Professional journalists have various responsibilities. They must keep the public updated on current events. Their news reports must remain unbiased and without error. Above all, journalists must adopt a watchdog role and ensure that individuals in positions of authority act ethically and don’t abuse their power. Muckraking, or investigative journalism as it is known today, is vital to American democracy. Muckrakers disseminate information that the public may find unpleasant or disagreeable, but regardless of public outcry, their work is pivotal. Because publicly exposing the truth positively impacts society, it’s an honor to be called a muckraker.
Muckraking once had a negative connotation. Today, that is no longer the case. The term
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“muckraker” is defined as “one who scrapes filth.” In the Industrial Revolution, muckrakers were American journalists who exposed corruption in business and politics. They uncovered the filth of society and brought social injustices to light, publishing books, articles, and photo essays. And yet, muckrakers in the early 20th century, such as Ida Tarbell, Jacob Riis, and Frank Norris, were unfairly equated with yellow journalists, who sensationalized and exaggerated their stories to sell more newspapers. Muckraking and yellow journalism were radically different. Muckrakers used investigative journalism tactics to promote social reform, whereas yellow journalists employed underhanded methods to gather information. While muckrakers were documenting injustice, yellow journalists were spreading malicious gossip. The modern definition of muckraking is no longer tarnished by the work of yellow journalists. Searching out and exposing misconduct still remains a pillar of journalism. With the contemporary meaning in mind, it’s plain to see that muckrakers better society by giving rise to reform. During the Industrial Revolution, the early muckrakers who investigated massive corporations provoked real change. Notably, Upton Sinclair, the most famous of the muckrakers, stimulated the passage of legislation with his novel The Jungle. The book depicts the dangerous working conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in Chicago’s meatpacking district. After it was published, The Jungle’s graphic descriptions exposed deeply rooted corruption in business and politics, although it was the meatpacking industry’s unsanitary practices that horrified the public. Even so, the net result of Sinclair’s work was the passage of legislation regarding the quality of food packaged in factories. Muckraking evokes social outrage, which prompts legal reform. In short, by publicizing injustice, muckrakers provoke societal progress in the form of legislation. In addition to catalyzing social change, muckrakers benefit politics by curbing governmental corruption.
Consider the downfall of Richard Nixon. After a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the 1970s, president Nixon attempted to cover up his administration’s involvement with the burglars. After Nixon destroyed evidence and resisted congressional jurisdiction, his actions were uncovered by muckrakers in the greatest political scandal in White House history. The Watergate scandal shocked the American people, and Nixon resigned from the presidency after his role in the conspiracy came to light. By cracking the president’s deceit wide open, the journalists who brought down Nixon shaped history. Nixon was held accountable for his actions, which, in turn, left his administration’s faults uncovered. Muckrakers fostered the removal of a corrupt president and stifled future political misconduct. Without muckrakers monitoring the conduct of public officials, governmental malfeasance is allowed to thrive. Ultimately, muckraking is crucial to checking political …show more content…
crookedness. Not only do muckrakers stimulate change and thwart corruption, but they ensure the public is informed. Muckrakers verify the truth, and they guarantee the public access to reliable news. However, muckrakers’ work often unsettles society, who may deem their findings off-putting or disagreeable. Such was the case when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in the 1960s, detailing the detrimental effects of chemical pesticides on the environment and humans. Carson’s intent was to communicate to the public the detrimental consequences of synthetic pesticides and the chemical industry’s attempts to propagate disinformation. Silent Spring brought environmental concerns to society’s forefront and raised public consciousness on a previously obscure matter. Using their investigative skills, muckrakers, such as Carson, devote time and energy to gathering information for the benefit of society. All in all, muckraking educates the masses. Besides evoking change, blocking governmental corruption, and exposing misconduct to the public, muckrakers ultimately maintain American democracy.
Muckraking provides a two-way channel between policy makers and the citizenry, a key part of the democratic decision-making process. Muckrakers bring transparency to society and are at the heart of how the masses hold public officials accountable. Disseminating information about the real or apparent misconduct of government authorities allows the public to monitor the sources of power that shape their lives. Without muckraking, individuals in power could manipulate ideas and distort the truth in their favor if n. Muckrakers guarantee trustworthy news, which strengthens American
democracy. Muckrakers benefits society by promoting positive change, curbing political corruption, informing the public, and maintaining democracy. Given these points, it’s evident that being called a “muckraker” is an honor. Raking away societal filth is crucial. Muckrakers go where others will not. They uncover truth and bury deception.
At the start of the 20th century, journalists had begun to play an important role in exposing wrongdoings within politics and society. These journalists, often called muckrakers, used their journalism to focus on political flaws and corruption in city governments. Several popular publishers adopted this form of journalism, which became widely popular
Clare Boothe Luce, an American journalist and politician, delivered a speech in 1960 to the Women’s National Press Club in front of the American press to criticize journalists for the misinformation they publish in order to challenge them to start publishing the truth rather than writing what the public wants to hear. Luce appeals to the audience of journalists using her role as a politician, comparison, and emphasis to persuade journalists to start writing the truth, no matter how dull, in order for American citizens to truly understand what is going on in today’s society. Throughout the speech, Luce speaks to the audience of journalists about how the information they release shouldn’t be falsified for a myriad of buyers or views. Although
President Richard M. Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate scandal were broadcast nightly on the 6 o’clock news in the early 1970’s. Americans were engrossed with the scandal and each person held his or her own view of situation. Each broadcast or newspaper article created a mistrust of political and governmental leaders. In response to this mistrust, the Freedom to Information Act was strengthened by the United States Congress in 1973 (Chamberlain). Although this act was first placed into law in the late 1960’s, the Watergate scandal provided the incentive make this law stronger.
