Meaning & use
yellow journalism
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Meanings
noununcountabledisapproving
News reporting that grabs attention with shocking claims and exaggeration instead of checked facts.
Grammar: Uncountable: yellow journalism sells papers, not 'a yellow journalism'.
Patterns
- accuse someone of yellow journalism
- an example of yellow journalism
Critics called the paper's front page yellow journalism because it invented a scandal.
The editor accused rivals of yellow journalism for printing rumors as facts.
Students studied yellow journalism in their media class.
noununcountablespecialist
The sensational newspaper style of the 1890s American press war between Hearst and Pulitzer.
Grammar: Historical sense; often capitalized in history books: the era of yellow journalism.
Patterns
- the era of yellow journalism
Yellow journalism flourished in New York in the 1890s.
Historians say yellow journalism pushed the public toward war in 1898.
The name came from a comic strip character called the Yellow Kid.
Common combinations
- accuse of yellow journalism
- They accused the tabloid of yellow journalism.
- era of yellow journalism
- The era of yellow journalism lasted a few decades.
- practice yellow journalism
- Some outlets still practice yellow journalism online.
- yellow journalism headlines
- Yellow journalism headlines screamed about disasters.
- example of yellow journalism
- The story was an example of yellow journalism.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sensationalism
- Sensationalism is the general habit of making things sound shocking, while yellow journalism is a specific kind of newspaper practice.
- tabloid journalism
- Tabloid journalism describes a popular, gossip-heavy style, but it is not always dishonest like yellow journalism.
- muckraking
- Muckraking exposes real corruption, whereas yellow journalism distorts to attract readers.
- clickbait
- Clickbait is the online version of luring readers with exaggerated headlines.
Opposites
Word family
- journalism noun
- the work of reporting news
- journalist noun
- a person who reports news
- journalistic adjective
- relating to journalism
- yellow press noun
- newspapers that practice sensational reporting
Commonly confused: yellow journalism or yellow press?
yellow journalism vs yellow press
Yellow press refers to the newspapers themselves, while yellow journalism refers to their style or practice.
Practice
A newspaper that invents shocking stories to sell more copies is accused of ______.
Choose one answer.
Yellow journalism means sensational, exaggerated reporting. Investigative reporting and fact-checking aim at accuracy, and peer review is an academic process.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “yellow journalism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.