Could you imagine a newspaper today without a crisis on the front page, or a gossip column tucked somewhere in the middle? If you’re being truly honest with yourself, you’re probably having a hard time. This is all thanks to the creation of the Penny Press.
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Standard newspapers of the 1800’s were filled with only prestigious news and political bor. They also ran you 6 cents a copy. This limited the circulation to only the upper class. However, this all changed when the Penny Press started their first newspaper, the New York Sun, and sold it for only a penny. The pages were filled with local news, juicy gossip, and horrifying crimes. Finally, there was relative news, at a price that wouldn’t break the bank of the common people.
The Penny Press began the new journalism phenomenon. In doing so, they paved way for the brilliant writer, Edgar Allan Poe. His work was unlike any others. It consisted of crime, mystery and twisted murders. His story, Murders in the Rue Morgue, was the first detective story of all time. Haunted by a troubled past, and inspired by the happenings of the Penny Press, it’s safe to say that Poe started the crime scene investigation craze.
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Although the Penny Press and Edgar Allan Poe had very different audiences, they both made significant marks in the Era of New Journalism. If it hadn’t been for the Penny Press and their change in news substance, who’s to know where we would be today as a society.
References:
Poestories.com
iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring04/vance/pennypress.html
