An article in today’s New York Times looked at the relatively recent trend of mega-wealthy individuals buying newspapers — a state of affairs that should cause at least a mild case of déjà vu for anyone conversant in the history of the medium.
Consider this excerpt from the second page of the online version of the article:
If you pull back a few thousand feet, you can see newspapers coming full circle. Before World War II, newspapers were mostly owned by political and business interests who used them to push an agenda. People like William Randolph Hearst and Robert McCormick wielded their newspapers as cudgels to get their way. It was only when newspapers began making all kinds of money in the postwar era that they were professionalized and infused with editorial standards.
“We are going back to a form of ownership that dominated in an earlier era,” said Alan D. Mutter, a newspaper and technology consultant. “As newspapers become less impressive businesses, people are going to buy them as trophies or bully pulpits or some other form of personal expression.”
If you’re interested in mass media, past and present, I’d encourage you to take a moment to read the entire article.
