American Journalist: Getting the Story Special ed. Edition
Author(s): Donald A. Ritchie (Author)
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication Date: 15 May 2009
- Edition: Special ed.
- Language: English
- Print length: 340 pages
- ISBN-10: 019532837X
- ISBN-13: 9780195328370
Book Description
In 60 essays, this volume profiles American journalists from colonial times to the present-reporters, editors, publishers, photographers, and broadcasters-whose careers reflected major developments in their profession and in the history of the United States. In a speech to Newsweek correspondents in 1963, publisher Philip Graham described journalism as "the first rough draft of history." These journalists confronted and helped to shape the discussion of major issues and events in American history, from the American revolution through abolition, westward expansion, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, immigration, and the women's movement, as well as major constitutional issues involving the First Amendment protection of freedom of the press. Biographies of well-known journalists, from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine to Walter Cronkite and Rupert Murdoch, appear alongside some who may be less familiar, such as Elias Boudinot, founder of the first Cherokee language newspaper; Abraham Cahan, editor of the Jewish Daily Forward; and Daniel Craig, who in the 1830s used carrier pigeons to ferry the news. Other subjects include Margaret Green Draper, the revolutionary printer; Claude Barnett, founder of the Associated Negro Press; photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White; war correspondent Ernie Pyle; and Allen Neuharth, founder of U.S.A. Today. Illustrations, fact boxes, and quotations from the subjects themselves make this volume an indispensable reference for students of American history as well as a fascinating read. Journalists profiled include: Horace Greeley Frederick Douglass Mark Twain Thomas Nast Joseph Pulitzer Nellie Bly William Randolph Hearst Ida Wells-Barnett H. L. Mencken Dorothy Thompson Walter Winchell Red Smith Edward R. Murrow Walter Cronkite Bernard Shaw Cokie Roberts Manuel de Dios Unanue and many more
Editorial Reviews
Review
"An informative compendium of biographical sketches detailing the personal and professional lives of an array of American journalists from 1700 to the present.... Especially fascinating and refreshing is the inclusion of a number of groundbreaking female journalists and several members of the long overlooked and vastly underrated African American press.... This lively collective biography also doubles as an invaluable introduction to the evolution of American journalism."--Booklist
"Reports on the leading figures of the American press from the early eighteenth century to today."--Publishers Weekly
"A real treat."--School Library Journal
"The readable text by Donald Ritchie shows how the work of these journalists influenced events and issues in our history... Illustrations, fact boxes, and quotations from the subjects themselves make this volume a valuable reference for students. By grouping the biographies into four time periods, the author increases the usefulness of this work in the curriculum."--Library Lane
"It wasn't always the case that historical collections like this, by a white author who profiles 57 journalists and adds shorter bios of 80 others, recognized people of color.... Well-referenced book for students."--National Association of Black Journalists
Review
In 60 essays, this volume profiles American journalists from colonial times to the present--reporters, editors, publishers, photographers, and broadcasters--whose careers reflected major developments in their profession and in the history of the United States.
Review
"An informative compendium of biographical sketches detailing the personal and professional lives of an array of American journalists from 1700 to the present.... Especially fascinating and refreshing is the inclusion of a number of groundbreaking female journalists and several members of the long overlooked and vastly underrated African American press.... This lively collective biography also doubles as an invaluable introduction to the evolution of American journalism."--Booklist
"Reports on the leading figures of the American press from the early eighteenth century to today."--Publishers Weekly
"A real treat."--School Library Journal
"The readable text by Donald Ritchie shows how the work of these journalists influenced events and issues in our history... Illustrations, fact boxes, and quotations from the subjects themselves make this volume a valuable reference for students. By grouping the biographies into four time periods, the author increases the usefulness of this work in the curriculum."--Library Lane
"It wasn't always the case that historical collections like this, by a white author who profiles 57 journalists and adds shorter bios of 80 others, recognized people of color.... Well-referenced book for students."--National Association of Black Journalists
About the Author
Donald A. Ritchie is the author of The Young Oxford Companion to the Congress of the United States, Press Gallery: Congress and the Washington Correspondents. He is associate historian of the U.S. Senate.
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