The Press Gang

by Summers, Mark Wahlgren

• ISBN13: 9780807844465
• ISBN10: 0807844462
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

Relations between the press and politicians in modern America have always been contentious. In The Press Gang, Mark Summers tells the story of the first skirmishes in this ongoing battle. Following the Civil War, independent newspapers began to separate themselves from partisan control and assert direct political influence. The first investigative journalists uncovered genuine scandals such as those involving the Tweed Ring, but their standard practices were often sensational, as editors and reporters made their reputations by destroying political figures, not by carefully uncovering the facts. Objectivity as a professional standard scarcely existed. Considering more than ninety different papers, Summers analyzes not only what the press wrote but also what they chose not to write, and he details both how they got the stories and what mistakes they made in reporting them. He exposes the peculiarly ambivalent relationship of dependence and distaste among reporters and politicians. In exploring the shifting ground between writing the stories and making the news, Summers offers an important contribution to the history of journalism and mid-nineteenth-century politics and uncovers a story that has come to dominate our understanding of government and the media.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Reporters' Initials & Pseudonyms	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The Lords Of The Linotype	p. 7
Wonderful! Wonderful!	p. 9
I Want to Give Those Fellows Hell!	p. 25
Organs Out of Tune	p. 43
I Am the Paper! the Independents	p. 59
All The News That Fits	p. 77
Despotism Tempered by Assassination	p. 79
a General System of Exchange, Or, a D--D Bad Beat	p. 95
Mr. Striker Goes to Washington	p. 109
the Capital Offenses of Donn Piatt	p. 123
News Management Made Easy	p. 143
a Beautiful Smiler Came in Our Midst	p. 145
a Little Attention from James A. Garfield	p. 160
the Silent Smoker in the Hands of the Foe	p. 171
News In Need Of Reconstruction	p. 189
a Perfect Hell the Southern Road to Pike's Pique	p. 191
carpetbagger Chronicles	p. 207
an Extraordinary State of Affairs at Vicksburg	p. 223
The Breakup Of The Press Gang, 1872-1877	p. 235
the Worst Thing Yet! 1872	p. 237
the Wild Animals Loose the Panic of 1874	p. 256
James G. Blaine Beats the Rap	p. 279
the Hayesociated Press	p. 298
Epilogue Final Edition	p. 314
Notes	p. 319
Bibliography Newspapers, Magazines, and Manuscript Collections	p. 389
Index	p. 395
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