What business model did early newspaper favor in terms of what they covered and how they covered it?

For this one, use at least one of the readings either from Popular Culture in American History or from
the packet, feel free to use more than one source if you like. You should probably need two to four
pages; but word counts are less important than building and completing your argument.
You may submit your work by e-mail, to the address on the syllabus, or in print, in class.
1. Americans often understand their world through news. The framers of our constitution
imagined a free press was essential to a functional republic. How and why did American news
grow as a business in the age of the penny press in the early to mid nineteenth century? What
business model did early newspaper favor in terms of what they covered and how they covered
it? Why did this approach not change with the advent of televsion or internet news, or did it?
2. Minstrel shows were overtly racist; yet remained an important part of American popular culture
for a century or more. Who went to Minstrel shows? What would they see there? Why did
Minstrel shows become so popular that the music from them would be taught in grade schools
down to the present day? Today we understand the power of representation in media. How and
might the Minstrel shows have effected the representation of black Americans in culture long
after the minstrel show, into the age of radio, television, and movies?

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