Often in life we hear and use phrases, not fully understanding their meaning, and do not know where they came from. A striking example of such a phrase is the expression "yellow press". Let us consider in more detail in the article that this is the yellow press and where the indicated term came from.
Phrase meaning
What is the yellow press? These are any messages in the form of an article that give sensational facts and events that do not fit into the framework of reasonable thinking and sober perception of reality. In these reports, as a rule, there is violence, violation of the laws of morality or the laws of the modern scientific conception of the world. Moreover, the textual information contained in such articles is in fact unproven, partly pseudoscientific, meager and "scattered". As a rule, it’s impossible to draw useful ideas from such messages that would complement and enrich the reader’s worldview.
Given the specifics of the information and the way it is presented, this type of newspaper is also called the sensational press.
The hallmarks of the yellow press
Below will be given the main signs, by the presence of which in a particular article we can say that this is the yellow press:
- Sensational headlines. For example, if you write the title of the article: “A species of fish has been discovered that has not changed much over the past 10 million years”, then it will attract a certain share of readers who are interested in evolution and biology, but if the same heading is worded as follows: “Alive the fish that saw the dinosaurs, "there will be several orders of magnitude more people willing to read such a publication.
- Illustrations of an emotional nature. It can be photos of victims from the scene of a disaster, military conflicts or photos of celebrities in ridiculous situations. Currently, there is also the possibility of processing real images using computer programs in such a way that the real object itself can be changed beyond recognition.
- A large number of illustrations. If you look at one photo, it may not make a strong impression, but when there are a lot of such images, they affect a person at a subconscious level, enhancing the emotional component of perception and dulling his rational thinking.
- Using bright saturated colors in illustrations and special fonts to highlight key phrases in the text. The idea of these elements is the same, that is, the excitement of interest in the reader.
- Unstructured information, the "distraction" of facts, the lack of evidence of statements and conclusions. Such a text creates only confusion and chaos in the reader’s thinking.
Thus, the yellow press is an emotional and sensational text with “beautiful” pictures and a low density of useful information.
What do the yellow press write about?
A large proportion of the articles of the yellow press are the following sections:
- Disasters (natural and man-made).
- Taboo topics (events encroaching on public morality).
- Horrors of all kinds and crime.
Where did the concept of "yellow press" come from?
It was formed in the United States between 1895-1898. At that time, in New York, two major newspaper publications called New York World (NYW) (owner Joseph Pulitzer) and New York Journal (NYJ) (owner William Hurst) published on the pages of their products the type of sensational articles that contained more fictional than true facts. Both newspapers used psychological methods of influencing the reader in order to increase their sales, that is, they were ardent competitors.
At this time, every Sunday issue of NYW magazine published a series of comics called Hogan's Alley, painted by Richard Outkolt. Her main character was a boy Mickey Dugan, who received the nickname "Yellow Baby". He was a typical representative of the lower strata of US society, in his speech he used slang, and was named yellow for the color of his nightgown, on which various slogans were written.
Hogan's Alley comics gained so much popularity among readers that Hurst hired an individual to include their new series in his NYJ newspaper. A real war has unfolded between the owners of these American publications. Subsequently, the New York Press published on its pages an article called We called them Yellow because they are yellow - "we call them yellow because they are cowards," which used the term "yellow press" in relation to the product nature of the NYW and NYJ newspapers.
The information in this paragraph provides an answer to the question of why the yellow press is called yellow.
Yellow stamp in Russia
Perhaps one of the first representatives of the yellow press, or the tabloid press in our country, was the Kopeyka newspaper, which was published before the revolution. After the revolution, during the years of communism, due to the strict censorship, “yellowness” was practically absent in the Russian press. Its appearance and rapid development date back to the early 90s. It should highlight such publications as "Express Newspaper" and "Megapolis Express". Since 2009, the Izvestia newspaper also fell into this category.
Why is the yellow press needed, and can reading it harm thinking?
The practical lack of use of sensational messages in the media leads to a completely natural question: what is this type of press for, what roles does it play? Unfortunately, all these articles pursue the achievement of one main goal - increasing the popularity of their publisher (newspaper, magazine), behind which there is an increase in the financial profit of the corresponding company.
Many people understand that already one headline of an article that caught my eye suggests that this is a yellow press. Nevertheless, human curiosity takes its toll, at the level of consciousness, the phrase “suddenly” pops up, and a person begins to read such an article. For educated and sufficiently erudite people, this literature does not pose any danger, since they have a rigid "core" of systematic perception, which cannot be violated by a chaotic enumeration of facts. For the rest of the people, and especially for schoolchildren with an unformed worldview, the constant reading of the yellow press can only add questions and increase the randomness of their thinking.