Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Spanish American War Wikipedia N D - 1,666 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

University: Lecturer: Course: Date: Yellow Journalism Every business has some basic, fundamental tenets that all players need to follow. In the media business, ethics play a very important role, since media services are often the only means by which the public can get informed about current events. Media services are supposed then to maintain factual news, without bias or partiality to anybody or any event. They are, in other words, supposed to tell it as it is.

This requirement covers all sorts of media businesses: print, broadcast and so on. The requirement makes sure that the public is getting only facts, not propaganda or damaging personal opinions, on any topic out there. Sometimes, however, some media houses may thwart this ethical requirement, and proceed to put their personal preferences into the content that they publish or broadcast. A particularly nasty type of such unethical behavior is called yellow journalism, so named because of several incidences that took place in the late 19 th century in the US. Yellow journalism applies especially to print media newspapers or tabloids. The media house involved in the practice engages in sensationalism whereby news is published due to its captivating potential rather than its information content (Wikipedia, N.

D. ). The idea is to captivate more readers, increase sales and margins, and basically beat the competition in circulation. Yellow journalism is usually associated with scary headlines, big, colored pictures on the front pages, excessive use of unnamed sources, faked interviews, and dramatic sympathizing with the downtrodden in the society. The idea is to provoke the emotions of the readers, and hook them so that they keep on buying that particular paper. In the process, however, the reader gets biased news, fictional narrations, and incomplete stories. The final effect is that the reader ends up forming the wrong opinions, and may end up making wrong decisions out of it all (Wikipedia, ND).

In the period 1895 - 1898, two New York newspapers got involved in Yellow journalism. These were the New York World and the New York Journal, belonging to Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph respectively. During this period, the Cubans were fighting against the Spanish rule, in effect rebelling against it. The two papers, plus other papers already in circulation in New York, sent reporters to Cuba in order to report on the events happening there.

Of the reporters thus sent, very few actually got into Cuba. The rest went into comfortable hotels or resorts and put their fertile minds to work. They were soon spewing forth all forms of stories about the situation in Cuba. In a bid to sensationalize their news, they painted the Spaniards in a bad light, and exaggerated their cruelty against Cubans (Think Quest, N. D). An infamous recount of the actual events at that time is that William Randolph once sent his reporter, Frederick Remington, to Cuba to get the news.

On arrival there, Frederick noticed that there was no actual war going on, and he reported this back to William. William, instead of recalling him back, instead told Frederick to hang around and supply the pictures. William and the New York World worked to create the sensational news (Jess, N. D. ).

Some of the stories published depicted the Spaniards treating Cuban women cruelly. Others showed neglected children left out in the open, burning under the hot sun. Still others pointed to the increasing oppression of the Cuban, and their being denied basic human rights (Think Quest, N. D. ). From all this, American outrage was kindled, and tension between America and Spain began to develop. Every new news byte published in relation to the Spaniards treatment of the hapless Cubans only served to make the relations between American and Spaniards more strained.

The final straw occurred when a paper called the Hearst published news of the destruction of the USS Maine, an American Vessel. The destruction of the USS Maine claimed about 252 lives belonging to American solders. The vessel exploded in mysterious circumstances, which were never fully explained from research. But the media immediately took up the story, and added spices to it, even theorizing that the explosion had been brought about by a Spaniard bomb or torpedo. Most of these stories were based on little or no ground research, yet the stories were framed in such a way as to convince the public that the newspapers were stating facts. On hitting the streets, the stories immediately had the only effect possible then a huge public uproar, with indignant Americans baying for Spaniard blood, pushing for a decisive government action against them.

Several senior government authorities joined in this movement too. Under the mounting pressure, the American government was forced to take firm steps against the Spaniards. A state of war was declared in 1898. Emergency funds were released for all necessary war resources, armies were mobilized, and the ports were blockaded in a clear indication of the war intent (Michael, 2009). The Spanish-American war followed shortly afterwards. In retrospect, the role of the newspapers in causing the Spaniard-American war can not be downplayed.

