The Scopes Trial was one of the most controversial, widely reported, and well-researched court cases of the twentieth century. However, historians and other researchers have largely ignored the African American community's reaction and response to the trial, leaving out valuable perspectives on this historic event. In this article, the author…

From August 2006 through August 2007, Elvira Arellano, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, lived in a church on Chicago's West Side with her U.S.-born 7-year-old son, Saul, to avoid a deportation order. Her plight played out in Chicago-area and national media, piggybacking on a nationwide debate on immigration. This study focuses on one piece of…

This is an introduction to American newspapers. It starts with a history of newspapers and the tradition of American journalism that challenges authority. The article offers a description and discussion of major American newspapers and the different sections of a typical newspaper. There is also a section introducing some famous American…

Condensed from "Pennsylvania School Journal, Volume 117 (November 1968), 168-69.

Analyzes the opinions and decisions of editorial cartoonists and their editors concerning the limits of taste, or what is "fair game" in editorial cartooning. Concludes that, although cartoonists want to push barriers and use a broad definition of "fair game," editors have a more conservative view. (MM)

Differences in crowd estimates at 1965 and 1967 anti-war demonstrations as reported by dove and hawk papers stem from the use of different sources. (RB)

Suggests that while endorsements seem to sway a few voters, the effect is so small that such endorsements are unlikely to influence the outcome of an election. (FL)

Factor analysis of 50 editors' responses to a questionnaire eliciting information about objectivity found general agreement on the subject but clear differences of emphasis on various aspects of it. (FL)

Describes conflicts between Joseph Pulitzer and Charles H. Jones, the Pulitzer-appointed editor of the St. Louis "Post-Dispatch," in the years between 1895 and 1897. (GT)

Examines pressures facing the African American press by focusing on its coverage of the 1991 nomination of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court. Discusses the dilemma these newspapers faced in choosing between supporting African Americans and supporting civil rights, with their mixed coverage of the story reflecting this dilemma. (SR)

The 1830s marked a lush first flowering of democratic journalism in America--participatory journalism of the sort that Alexis de Tocqueville heralded. But contrary to standard journalism history, this democratic press had nothing to do with the rise of the penny press; in fact, William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist paper, "The…

Discusses Herbert L. Block's, Bill Mauldin's, and Paul Conrad's contributions in reviving cartoons as a way of stating strong editorial opinions. (RB)