Historical perspective:

The term yellow journalism came from a popular New York World comic called
"Hogan's Alley," which featured a yellow-dressed character named the "the
yellow kid." Determined to compete with Pulitzer's World in every way, rival New
York Journal owner William Randolph Hearst copied Pulitzer's sensationalist style
and even hired "Hogan's Alley" artist R.F. Outcault away from the World. In
response, Pulitzer commissioned another cartoonist to create a second yellow
kid. Soon, the sensationalist press of the 1890s became a competition between
the "yellow kids," and the journalistic style was coined "yellow journalism."Yellow
Journalism is a term used for the use of negligent and flamboyant newspaper
reporting, without regard to facts. With yellow journalism the truth is usually
misrepresented or concealed, more often than not, there may be no truth to the
story at all.

Meaning:
Yellow journalism usually refers to sensationalistic or biased stories that
newspapers present as objective truth. Yellow journalism, a term used for the use
of negligent and flamboyant newspaper reporting without regard to facts, is
examined in this paper. Its history and development, its purpose in the media and
its impact on history are discussed.
"Yellow Journalism is a term used for the use of negligent and flamboyant
newspaper reporting, without regard to facts. With yellow journalism the truth is
usually misrepresented or concealed, more often than not, there may be no truth
to the story at all.

Yellow journalism and the yellow press are any journalism that treats news in an
unprofessional, unethical, and sensationalized pattern. The techniques utilized in
yellow journalism include exaggeration of news stories, events, and untrue
information.
It involves sensationalism of news, distorted stories, and misguiding images and
information for the sole purpose of increasing newspaper sales, exciting public
opinion, and attracting them.
According to Frank Luther Mott, Yellow Journalism can be defined based on five
characteristics that are as follows;

 Scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news

 Lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings
 Use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudoscience, and a
parade of false Learning from so-called experts
 Emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips
 Dramatic sympathy with the “underdog” against the system
Some other characteristics of yellow journalism are stated below:
 The use of multicolumn headlines, oversized pictures, bold colors, and
dominant graphics.
 Self-promotion within the news medium to increase the audience of a
particular newspaper or news channel.
 There are a certain set of topics that were given preference based on
the interest of the audience always, topics like politics, war,
international diplomacy, entertainment, and sports were generally given
a front-page placement to make them more attractive and appealing.
 The journalists and publishers always tried to make an attractive layout.
Sometimes, page number one would only have a single piece of article
to grab readers’ attention more. Along with the layout and article, they
emphasized using different illustrations.
 This type of news usually did not have any verified source.
Impact of Yellow Journalism on Society
 Sensationalization of cultural norms
 Persuade politics interest
 Gender Discrimination
 It creates fear in public.
 Conflicts: Human security issues and country security issues
 Mass Media and Interest of Public: Norms and various Ethics of Media
 The danger to the credibility of Mass Media and Democracy
 Media Change and Social Change- Promoting Violent Behavior and
irrelevant practices
 Yellow journalism increases readers and sales in unethical ways.