Avenging gods of journalism: reporters sought out for the people

American journalism shaped the course of American history. During the American Revolution, revolutionaries like Samuel Adams and Tom Paine used printed media to ignite the fires of revolution. Similarly during the 1920s, Lila Weinberg and other journalist used the media to check on the power of large corporations. Journalism in America stands in opposition to those who abuse their power. The oppressed Americans used journalism to demonize the British. Likewise, in the 1920s journalism expose the gruesome facts behind large corporations’ hold over the American economy.




During the Revolution, editors sought to empower the rebellion by demonizing the British. Samuel Adams often described the British as ravaging giants of injustice. Samuel Adams presented himself in his writing as an avenger of justice who sought out for the people. These journalists described how British soldiers harassed both the elderly and the young women. The Boston Massacre was described as a blood fest, where British soldiers brutally massacred four helpless colonialists. These stories, often fictitious, served to fuel the flames of the American Revolution. The Americans masses saw themselves oppress by a powerful tyrant.

It became a battle to protect their women and children from the evils of an oppressor from afar. Tom Paine compared the British rulers to Roman tyrants. “No taxation without representation,” and “taxation without representation is tyranny,” phrases where coined for the first time by Jonathan Mayhew, became the ravaging cry of the oppressed masses. During that time, Moliere and Voltaire ideas spread through the colonies thanks to the printed media. Fouché, Robespierre and the horrors that preceded the French Revolution found their way into the colonies. Tom Paine’s “Common Sense,” coined Voltaire’s phrase that describes when men’s “undeniable rights.” Journalist united the people and became the machinery behind the revolution.


Similarly, during the 1920s, American freedom became threatened by the power of corporation. The birth of national corporations brought the U.S .to the top of economic prosperity. Despite the exponential growth, the average citizen still lived in extreme poverty. Often the phase “For the corporation, by the corporation” served as a reminder of huge power corporations typhoons held over American politics. Enormous money injections allowed large corporations to remain in control while worker conditions and product quality suffered. As a result, journalism focused on the injustices of corporation rubber barons. According to Rodger Streitmatter, corporation focused journalism were “Directly responsible for such initiative as the pure food and drug act direct election of senators and city state reform.”

Advances in technology allowed for the easy affordability of informative magazines. The easy dissemination of information helped end age of the powerful corporation. Journalist made detail reports exposing the malpractices of national corporations. They denounced unfair prizes, low product quality and many other secrets that these corporations sought to hide. Bringing these facts to the public gave them greater awareness of the injustices of large corporations. Journalist paved the road for the creation of work unions and workers rights.