yellow journalism

British  

noun

1. the type of journalism that relies on sensationalism and lurid exaggeration to attract readers

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yellow journalism Cultural  

1. Inflammatory, irresponsible reporting by newspapers. The phrase arose during the 1890s, when some American newspapers, particularly those run by William Randolph Hearst, worked to incite hatred of Spain, thereby contributing to the start of the Spanish-American War. Newspapers that practice yellow journalism are called yellow press.

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Etymology

Origin of yellow journalism

C19: perhaps shortened from the phrase Yellow Kid journalism, referring to the Yellow Kid, a cartoon (1895) in the New York World, a newspaper having a reputation for sensationalism

Example Sentences

Yellow journalism persists, but largely on the fringes of the press and is pale compared with what it was in the heyday of William RandolphHearst.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yellow journalism and rag-time tunes will not help their taste in speech or song, nor will violent hues improve their taste in matters of color.

From A Color Notation A measured color system, based on the three qualities Hue, Value and Chroma by Munsell, A. H. (Albert Henry)

"Yellow journalism," which is largely the reflection of common rumor, affords constant examples of witnesses that give questionable evidence.

From Practical Argumentation by Pattee, George K.

Yellow journalism is a matter of typography and theatrics.

From Commercialism and Journalism by Holt, Hamilton