yellow journalism
The Plot Against AmericaYellow journalism is a form of mass-audience journalism characterized by sensationalism and jingoism. The term’s defining emphasis is not simply a large readership, but the forceful, attention-seeking style used to address one.
Definition and Historical Association
The account identifies William Randolph Hearst as the foremost proponent of yellow journalism. His newspaper empire flourished into the 1930s, linking the expression to a powerful publishing enterprise rather than to an isolated publication.
Hearst’s Political Shift
Hearst was initially aligned with Democratic populists, but became increasingly right wing and a bitter enemy of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This political change gives the term’s historical association an additional dimension: the publisher most closely connected with sensational, jingoistic mass journalism also moved sharply in his political allegiances.
