and may have even started the Spanish-American War of 1898. To get an idea of what truly happened, the background of this war must be stated. At this time Cuba was trying to gain independence form Spain. Spain was trying to so anything in their power to control this. So the decided to hire General Valeriano Weyler to do all of their dirty work for them. He had a past that was very violent when it came to wars. He decided to establish a system called the reconcentrado. This was a system where they decided to take all the Cubans that lived in the country side and put them in camps where they did not have a possibility to join the revolution. With all of these things happening in Cuba, President Cleveland and President McKinley wanted to stay neutral. Also during this time, the United States was still thinking about the idea of Manifest Destiny and American Imperialism. Since land has already been claimed by the United States from coast to coast, they have to search elsewhere for expanding the country. Through many meetings during the 1900�s, the United States grew interests in the Philippines. They already started plans to take invade it and take it away from the Spanish. This includes a few trips by Dewey to meet with the Filipino leader to discuss how the Philippines were going to help the United States. (3) This idea was put on the back burners until one moment. The Maine was destroyed and all the blame was on Spain. The Spanish on the other hand did their own investigations to this incident and came up with the battleship being destroyed by its own coal bunkers catching on fire. All this investigation led to no true answer to what happen. So, with pressure from many different sources, President McKinley declared war on Spain. The United States had a superior navy to the Spanish which makes it seem impossible for Spain to win. This point was very true and the war was very quick and decisive. The war lasted a whole four months with hardly any American lives lost. Dewey and Roosevelt both were named heroes of the war do to there great victories. Dewey�s greatest victory came on the Pacific with a naval battle. Near the Philippines, Dewey�s battleships demolished every trace of the now not so powerful Spanish fleet. The United States crippled the fleet beyond repair without losing a life of an American. Roosevelt gained his heroics with the group called the Rough Riders. This group of volunteer cavalry, mostly of men from the Wild West, drove through disease, heat, and fighting to drive the Spanish out of Cuba. They were victorious in taking Santiago�s San JuanHeights, and then marched their way to Montauk where they were met by press from everywhere. These two men help make the Spanish-American War of 1898 a very quick �splendid little war.� (2) The United States sure muscled their way threw the already weak Spanish, but what made them enter this war in the first place? There were a few reasons that made the United States enter the war including popular autocratic rule in Cuba, sympathy for Cuban independence, and a want for manifest destiny. But, the grandest reason why we entered the war was the media. They gave the people a new spirit of nation assertiveness. The nationalistic and sensationalist press was lead by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. They swayed the public opinion to want war, thus war was the outcome. (1) William Randolph Hearst was a great business man and would do just about anything to make his companies succeed. During this war he owned two very popular newspapers, the San Francisco Examiner and the New York Journal. But by time he ended his career he managed to own twenty-eight major newspapers, eighteen magazines, radio stations, and even a few movie companies. Not only was Hearst a superb businessman, he also was involved in politics. He ran for member of the house and won where he spent a few years sharpening his political skills. Hearst used his great business and political skills to get readers interested in the revolution in Cuba. He was not the only one though; he had help from Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer owned the rival newspaper to Hearst, the New York World. Joseph Pulitzer was also a great business man and started the well known use of writing called yellow journalism. Pulitzer loved his worked and devoted his life to the World. He spent countless hours making the World one of the best newspapers in the nation. This obviously brought a business competition between these two men. And thus, both Pulitzer and Hearst used this form of writing to gain interest in their papers so they could make a profit. Yellow journalism is use of lurid features and sensationalized news in newspaper publishing to attract readers and increase circulation. (9) It was started in the mid-1890s by Pulitzer and Hearst. It was a rivalry between these two over a cartoonist that was bought by Hearst. This cartoonist drew the cartoon �Yellow Kid� for the World. Since Hearst hired him for the Journal, Pulitzer had to find another cartoonist and since the rivalry began. It started with just a few cartoons slandering the others, but soon became a way to gain the popularity of the paper. They began to use giant headlines that caught the readers� eyes, colored cartoons, and graphic illustrations. This rivalry gained so much popularity that the two papers were read by a lot of people. Soon exaggerations of the truth began to come out and sometimes they would even lie. What these two were writing was sensationalist and scandalous style of writing. It made life into a cheap melodrama that would attracted all kinds of readers. They took stories and twisted them in as many ways as they could so they would sound good at the corners when yelled out by boys. This yellow journalism brought a great profit to the newspaper business. Since so many people were reading the papers, the story of Cuba really caught the publics� eyes.  A Female Insurgent Captured "Havana, Feb. 15 -- Seniorita Isabelle Rubio, an Amazon, was captured, after being wounded, in a skirmish between a detachment of Spanish troops and some insurgents. She joined the insurgents at the invitation of the late Antonio Maceo. She belongs to a prominent family." (1) One can only manage what the public opinion was about this guy and it could not be good. Soon pictures like the one shown were shown on the previous page in the defense of the Cubans. (1) The press exaggerated one what was happening in Cuba so the American people would read their paper of the competitions. They even stated the 400,000 Cubans died in these camps which in all reality is half of the Cuban population. (1) So as one can see the newspapers had a vast imagination on what was going on. The gaining interest in this foreign country sparked a mass production of newspapers which made Hearst and Pulitzer huge profits. Soon, the media had the attention of everyone including the government body of the United States. Everyone was interested in what the paper had to say about the Cuban Revolution. Then the battleship the Maine was blown up. The papers took control of the situation and wrote about the incident. �Maine Blown up by Torpedo,� the New York Journal Stated about what happened to the battleship. (6) The newspaper put total blame on the Spanish for what had happened. Before investigation could The media could not stop writing about the war now. They were making a huge profit. Thus, they