Journalism In The Progressive Era

Throughout history journalism has been very influential in shaping public opinion. On the contrary public opinion has also had a major effect on the tone in which journalists take when they are reporting on certain issues. The writers showed In order to get a better understanding of the public opinion the journalist writing styles I divided the fire up into three periods; two years leading up to the fire, the first few days following the fire, and post-fire reaction. Taking a closer look at the media in the Progressive Era, the journalists’ attitude and tone changed as the audiences emotions changed. Before the Triangle factory fire in 1911, journalists had a pro-strikers view, but the audience was indifferent until after the fire. As a result, the media began reporting with more passion and graphic detail to follow along with public opinion.
A few years before the

Triangle fire in 1909 these factory workers had gone on strike because they wanted to form a labor union.

The public didn’t view this decision favorably because most of the factory workers at the time are immigrant workers. The United States was still a racist society that favored the white “natives” over all other people. One would expect the newspapers to follow this opinion by opposing what is happening. However, this is not entirely true. In reading the newspaper coverage during this strike there is a subtle hint of bias towards the workers. In a New York Times article that was titled Arrest Strikers for Being Assaulted that talked about one of the women arrested during the strike. The article is clearly on the side of the women but it doesn’t have the passionate language that is found in the articles that are

published after the Triangle fire . This article came out just had this strike was beginning so there wasn’t a lot of public support yet. However, the media cover helped change the public’s view on these workers. They started to see them more as people instead of someone who made their clothing. But there were mixed emotions even after the strike ended. Those of the upper class showed less support for these workers because they didn’t know what it was like to work in those factories. The most change in support came from the middle class who maybe didn’t know what it was like to work in those factories but knew what it was like to work long and hard hours. The upper class wouldn’t accept or support what these workers were doing until the Triangle fire broke out because that made people realize how bad conditions really were within the factories.
On March 25th, 1911 a fire broke out in the Triangle factory near the end of the work day. The factory was located just a couple of blocks away from a busy Washington Place on a nice Saturday afternoon. A large crowd collected outside of the building because in the factory were the same workers that led the garment worker strike. At this point, the public was very much in support of these workers for getting better working conditions. The language used to describe the events differed amongst newspapers. An article published by The New York World the Monday after was very descriptive but it didn’t show extreme emotion or passion. When the author is describing the scene he says, “And the worst horror of all was the head of the dead now and then there stirred a limb or sounded a moan.” This reflects the public’s mood during and a bit after the fire. Very much in shock because just a year ago these workers were the face of a strike and now they at the center at one of the worst workplace tragedies in United States history. This is what one could expect to be published in the days after a tragic event because the emotions are still sinking in. The Chicago Sunday Tribune had very different approach to this exact same story. Published a day after the article in the World, this article displays much more passion and outrage towards the fire. The article is giving an account of all the different events happening during the fire. One of which was a traffic cop going to save girls in the factory. “Lehan dashed up eight flights of stairs when the fire was at its height, braced his shoulders against a barred door and burst it in.” This article uses much more dramatic language than the first one. The journalist could have said the officer ran up the stairs instead of “dashed up eight flights of stairs” which sounds more intense and is more of an attention grabber.
The use of graphic details by both journalists used and the way the victims were addressed could affect how a person views the incident. The more graphic details a person is given about a tragic event the more likely they are going to feel bad for the victims and want just. The journalists had just said 150 people died in a factory there will be some reaction but it won’t have the same effect. When the journalists talk about the bodies that are lying on the sidewalk that would get someone’s attention and draw more emotions out of them. It will also get to those who wouldn’t be affected by the generic 150 dead in a fire. By addressing the victims as boys and girls instead of men and women can really affect how a person sees a victim . The words boy and girl are commonly used to refer to young children, not adults. Instead of seeing these people who died in the fire as adults the journalists are portraying them as children. The death of children would get to the general population a lot more than the death of an adult because kids are viewed as these innocent people who have a lot to learn and to live for.
There was immense public support for the victims of the fire and their families. They weren’t just workers they were viewed as people who lost their lives because of greed. The fire led to several new laws in New York that would improve working conditions for all factory workers. The support for these workers was very evident during the funeral procession for the victims of the fire. The procession was documented by the New York Times which said there were about 120,000 marching and 400,000 people in there watching. This was a very surprising turn out because it was raining that day. There was so much support for these victims that people came out to support them even though it was raining. There were probably people in that crowd that two years ago didn’t support these same people who went on strike in order to get better pay and working conditions. While some people changed their opinion because of the fire others probably changed theirs because of what they saw in the media and the public’s reaction.
The support for these victims becomes very apparent when Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, two owners of the Shirtwaist factory, are acquitted of any wrongdoing for the fire. There was outrage stemming from both the media and the public because it felt like the justice system had failed the victims. The Literary Digest article about the acquittal was simply titled 147 Dead, Nobody Guilty. But the outrage was very evident in the Chicago Daily Tribune’s coverage of the acquittal. The article stated that families of the victims say “there is no justice for the poor.” In response the writer goes on to ask “what must they, what must we think?” There was a sense that even though it was clear that these men knew the doors were locked. Today a journalist would never question whether the justice system had failed the people unless it was in an opinion piece. This was a major story in the paper and the writer was showing their bias towards the case which would be frowned upon by journalists today because journalists are supposed to be the ones remaining neutral and only delivering the facts so the people can form their own opinions. In this situation, the writer had a chance to affect the public’s opinion because of the passion the writer displays. These two should have been punished but it seems as if these two people got away with the crime of the century.
The journalists had always been in support of the workers even before the fire broke out and killed 147 people. However, their writing style changed over time as the public’s opinion changed. Before the fire, the public didn’t support the workers movement for better conditions and pay. Then the fire broke out there was some passion but there was also a sad tone because of all the lives lost. The failure of the justice system brought out the fire for the journalists because there was outrage that stemmed amongst the journalists and the public. In looking at these articles one could determine how the public felt based on what and how the wrote a story. That can still be seen in today’s media on most major issues present in our society. The media has always had and always will have an effect on public opinion.