Jazz journalism

Jazz journalism was the period of journalism that followed yellow journalism, and lasted from approximately 1919–1924. Jazz journalism tended to cover subjects such as Hollywood, sex, violence, and money, with an emphasis on photography rather than writing.

In 1987, "jazz journalism" was the term taken by a coterie of writers, photographers and broadcasters concerned professionally with jazz who met in Chicago and subsequently founded the Jazz Journalists Association (incorporated in 2005). The JJA is active in fomenting higher profile in the media of jazz and the people who criticize, photograph and/or broadcast it on radio, television and online platforms. The JJA produces annual Jazz Awards and maintains several online sites, including www.JJANews.org.

History

The beginning of jazz journalism was Joseph Medill Patterson's The New York Daily News in 1919. It was followed by William Randolph Hearst's New York Daily Mirror.In 1920, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer extended yellow journalism into tabloid journalism with an emphasis on sex, violence, murder, and celebrity affairs. Papers such as the New York Daily News used big headlines, large photos, and short, punchy text. It was a New York Daily News reporter who secretly took a photo of Ruth Snyder as she was being electrocuted at Sing Sing prison in 1928.

Style

The original tabloids put a heavy emphasis on blood and gore. When supermarket sales became a major outlet, this was replaced by emotional stories, celebrity gossip, psychic tales, religious anecdotes, and various bizarre accounts. Advertisements were an important part of these newspapers, and were usually for soaps and various creams, ointments and tonics.

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Further reading


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