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You wish to know my "confidential opinion as to the honesty of the
Associated Press." My opinion, not confidential, is that it is the damndest, meanest monopoly on the face of the earth--the wet-nurse for all other monopolies. It lies by day, it lies by night, and it lies for the very lust of lying.
405:
Sinclair challenged those who charged him with inaccuracy to review his published facts and to sue him for libel if they found he had been wrong. None did. But because
Sinclair was denied access to the mainstream media to refute those charges, they assumed the aura of truth and gave the book a
293:
what can and cannot be printed. Journalists routinely invent stories. To stimulate circulation, newspapers sensationalize trivial stories and destroy lives and reputations. Errors and slanders are never retracted, or the retraction is buried in the paper months later.
269:
causes and
Sinclair's investigations of business corruption, cases where he was not personally involved, and proposed remedies. Sinclair incorporates other people's reactions to his cause into his nonfiction works, fostering objectivity.
357:
Sinclair recognized that a grass-roots response (mass meetings, demonstrations, circulating pamphlets, etc.) was not adequate when the mass media spread misinformation or ignored the truth. His main proposed remedies were:
344:
tactics practiced by U.S. government and corporations during World War I were continued after the war against political dissenters. Sinclair writes, "oday all the energies which were directed against the
253:
and given to the woman of his choice. Sinclair implies that, in a similar fashion, the owners of the mass media purchase journalists' services in supporting the owners' political and financial interests.
425:, even refused to run paid advertisements for the book." And "those historians who bother to mention The Brass Check dismiss it as ephemeral, explaining that the problems it depicts have been solved."
160:, along with a few magazines. Other critiques of the press had appeared, but Sinclair reached a wider audience with his personal fame and lively, provocative writing style. Among those critiqued was
285:. In both cases, their purpose is to promote the business interests of the paper's owners, the owner's bankers, and/or the paper's advertisers. This is accomplished in several ways; among them: The
301:(AP) wire service fail to serve the public interest in the same way as employees of the individual papers. Controlled by 41 large newspaper corporations, the AP acts in their interests.
418:
s analysis of the media accurate and valuable. It is "muckraking at its best" and "astonishingly prescient in its critique of the coziness of big media and other corporate interests."
175:"the most important and most dangerous book I have ever written." The University of Illinois Press released a new edition of the book in 2003, which contains a preface by
421:
However, on its publication "ost newspapers refused to review the book, and those very few that did were almost always unsympathetic. Many newspapers, like the
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in its files, and a memorandum in the file noted that the directing manager of the
Associated Press "has in his possession a confidential report on the book,
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a law that any newspaper which prints a false statement shall be required to give equal prominence to a correction, on penalty of a substantial fine.
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183:. The text is also freely available on the Internet, as Sinclair opted not to copyright the text in an effort to maximize its readership.
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Sinclair criticizes newspapers as ultra-conservative and supporting the political and economic powers that be, or as sensational
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Fengler, Susanne. "Holding the news media accountable: A study of media reporters and media critics in the United States."
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337:, Sinclair offered the results of his investigations to the newspapers for publication, but was almost entirely ignored.
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Nalbach, Alex. ""Poisoned at the Source"? Telegraphic News
Services and Big Business in the Nineteenth Century."
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weekly chronicle of news, without advertisements or editorials, cheaply printed and widely available.
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the AP's monopoly, which he saw as a "public utility", should be challenged by other wire services.
246:" of capitalist greed to shape economic relations provides the best result for society as a whole.
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586:) Corroborates Sinclair's claim that the corporate control of the AP shaped the news it reported.
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This article is about the Upton
Sinclair book. For 1918 American silent comedy-drama film, see
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reporters must unionize so they have the power to fix their wage-scale and their ethical code.
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Sinclair, Upton; McChesney, Robert W. (Introduction) & Ben Scott (Introduction) (2003).
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Days of Anger, Days of Hope: A Memoir of the League of
American Writers, 1937-1942.
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54.1 (May 2002): 1-14. Adapted from the foreword to the 2003 reprint edition of
681:
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209:
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The book is one of the "Dead Hand" series: six books
Sinclair wrote on American
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reputation for inaccuracy that caused it to be almost forgotten by midcentury.
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For much of
Sinclair's career he was known as a "two book author": for writing
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has three sections: documented cases of newspapers' refusal to publicize
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Sumpter, Randall S. "The Brass Check: A Study of
American Journalism."
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498:(Reprinted ed.). Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press.
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a law forbidding any newspaper to fake telegraph or cable dispatches.
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Among the recent events whose media coverage he discusses are the
564:"Upton Sinclair and the contradictions of capitalist journalism."
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Upton Sinclair and the contradictions of capitalist journalism.
469:(Illustrated ed.). Pasadena, CA: Published by the Author.
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The first code of ethics for journalists was created in 1923.
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Press watchdogs at the time of publication and recently find
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published in 1919. It focuses mainly on newspapers and the
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Its news-gatherers, I sincerely believe, only obey orders.
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A brass check was the token purchased by a customer in a
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Sinclair quotes a letter from the editor of the weekly
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Hicks, Granville. "The Survival of Upton Sinclair".
