Benjamin Day: Innovator of the Penny Press Era - Essay Sample

Introduction

Benjamin Day is among the great men who were brilliant, innovative, and committed to serving people. Benjamin Day is famous for his newspaper, The New York Sun, which he founded on September 3, 1833. Benjamin contributed significantly towards the Penny Press Era by lowering the price of his New York Sun to one cent (McNamara, 2019). His contribution gave him a comparative advantage over the other magazines selling at high costs. New York Sun was readily available and affordable to the common man. The content in the newspaper was also changed to make it more attractive to the middle and lower class since it featured the simple life activities that the ordinary people undertook. New York Sun featured news based on crime, sexual abuse, and corruption. The story attracted the interest of many advertisers; hence, the magazine was on high demand, and it reached thousands of people, thus earning more profit to the industry. Benjamin Day's New York Sun has changed the era of newspapers and contributed to the evolution of American newspapers which has been achieved through innovations and adjustments casting back to what is seen in today's news.

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In the early years of the United States, newspapers were only available to a few people since they were expensive. Additionally, the printing of the newspapers was slow hence could not cater for the mass population. The publications mostly found in the larger cities and the content focused much on politics, therefore, couldn't easily reach the press. By 1830s, there were advancements in printing and technology (McNamara, 2018) which enabled many people to have access to the newspapers.

Introduction of the Penny Press ensured that the newspapers were easily affordable to the common man. Therefore, the newspaper magazine expanded rapidly. By 1850s, the American newspaper industry was governed by legendary editors such as James Gordon Bennett and Henry J. Raymond hence contributing to high-quality newspapers (McNamara, 2018). Public demand for news was high during the time of civil war. The extensive report would fill newspaper pages after the battles whereby, families later relied on the story to check on casualties.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the newspaper industry was suddenly strengthened by the strategies of two editors, William Randolph, and Joseph Pulitzer (McNamara, 2018). The two engaged in what was commonly known as Yellow Journalism and fought a war that made newspapers a crucial part in American life. At the beginning of the 20th century, papers were read in almost all-American homes. The events led to the success of the newspaper industry.

Today newspapers bring news to us through social media platforms such as snapchat, twitter, and The New York Times used WhatsApp. Newspapers have also evolved and taken extra effort to add value to the readers' desires to make reading more exciting. The changes include the Chicago Tribune which added additional opinion pages following the growing interest in readers. Today's newspapers also have apps with personalized content that helps readers to improve skills in their areas of interest. The fields may include cooking like in the New York Times Cooking App.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear on how Benjamin Day's New York Sun changed the world of American newspapers through his contributions, such as lowering prices of publications. Benjamin made the paper affordable and exciting to the middle and lower-class people. The American newspaper has evolved with time, and through advanced technology, printing was improved; thus, more papers were made available to the common man. The improved technology is reflected in today's news through the development of applications where people can easily access the information they need. Today's announcement is also accessible through social media such as snap chat and twitter.

References

McNamara, Robert. (2019, March 3). Benjamin Day. ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/benjamin-day-1773669

McNamara, Robert. (2018, October 25). History of Newspapers in America. ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-newspapers-in-america-4097503