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"Yellow Journalism" Does Not Mean What You Think It Means

A few months ago, a fellow who didn't like what I'd said in a review accused me of "Yellow Journalism." I wasn't quite sure how to take it. I knew a bit about the term's origin, but I wasn't actually all that familiar with its modern usage. So, I promised myself that I'd look into it a bit more as soon as I got the time. Here we are, a few months later, and I've had a chance to look it up, and here's the deal: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Most accounts trace it back to the 19th Century newspaper comic "The Yellow Kid," and cite it as the first recorded instance of a cartoon character spawning a vast merchandising empire. According to Mental Floss, the Yellow Kid is not far removed from Spongebob or Bart Simpson in this respect. So, while that guy seemed to be trying to accuse me of mean, shallow sensationalism (an ironic accusation, given the cause for his inclusion in my review,) he was actually just accusing me of establishing a brand that gets attention. Granted, I haven't gone so far as to inspire lunch boxes and plush Rob Callahan dolls, but I am otherwise in line with the idea.

People who aren't journalists make a few mistakes concerning the issue: First, they assume sensationalism is both new and bad. It isn't. At least not necessarily. In fact, it's often the quickest and most effective way to draw attention to an issue that warrants more attention, discussion and action. As noted on SearchEngineWatch.com, Joseph Pulitzer was considered a sensationalist:

Joseph Pulitzer caused a... brouhaha back in 1887 when he recruited Nellie Bly, the famous investigative journalist, to fake insanity in order write an exposé of a mental institution for the New York World. Pulitzer also added bolder headlines, more prominent illustrations, sports pages, women’s sections, and personal advice columns to the World.

Then in 1895, the World introduced The Yellow Kid comic by Richard F. Outcault, the first newspaper comic printed in color. A critic coined the term, "yellow journalism," as a damning label for all of this new kind of high-voltage content.

Today, virtually every high-quality newspaper has hired women reporters and adopted bold headlines, prominent illustrations, sports pages, women’s sections, personal advice columns, and comic strips. And they’d be honored if one of their reporters, photographers, videographers, graphic artists, producers, or journalists won a Pulitzer Prize.

So, if yesterday’s “yellow journalism” can become today’s award-winning journalism, is it possible that somewhere in the future how-to content specifically designed to satisfy search engine algorithms might also be considered high quality?

And that last bit about SEO (admittedly applied in the article to address content channels,) ties nicely in. I make it a point not to write articles that no one will want to read. I also make it a point to get some discussion going about whatever I've written. So, that's the second mistake people make: Thinking that a high profile write-up with the potential to spark important discussion that might not otherwise have been had is a shallow, sensationalist write-up.

The third mistake is probably in thinking that I'm very worried about this: I'm really not. I'm an author and an entertainer who was asked by a newspaper if he would cover the arts for them. I don't consider myself a journalist (although I've probably won more awards in the field than any detractors who come to mind,) I'm a fellow who knows how to write and understands the internet enough to get people reading what I've written. So, an allegation of yellow journalism wouldn't bother me even if it did mean what you think it means.

Because all it means is that people are genuinely interested in my opinions about stuff, and I'm willing to include opinions that won't always be well received. And, when I do, that's when people seem to pay the most attention.

Granted, I don't have a line of branded merchandise yet, but I'm still hopeful.