Press in the USA

Press in the USA

 Most journalists consider the New York Times the nation’s most prestigious newspaper. Under Adolph S. Ochs, who bought the paper in 1896, the Times established itself as a serious alternative to sensationalist journalism. The paper stressed coverage of important national and international events a tradition which still continues. For many years the Times has been as a major reference tool by American libraries and standard reading for diplomats, scholars and government officials.

 The New York Times is only one of many daily newspapers that have become significant shapers of public opinion. Among the most prominent are the «Washington Post», the «Los Angeles Times», the «Boston Globe» and the «Christian Science Monitor». The «Miami Herald», for instance, responded to the needs of Spanish-speaking residents by presenting expensive coverage of Latin America and printing a separate Spanish edition. Satellite technology has made possible the first genuinely nationwide newspapers — from the sober, thorough business paper, the «Wall Street Journal», to the bright colors and personality orientation of «USA Today».

 But the largest readerships were won by magazines that catered to Americans’ increasing leisure time and appetite for consumer goods, such as «Cosmopolitan», the «Ladies Home Journal» and the «Saturday Evening Post». Publishers were no longer just selling reading material: they were selling readers to advertisers.