Lee Jolliffe, professor of journalism, has a chapter in David Sachsman’s new book After the War: The Press in a Changing America, 1865-1900 (Transaction, 2017).

The chapter is “ ‘Black Fiends’ and ‘Atrocious Murders’: Redefining ‘Sensationalism’ through Coverage of Interracial Crime in the Nineteenth Century”. Jolliffe looked at reporting of interracial murders featuring European-, African-, Asian-, and Native Americans and learned that the elements traditionally ascribed to “sensationalism”—the large headlines and incendiary graphics of the New York yellow press—are not the only indicators of that style. Smaller inland newspapers with tiny circulations and lacking the budgets for giant headline fonts and complex engravings, also practiced sensationalism. Their use of it appears in headlines, language use, overplaying of stories for impact, highlighting any presence of race, blaming, fear-mongering, inclusion of gory details, and calling readers to action—often lynching or cheering for summary justice. The overarching purpose of the interracial murder coverage appeared to be a strong enforcement of a social norm that races must be kept separate or mayhem would ensue.

—Lee Joliffe, School of Journalism and Mass Communication