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

See Examples For:

yellow journalism

The video recalls the yellow journalism of William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal — only now, what once took hours to print and eventually reached thousands can be created in seconds and seen by millions.

From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2025

He accused the Telegraph of yellow journalism and “effectively putting words in one’s mouth.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2023

If the yellow journalism of the 19th century can be defined by the sensationalistic “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality, pink slime is the opposite.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 12, 2022

It’s nothing of the sort, but this unique brand of yellow journalism has earned the site 75,000 Facebook shares and counting.

From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2014

To scale a steeple in order to describe the city from that unusual point of view was a task worthy of yellow journalism which cared little for accuracy but much for "scare" headlines.

From Concerning Lafcadio Hearn With a Bibliography by Laura Stedman by George M. (George Milbrey) Gould