Title:
The guiding brain and directing hand: human interest reporting and the power of the press in W. T. Steads Pall Mall Gazette
Creator:
Common, Lauren Frost
Date Created:
2005
Degree Awarded:
Master of Arts
Subjects:
English newspapers 19th century Press Great Britain 19th century Mass media and history
Geographical Focus:
Britain London
Supporting Materials:
n/a
Description:
This thesis examines the efforts of W.T. Stead to increase the power of the British press through human interest reporting. Stead believed that newspapers constituted significant institutions of power, equal to the traditional institutions of government and church, and that their rightful role in society was to criticise injustices and inspire change through the direction of public opinion. This study examines Stead's editorial theory, based on his self-reflective writings on journalism, and how that theory was put into practice in two particular episodes of his career at the Pall Mall Gazette, the London newspaper that he edited from 1883 to 1889. The episodes examined are Stead's involvement in General Charles Gordon's 1884 expedition to Khartoum and the famous "Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" exposé of child prostitution in London.
Source
Preferred Citation:
Common, Lauren Frost. 2005. "The guiding brain and directing hand: human interest reporting and the power of the press in W. T. Steads Pall Mall Gazette", Department of History, Carleton University
Link to this page:
https://cuhistory.github.io/grads/items/hist_151.html
Rights
Rights:
Copyright the author, all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.