What Lasting Influence did Muckrakers have on Modern Magazines?

  

   The word Muckraker refers to a new writing style in the 1900s. The Muckrakers were first a reform-minded investigative journalism to expose the social issues and political corruptions and they largely publish their articles in the popular magazines.They would go deep down to dig the dirt and scandals to write about the truth to the readers. And later on, the muckraking became a tradition of the investigative journalism.  One of the famous muckraking journal was McClure's Magazine.

   The muckraking was a by-product that change the structure of magazine industry as well. The magazines used to be expensive, and due to the economic in the late 1800s, magazines got cheaper, more people would buy the muckraking magazines with appealing titles about deepest dirt on the social and political issues. The magazines found their own way to success. 

The lasting influence of the muckrakers is that using the appealing titles and stories to draw attention from the readers. The magazines still would go very deep down to stories that reveal the truth about the social and political issues to the readers. Although some of the muckraking magazines nowadays might already gone too far from revealing the dirt and scandals to creating them. The reporters might add something in their stories to make it look more interesting and dramatic, but the point is still to draw readers attention to make these magazines have better market.







My personal feeling toward these muckraking magazines in the U.S is that they are a lot different than what we have in China. We have similar muckraking magazines on the social issues, magazines that report the dirt and scandal from local industries, big companies and the life of celebrities, but we wouldn't have many stories about the government. As some of people may know that the journalism industry in China in related and controlled by the government, it's very hard to read this kind
of stories from muckraking magazines.

  

What Lasting Effects did the Penny Press have on Modern Journalism?

   Nowadays, it's really easy for us to get access to the news. It's everywhere, TV, internet, newspaper, radio,etc. There are all very convenience and cheap. But, back in the 19th century, things are very different than now, the only access to the news was newspaper, but they were sold at a high price that only people from high class can afford. The Penny Press changed everything. 

   Penny Press is definitely the biggest revolution in the history of newspaper. The idea of Penny Press is to made it possible for people from any social class to get access to the social news. And it did not only affect the industry in newspaper but also many others. The Penny Press improve the whole newspaper into a fast, high technological industry. And because of the Penny Press, more reporters were hired, more news were wrote to different social class, more advertising for made for business, more truth were revealed to people,etc. It also brought freedom to the slaves and women's right.

The video below is a brief introduction of the Penny Press.

   The lasting effects of the Penny Press to our modern journalism are just so many. Because of Penny Press, journalism became a very important role in day-to-day life, and it brought opportunities to a lot of people, it build up a better community. And I think the Penny Press did not only affect the journalism but also the whole mass media industry, so we can receive news faster and more directly.