started to campaign for the war they helped start. Every newspaper in the country was now writing about how people should sign up and fight for their country. The world wrote, "American Women Ready to Give up Husbands, Sons and Sweethearts to Defend Nation's Honor." (1) This was a survey down by 100 women from women of the East Coast. The black newspapers were even calling on their people to serve the nation. The Gazette wrote, �The destruction of the Maine was a crime against this nation not yet fully realized; but gradually the civilized world is being awakened to a sense of the appalling deed. No foreign power can justly sympathize with Spain in its base and cowardly treachery. None of the European nations can regard the act with mitigating allowance without compromising its own national honor. Spain has wickedly sinned against Christian civilization and must atone for its offending. Two hundred and twenty-five white Americans and thirty-three Afro-Americans have been wantonly murdered. The colored men of America have immense interests at stake. As a citizen and patriot, let him make common cause with the people and again prove himself an element of strength and power in vindicating the honor and claims of his country in the hour of the nation's peril. The cause of this government is our cause. If die we must, let us die defending a just cause.� (1) When war finally came, the people were ready and the country was prepared to fight. The papers beat patriotism and fighting for ones country in people�s heads. Obviously, one could see that with such patriotism caused by the media would bring the American people together to win a quick war. Now that the war ended, people wondered what the reasons for entering such a war. Yes, people believed that if attacked must one defend itself. But, what did the United States gain from all of this? The United States did help Cuba gain its independence form Spain and help then get on their feet as a new country. Also, the United States gained Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain. Then they bought the Philippines from Spain for twenty million dollars. This was what the United States had wanted for many years now. Did Hearst being a political and business man know what he was trying to get the United States into? He most definitely did. Know the United States had land on both sides of the Pacific which made it easier for trade. The Spanish-American War of 1898 may have been to help the Cubans and defend our own honor but the United States did benefit greatly from this little war. Secretary of State John Hay probably put it best about this war by calling it �A Splendid Little War.� (2) The Spanish-American War of 1989 just showed what the media was capable of doing to the general public. Still today the media affects the way people think about a war. It is almost as if the media decides who wins the war and who loses the war. Take for example World War II where we lost battle after battle. The media mostly talked about when we were victorious and how patriotic everyone should be for our country. It may be the fact that we were attacked on our own soil which made the war seems justifiable, but there are other wars where the media thought other wise. The one that people notice and remember the most is Vietnam War. This was the first war that people could actually see on television. It made the war come into the people�s own homes. Know the public knows how brutal wars can be and the cause of destructions from both sides but then they were just not sure. They knew that people died but they never had to see it. See the United States won almost every battle in the Vietnam War but some how lost the war. The media only talked about how bad the war was and showed the United States losing or just fighting where it looks like we lost. The media even claimed that we lost battles that we had won. It made the general public think that the war was useless and we were giving up lives for a lost cause. The Vietnamese never attacked us so why should we attack them ran threw peoples minds. Patriotism was no where to be found in the media. Just strikes against the war and the brutality of the war were brought into the peoples homes. The media said we lost the war and we did. The media can influence the public opinion greatly during times of war. Media also played a great role in the 9/11 attacks. They began to show the attacks over and over, even months after the fact happened. Today there still segments on the attacks on television. Media was involved in these attacks very greatly. They brought a positive attitude to everyone who watched the shows. It was another attack on American soil and the public wanted something to be done. Every channel on the television called it the attack on America. The people expect the United States to retaliate if someone attacks America. Since no country was involved, it was hard to find out who we were fighting. Media made the people want something in return from the attacks. They expected the United States to act with full action and finish it quickly. With the support of the media and the public, the government could act on just about any country possible. It was possible for the United States to attack a country if that country was harboring terrorists. We started to bomb many countries and the American people supported it. It was almost as if we had free range on anyone we wanted. Know that it is a year later and the scenes of the 9/11 attacks are not in the news anymore; attacking countries are a lot different. Many people are back to living in peace and don�t want war. So attacking Iraq probably will not work. The general public would have been all for a war if the United States thought of attacking Iraq sooner. They would have had the media on their side and also since know they are saying they are harboring terrorists the people would have been on their side too. The media in the United States and even the world has a strong message. So many people watch are read the news that opinions about issues can sway very easily. William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer began an amazing tool for news programs. The news now can help start or finish a war and even decide which side will win. The media has the power of the public opinion and can use it at its own benefits. They will use it to make money and even get points on strong issues across. No one knows how far the media can go but as of now, they are a very powerful and political source. Work Cited 1. Baker, John. �Affects of the Press on Spanish-American Relations in 1898.� http://www.humboldt.edu/~jcb10/spanwar.shtml 2. Dewan, George. �Rough Riders Return.� http://www.lihistory.com/6/hs623a.htm 3. Lichauco, Marcial P. and Storey Moorfield. �The Conquest of the Philippines by the United States, 1898-1925� 274 pgs 4. �Joseph Pulitzer.� http://www.literature-awards.com/joseph_pulitzer.htm 5. �Remember the Maine.� C. 2000 http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/remember.html 6. Rosenfeld, Harvey. �Diary of a Dirty Little War: The Spanish-American War of 1898� 210 pgs. 7. Wilkerson, Marcus. �Public Opinion and the Spanish-American War: A Study in War Propaganda.� 146 pgs. 8. �William Randolph Hearst.� http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/willh.html 9. Yahoo References. �Yellow Journalism.� http://education.yahoo.com/search/be?lb=t&p=url%3Ay/yellow_journalism |