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582:, 77:4 (Winter 2003), 577-611. (Available through
200:in its first decade and sold over 150,000 copies.
672:"Journalism, Democracy, ... and Class Struggle."
496:The Brass Check. A Study of American Journalism
463:The Brass Check. A Study of American Journalism
449:The Brass Check. A Study of American Journalism
438:The Brass Check. A Study of American Journalism
238:(literature). The term "Dead Hand" criticizes
971:The Goose-step: A Study of American Education
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333:whipped up by the newspapers. As a tireless
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613:Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
912:The Flivver King: A Story of Ford-America
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624:Folsom, Franklin. "Notes on Writergate."
349:have been turned against the radicals."
228:(elementary and high school education),
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1069:1934 California gubernatorial election
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319:Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912
234:(great literature, art and music) and
680:McChesney, Robert W. and Scott, Ben.
562:McChesney, Robert W. and Scott, Ben.
38:Ninth, and Revised Edition with Index
7:
987:Mental Radio: Does it work, and how?
628:47:1 (May 1995), 25. Excerpted from
196:Sinclair organized ten printings of
995:Upton Sinclair Presents William Fox
455:. Montclair.edu English Department.
297:The editors and journalists of the
653:Klein, Julia M. "Sinclair Redux."
14:
327:Industrial Workers of the World
856:The Journal of Arthur Stirling
1:
657:. 45:2 (Jul/Aug 2006), 58-61.
644:4:4 (January, 1943), 213-220.
281:, such as newspapers run by
615:80:4 (Winter 2003), 818-32.
212:. The series also includes
73:Self (Pasadena, California)
16:1919 book by Upton Sinclair
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655:Columbia Journalism Review
242:concept that allowing an "
164:, who made routine use of
149:of American journalism by
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1064:End Poverty in California
530:. 29:2 (Summer 2003), 95.
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837:The Return of Lanny Budd
1125:Criticism of journalism
1120:Books by Upton Sinclair
955:The Profits of Religion
706:, Bloomington, Indiana.
580:Business History Review
283:William Randolph Hearst
215:The Profits of Religion
162:William Randolph Hearst
115:The Profits of Religion
1130:Books about journalism
1115:1919 non-fiction books
880:They Call Me Carpenter
694:Sinclair’s papers for
569:54.1 (May 2002), 1-14.
335:investigative reporter
321:in West Virginia, the
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21:The Brass Check (film)
677:52:6 (November 2000).
670:McChesney, Robert W.
325:in Colorado in 1914,
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65:Sociology, Muckraking
1135:Self-published books
1080:Upton Sinclair House
813:Presidential Mission
224:(higher education),
1074:Mary Craig Sinclair
1046:There Will Be Blood
383:Political reception
177:Robert W. McChesney
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829:O Shepherd, Speak!
789:Presidential Agent
765:Between Two Worlds
704:Indiana University
528:Journalism History
410:Critical reception
329:meetings, and the
308:, James H. Barry:
306:San Francisco Star
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1086:¡Que viva México!
749:Lanny Budd series
460:Sinclair, Upton.
446:Sinclair, Upton.
435:Sinclair, Upton.
353:Remedies proposed
279:yellow journalism
258:Detailed synopsis
166:yellow journalism
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90:Publication place
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158:wire service
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939:Non-fiction
757:World's End
698:are at the
600:Chapter LIX
441:. Teleread.
277:practicing
1109:Categories
1076:(2nd wife)
1022:The Jungle
864:The Jungle
514:References
342:propaganda
287:publishers
189:The Jungle
144:muckraking
979:Mammonart
872:King Coal
740:Works by
602:, p. 381.
546:, p. 429.
485:ignored (
475:cite book
331:Red Scare
289:tell the
267:Socialist
231:Mammonart
181:Ben Scott
103:Hardcover
70:Publisher
429:Editions
275:tabloids
204:Overview
54:Language
1057:Related
376:endowed
291:editors
251:brothel
101:Print (
57:English
1049:(2007)
1041:(1967)
1033:(1932)
1025:(1914)
1006:(1956)
998:(1933)
990:(1930)
982:(1925)
974:(1923)
966:(1919)
958:(1917)
950:(1911)
931:(1976)
923:(1938)
915:(1937)
907:(1931)
899:(1928)
896:Boston
891:(1927)
883:(1922)
875:(1917)
867:(1906)
859:(1903)
840:(1953)
832:(1949)
824:(1948)
816:(1947)
808:(1946)
800:(1945)
792:(1944)
784:(1943)
776:(1942)
768:(1941)
760:(1940)
502:
347:Kaiser
147:exposé
130:
117:
44:Author
584:JSTOR
467:(PDF)
453:(PDF)
142:is a
62:Genre
1093:Mank
888:Oil!
500:ISBN
487:help
340:The
192:and
179:and
84:1919
402:."
392:FBI
374:an
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702:,
598:,
551:^
542:,
479::
477:}}
473:{{
218:,
733:e
726:t
719:v
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489:)
105:)
23:.
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