| Arguably ~1930 - 1980. A sea change began with Walter Lippmann's Public Opinion, seen as birthing modern, generally impartial, journalism. Not absolutely, but relative to earlier periods, quite. Ironically, widespread national advertising assisted in much of. this, at least for stories not adversely concerning national advertisers. But local squelching of critical news was limited, and occasional nationally critical stories could appear. Watergate was arguably the high-water mark. Corporate ownership massively diluted effectiveness, especially after 1980, though exceptions remain. Bookending Orwell and Lippmann, I'd suggest I.F. Stone (who calls the 1970s as a high-water mark) and Hamilton Holt's Commercialism and Journalism (1909). I.F. Stone, interview:
https://www.invidio.us/watch?v=qV3gO3zxQ1g textsCommercialism and journalism
https://archive.org/details/commercialismjou00holtuoft Further reading: https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/7k7l4m/media_a... |