During the spanish-american war, the media took on a significant role in swaying public opinion. “yellow journalism,” or sensationalist journalism, focused on exaggerations and manipulations of events in order to shock readers. have you ever seen examples of sensationalist journalism in the newspapers or news programs that you watch? many media experts have commented that the news has been blended with entertainment in recent years. for this journal assignment, find at least one current example of sensationalist journalism. it can be in print, on television, or online. analyze the message. include these ideas in your analysis: the type of media where you found the sample and the date published or viewed what was the message? how was the message sensationalized? your opinions on the use of entertainment or sensationalism in the news: should journalists attempt to influence the public in order to affect political decisions? why or why not?

The OJ Simpson trial was sensational journalism even though a couple died but because OJ was a star NFL football player and a ABC Monday night football commentator his celebrity status caused the murder to be sensationalized.

Plain, straight news is too boring to keep the reader's or viewer's attention. Today there are so many public relations firms and government spokesmen/women to keep the news plain and simple is impossible. The public professionals know how to put spin, plenty of spin, on a story to make it entertaining. Parts of the news, like breaking emergency stories, for example the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico should be informative. If the story is about the academy awards, then it should be entertaining.

Journalists and editors regardless will always try to influence the readers/viewers. Attaching the emotional element of the story is usually what makes the story a good read or a good program. Some call it propaganda, others call it more simply advocacy. For example Fox TV is conservative and the New York Times is liberal. Both are pro America, and pro American values, they just present the story differently.