Muckraking was a powerful journalistic force, whose supporters made it become so. Muckraking was the practice of writers and critics exposing corrupt politicians and business practices. President Theodore Roosevelt made the term "muck-raker" popular. He once said
Muckraking. The public was becoming more and more informed throughout the Progressive Era. Muckraking, the predecessor to investigative journalism, would play a major role in exposing social problems. Muckrakers had a huge impact on the changing societal landscape and investigated anything that they felt was corrupt and needed reform, such as unsanitary conditions and housing. Two Famous muckrakers, Upton Sinclair and Jacob Riis, wrote books that would expose two of the biggest scandals of the Progressive Era.
Muckrakers, journalists who exposed social, economic and political evils, controlled media and therefore had profound influence over the th...
Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.
Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as crucial members of our society. Ideally, their main goal was to represent and satisfy the needs of the American people. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years, our trust in our administrative representatives has drastically declined. Beginning with the great conspiracy theory that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was actually planned by political leaders, America had, for the first time in history, begun to question its faith in its very own government. Consequently, the American people became extremely hesitant when it came to electing officials into office. Despite his loss to JFK in the 1960 presidential election, in 1968, Richard M. Nixon was elected as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He was praised by many for his comeback after previously losing an election and seemed to be an admirable man. While in office, Nixon made many achievements and followed through with all of his promises made during his campaign. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the American people had finally elected a leader who seemed unquestionably trustworthy – or so they thought. Unfortunately, shortly after Nixon was elected to his second term of presidency in 1972, the Watergate Scandal changed America forever by creating a sense of mistrust toward the government for the American people because of The Nixon Administration’s actions.
The movie “All the President's Men” (1976), is based on the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein two Washington Post newspaper writers, who uncovered the cover-up of the White House's involvement in the Democratic Party National headquarters, Watergate, break-in. At first, Bob Woodward discovers what seems to be a minor break-in but is surprised to find that top lawyers were already on the defense case. He also discovers that names and addresses of Republican fund organizers were being accused, which further aroused his suspicions. When he brings this to the attention of the head of the Washington Post, he is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. Their findings of this break-in paved a path that lead to the White House, where it was soon learned that President Richard M. Nixon of the USA, was involved and resigned after Woodward and Bernstein’s findings. Conversely, my two significant instances are, Woodward and Bernstein’s actions on their process of contacting the sources that were involved because they worked for the re-election committee. The other instance I chose is that of both Woodward and Bernstein intruding into the house of Mr. Sloan very late at night, a man well interacted with the political figures they were researching on. Woodward and Bernstein didn’t abide by many of the values and ethics theories we’ve learned from our book and in class. It also seemed as if the unethical actions they to...
The old proverb “the Pen is mightier than the sword” (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy) still holds significance in protecting of public rights. Words such as freedom, and liberty engendered the idea for democracy. Such words formed into sentences and paragraphs enlightened the public to take action against tyranny and corruption. Freedom of the press is what ensured the general masses of their public rights. The exemplary case in which the freedom of the press played a role was the endeavors of Woodward and Bernstein to unravel the corrupted politics behind the Watergate Scandal. The movie All the President’s Men depicts the proceedings of the Watergate scandal, the scheme to attack the crux of democracy: “ the open election”. Also how the two journalists of the Washington Post progressed to unveil the relationship between the Watergate Burglary and the White House. On one hand, the movie represents the role of the media in its obligation to convey the truth to the masses. On the other hand, the movie reflects political corruption and conspiracy. The accomplishment of Woodward and Bernstein presents the importance of the interaction between the media, the government, and the general masses of society. The role of the media is not only to intervene between the State and the public, but also to take account of public ideas and to apply those ideas to new policies. Also, the media acts as a safeguard to prevent the corruption of the State. Thus, the Watergate scandal signifies the significance of the media as an intermediary between the government and the public mass.
The modern term of the Muckrakers are investigative journalism and investigative journalists which today are often called “muckrakers”. The muckraker was used in the Progressive Era in 1900-1917. They wrote about the corruption and injustices in order to make better changes in society. Muckrakers were coined by the progressive president who’s known as Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Theodore
"Watergate generated an attitude of cynicism and mistrust that remains with us today," said Watergate historian Stanley I. Kutler.” Fred Wertheimer, president of Common Cause, a citizens lobby that flourished because of Watergate, said that "Watergate was the greatest political scandal of our time." “ In the years since Nixon's downfall, Watergate has provided the prevailing metaphor for scandal in Washington. Not only are the terms cover-up and stonewall now permanent parts of the political lexicon, but every new flurry of allegations of political wrongdoing usually gets a shorthand name ending in gate. As a benchmark for scandal, Watergate has never been exceeded. Even the Iran-Contra affair, which crippled the presidency of Ronald Reagan, was viewed as much less serious than Watergate because it did not lead to impeachment of the President… And, while Watergate brought about many changes in government ethics laws, some experts believe it also institutionalized what author Suzanne Garment terms "the politics of scandal," a widely held presumption that our politicians are corrupt.” “[Nixon’s] abuse of presidential power
During these difficult economic times sensationalism has become more prevalent in the media. Stories involving sex scandals and child murders have taken over our T.V and internet screens as well as the front pages of our newspapers. The media bias of sensationalism has been used as a sort of escapism for readers. Although it may seem that sensationalism has just started making waves, it has been around for decades. Sensationalism has been influencing viewers and contributing to media bias since the days of the penny press. Sensationalisms long history has been turbulent, self-serving, and influential to today’s reporting practices. With the influence over readers’ sensationalism’s media bias have and will continue to affect media reporting for years to come.
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.