Yellow Journalism vs Muckraking

Yellow journalism and muckraking are styles of writing established in the early years of journalism. There is oftentimes confusion about the two, so I am here to explain them.  

Yellow Journalism

In simple terms, yellow journalism can be defined as an exaggerated, exploitative, sensational style of news reporting. It originally emerged at the end of the 19th century when rival newspaper publishers were competing for sales in the coverage of events leading up to the Spanish-American War in 1898. 

Richard F. Outcault was a cartoonist who created the the "Yellow Kid," a popular cartoon character at that time. At first, Outcault drew the comic strip for Pulitzer's newspaper, but was soon hired by Hearst in order to increase the sales of his magazine, since Outcault's comic strips was extremely popular. That is where the name "Yellow Journalism" came from. 

During this time, most of their coverage was on Cuba who was trying to gain independence from Spain. Most Americans were in support of Spain leaving Cuba, with Hearst and Pulitzer being at the forefront of that coverage. 

There were times where Hearst and Pulitzer exaggerated how Spain ruled and published stories about the country that were completely untrue.

It all came to a head when both publishers put out stories that claimed Spain plotted to sink the U.S. battleship, the Maine. Fueled by the anti-Spanish beliefs in these newspapers, the Spanish-American War began.

What is Muckraking?

Muckraking was a type of investigative journalism that outed public figures and institutions for their wrongdoings. This was usually done by a group of journalists called muckrakers and these writers believed in social reform. 

This occurred during the Progressive Era of the United States where social and political reform was at an all-time high. Institutions were being criticized for how they treated workers, which led to labor unions. 

While men mostly dominated the journalism profession, most of the well-known muckrakers were women. Ida Tarbell was known for her book, The History of the Standard Oil Company which highlighted the controversial practices done by the company and its tycoon, John D. Rockefeller.

Ida B. Wells is another famous, female muckraker. An African American writer and teacher, Wells received the title of a muckraker for exposing lynch mobs and racism in the South.