Right from the start, the yellow journalism so rampart in the era had painted all but the real picture about the Spaniards treatment of the Cubans. Although there was some unfair treatment of the Cubans, the extent of atrocity splashed on the dailies was far removed from reality. The Spaniards used to oppress the Cubans in a subdued, subtle manner. The newspapers painted images of gore, sub-human living conditions, and basically a population in dire need of deliverance. The public sentiments generated from the exaggerated stories were thus based on fictitious phenomena, and were thus unsurprisingly dramatic. To make matters even worse, on February 9, 1898, a letter supposedly from the Spanish Minister Enrique Dupuy De Lome to a Spanish editor and politician called Jose Canalejas was intercepted by a Cuban junta.

The letter found its way to William Randolphs New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. The letter essentially said that the US president was weak and catered to the rabble in the society. Seeing high potential for catching the publics attention, the newspapers played up the letters significance. For the next few days, the papers published the letter in full, calling it the biggest insult that America had ever suffered.

The publics reaction to the letter was pure outrage (John, 1996). This incidence, set against the general background of the reported Spaniards mistreatment of Cubans, turned all Americans, to a person, strongly against any form of Spaniard oppression, anywhere. Had the newspapers downplayed the spectacle in Cuba, or at least reported facts, it is almost certain that the Spaniard-American war would not have occurred. There are several reasons in support of this. For one, the incumbent US president, William McKinley, was definitely against any sort of avoidable war. His experiences during the Civil War had made him averse to any form of military violence.

At the same time, the Spaniards had just begun reconciliatory talks with US and Cuban top figures. In fact, some theories about the Maine explosion suggest that it was a sabotage of this reconciliatory move (Michael, 2009). Whoever could have planned such sabotage remained an open question, but speculations abounded. There were, after all, many factions with vested interests in the continuation of the Spaniards oppression of the Cubans. The press, for all obvious reasons, was not beyond planning such an event.

The Cubans themselves could also have planned such an event, the idea being to bring the American to their side of the issue, and have them actively fighting the Spaniards (Frederick, 1997). And finally, several prominent figures in America were republican imperialists, who kept pushing President McKinley to allow a war against the Spaniards. Such imperialists included Teddy Roosevelt, John Hay and Henry Cabot Lodge (Michael, 2009). A glance at the fundamental differences between Spaniards and Americans during that period unearths a possible reason why the yellow journalism by the newspapers had such a great effect on the citizens. Americans at that time were mainly liberal Protestants, whose mainstay was a striving for independent, democratic existence. But the Spaniards were mainly Catholic, and the Americans perceived them to be autocratic and medieval ruled from one throne of absolute power, and running on ancient or primitive precepts (Frederick, 1997).

Thus any report of barbarianism from the Spaniards was likely to be easily accepted by the average American citizen without question or deep analysis. The newspapers took advantage of this, and propagated all sorts of propaganda against the Spaniards. The result of the newspaper propaganda show just how powerful the media is, and how revolutionary it can be if left unchecked. The media engineered an entire war between two countries, and forever changed the history of America. America immediately became an imperial power, and its activities in the next several years transformed it into a world super-power. It gained control of the islands in the Caribbean Sea, the Mid Pacific Ocean and areas close to the Asian lands (John, 1996).

Although yellow journalism was later curbed or at least reduced to low levels, the damage had already been done. From then on, Americans would never perceive Spaniards in a fair light. The USS Maine explosion would always be a source of controversy and intrigue. And many other otherwise natural occurrences would forever be seen through the yellowed glasses of unethical journalism. Works cited Frederick A. Moritz (1997) Journalism kindles Spanish American war Retrieved 26 th March, 2009 from web Jess Giessel (N.

D. ). Black, White and Yellow Retrieved 26 th March, 2009 from web John Baker (1996) Effects of the Press on the Spanish-American relationships in 1898 Retrieved 26 th March, 2009 from web Michael Stretch (2009) Causes of the Spanish-American War Retrieved 26 th March, 2009 from web Think Quest (N. D. ). Propaganda in the Spanish-American War Retrieved 26 th March, 2009 from web Wikipedia (N.

D. ). Yellow journalism Retrieved 26 th March, 2009 from web


Free research essays on topics related to: william randolph, yellow journalism, uss maine, spanish american war, wikipedia n d

Research essay sample on Spanish American War Wikipedia N D

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com