One of the chief dangers of writing the history of recent events is precisely the lack of distance that we have from them. We should be wary of the adage that journalism is the “first rough draft of history.” First impressions of participant observers are not always the most accurate or perceptive source of historical insight. In court cases, in fact, eyewitness testimony is often found to be the least reliable evidence.
By the twentieth century, unprecedented forms of mass communications had made it possible to produce journalistic “first drafts” that were captivating, vivid, and believable—and yet one-sided, oversimplified, or otherwise misleading.
We saw some indications of this problem even before the century began. Consider the role that mass-circulation daily newspapers played in 1898. They sensationalized the explosion of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor and inflamed public opinion against the Spanish, pushing America toward war before the facts were known.
Two decades later, during the First World War, the Creel Committee used sophisticated communications technologies and emotion-laden propaganda to mobilize public opinion in service of the war effort.
The same techniques of propaganda and sensationalism had their uses in peacetime. The 1920s were the first great era of national advertising, which went hand in hand with the development of a national consumer economy. Advertising stimulated consumer spending, which was fueled in part by the increased availability of consumer credit, allowing for the easy purchase of automobiles, radios, and other household appliances. Advertising also promoted spending on leisure activities like spectator sports and moviegoing, thus creating a version of celebrity culture. Radio and motion pictures took off during this decade, as did many newspapers and magazines. Events, media, celebrities, consumption—all were woven together.
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