Sex Trafficking, Scandal, and the Transformation of Journalism, 1885-1917
224 pages
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5 halftones, 1 line drawing
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6 x 9
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© 2013
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the penny presses of the industrial East treated brothels as a mundane, if annoying, aspect of city life. But later in the century, reformers and mainstream papers began to push back against this representation through highly public campaigns against “white slavery.” These newspaper crusades mixed a potent cocktail of lurid sexual detail and sensationalist scandal aimed equally at promoting anti-vice measures, arousing popular demand for progressive reform, and increasing newspaper circulation.
In Sex Trafficking, Scandal, and the Transformation of Journalism, Gretchen Soderlund offers a new way to understand sensationalism in both newspapers and reform movements. By tracing the history of high-profile print exposés on sex trafficking by journalists like William T. Stead and George Kibbe Turner, Soderlund demonstrates how controversies over gender, race, and sexuality were central to the shift from sensationalism to objectivity—and crucial to the development of journalism in the early twentieth century.
In Sex Trafficking, Scandal, and the Transformation of Journalism, Gretchen Soderlund offers a new way to understand sensationalism in both newspapers and reform movements. By tracing the history of high-profile print exposés on sex trafficking by journalists like William T. Stead and George Kibbe Turner, Soderlund demonstrates how controversies over gender, race, and sexuality were central to the shift from sensationalism to objectivity—and crucial to the development of journalism in the early twentieth century.
Elizabeth Bernstein | Barnard College
"This is a beautifully written, skillfully narrated take on the transformations that took place in American journalism during the Progressive Era. Highly creative and meticulously researched, there's no book quite like it."
Contents
Preface
1. White Slavery and Journalism’s Shifting Axis of Truth
2. William T. Stead and the “Soul” of Sensationalism
3. The Journalism of Reform and the Reform of Journalism
4. George Kibbe Turner, Muckraking, and the Brief Reign of Piteous Facts
5. Authorizing Skepticism: The New York Times and the Demise of Muckraking
6. From Sensation to Secrecy: The Rockefeller Grand Jury and Its Aftermath
Conclusion
2. William T. Stead and the “Soul” of Sensationalism
3. The Journalism of Reform and the Reform of Journalism
4. George Kibbe Turner, Muckraking, and the Brief Reign of Piteous Facts
5. Authorizing Skepticism: The New York Times and the Demise of Muckraking
6. From Sensation to Secrecy: The Rockefeller Grand Jury and Its Aftermath
Conclusion
Notes
Index
For more information, or to order this book, please visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu
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History: American History | Urban History
Sociology: Social History
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