Yellow Journalism 101 – The New Yorker Magazine

Wow! I thought we were in the 21st Century. Obviously, the tabloid escapades of the early 20th century have not totally lost their place in American journalism. The cover art of The New Yorker (July 21st edition) is a characterization of the rumors surrounding the Islamic ties of Senator Barack Obama that have been circulating around the internet for over a year. The difference, of course, is that e-mail chains and bloggers do not have the readership or the journalistic history of this publication.

This satirical cover art is an example of Yellow Journalism. For those of you who skipped your American government undergraduate course, Yellow Journalism is defined as sensationalized reporting that lowers journalistic standards in order to increase readership. Clearly, the cover art is meant to increase interest in readership, the question is what kind of long term impact this may have on the presidential race.

Will The New Yorker publish a similar cartoon of John McCain as an irate “Father Time” with his wife popping pills in the background? If not, then it may be proved that the intent of publishing of this cartoon was malicious. Then, Obama can file a libel suit against The New Yorker similar to the New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case of 1964 where the Supreme Court decided that a public official would have to prove actual malice in the publishing of misleading reporting.

Unfortunately, there will be a backlash because of this cover. There will be people who will say to me, “See, I told you Obama was a Muslim and he will destroy the country.” Even if The New Yorker did intend to show how far-fetched it would be for a sitting United States Senator to be in league with terrorists; the response of those it is trying to enlighten will be eclipsed by the visual on the cover.

Welcome to the world of Yellow Journalism 2008…where a picture is worth a thousand words and Americans do not bother to read more than ten of them.