Jazz Journalism: The Controversy that Matched Its Era

Shifting from the harrowing mood that veiled over most nations during World War I, the 1920s were advanced and glamorous to say the least. It was the decade of hot-headed women, jazz music, prohibition, F. Scott Fitzgerald and, surely, The American Dream; a grandiose party similar to those Gatsby hosted, that lasted for ten years. After Germany had been beaten down to an armistice agreement, blinding optimism led America into the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. Driven by new genres of music, a prospering stock market and illegal alcohol running through their veins, people became interested in new developments that were introduced in the progressive society of the 20s. Along with mostly everything, journalism took a drastic turn in terms of writing and storytelling. Heavy-hearted war news transformed into contentious and sensational stories about sex, Hollywood and crime with a relatively uninhibited pursuit to quality news since there was a small range of intelligence, reasoning and observation. This shortly became known as ‘jazz journalism,’ adopting the name from the genre of jazz music which practically defined the entire decade. The Harlem Renaissance was one of the most influential movements at the time. In this essay, I will discuss the elements of jazz journalism, the new ways of storytelling and specific cases regarding it, as well as the criticism it received due to its controversy. Finally, I will mention the fall of its importance upon the face of The Great Depression.

Newspapers are known for certain characteristics. Perhaps, nowadays, they are not as prevalent as they used to be due to them being overshadowed by the convenience of the web. Nonetheless, newspapers provided and continue to provide us with local news in a timely manner that informs and entertains us. This newborn form of journalism during the 1920s in America focused widely on its sensationalism and content that was by no means dull. What did this mean? It particularly meant that local stories were presented in such a way with the intention to provoke and spark excitement and suspense within the audience. Jazz journalism was, as we know it now, tabloid journalism or also known as yellow journalism which was present even in the previous century introduced by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. It was very gossip ridden, which was the ideal way to turn more and more heads in pure curiosity to find out more. Murder and crime are extensively sensational subjects, because they inevitably cause an uproar of suspicion and excitement for the passive viewers. Newspapers at the time aimed at increasing its sensationalism even more through the specific writing style. According to a book called “Social Utility of Sensational News: Murder and Divorce in the 1920's” written by John D. Stevens and published in 1985, murder is in inherently sensational subject, however the writer’s potential is just as important in this style because they even made divorce a sensational subject by touching on sexual taboos (53.) Emotional approaches were highly vital in jazz journalism.

One of the most well-known stories circulating in the 1920s was that of Ruth Snyder and her lover Henry Judd murdering her husband. Snyder was unhappy in her marriage from the day it began. Adultery was not necessarily unheard of during that decade, nor was it frowned upon as much considering the new elevated role of an independent flapper woman who had proceeded on gaining a heady sense of freedom. However, this case managed to stand out through additional elements. It surpassed sensational boundaries and received mass recognition, primarily because it reported the story behind the first ever photograph of a defendant on death row and it has gone down as the most famed image in photojournalism. It was published by New York Daily News on January 13th, 1928. “Ruth Snyder dying in the electric chair was the best-selling paper in America at the time,” (Simkin, 2014, p. 93). Circulation skyrocketed that particular day, creating a frenzy for the adulterous woman with hypnotizing abilities to lure her lover into the conspiracy of a staged murder. The image that made every front page was snapped without consent by a passerby who had come to watch the execution.

Similar to the majority of things and for the most part, there are always two sides to a situation. Tabloid journalism tends to be closely related to bad journalism; somehow shallow. We can confirm with a satisfying degree of certainty that jazz journalism received a lot of criticism and continued to do so many years later after its time was up. Although, the sensationalism of jazz journalism lives vicariously through tabloids up to today. “The public outcries against unsavory content increased sharply with the 1924 trial of Loeb and Leopold,” (Stevens, 1985, p. 53). The case of these two homosexual men kidnapping and murdering an adolescent boy. It was, in fact, characterized as the crime of the century and inevitably there was vast criticism and distaste surrounding it. And so, the uproar of controversy aimed at jazz journalism led to certain measures. “Born in response to the sensationalism of Jazz Journalism, the ASNE code stood the test of time, as journalism has become more professional,” (Saalberg, 1973, p. 731). This was a code of ethics known as the Canons of Journalism approved in 1923, constituted of nine different aspects which were: Responsibility, Freedom of the Press, Independence, Sincerity, Truthfulness, Accuracy, Impartiality, Fair Play and Decency. It was established dedicated to “enhancing the status of journalists, and protecting them from unfair attacks,” (Evensen, 1989, p. 54). Jazz journalism did not always abide with all of these areas of code. Taking the most obvious example, and one already mentioned prior, the first ever image in photojournalism of Ruth Snyder strapped in the electric chair broke the aspect of fair play. In reality, it was strictly prohibited to take pictures or even bring cameras in the execution chamber as the execution was in action.

Regardless, jazz journalism lost its appeal by 1930 with The Wall Street crash. People lost interest in speakeasies and crimes, simply because they had more serious issues of their own to face. Unemployment rose, revenues drastically fell, and interests of the public became duller.

Overall, I believe that jazz journalism was the perfect fit for such a time period like the 1920s. People were optimistic, careless and indulgent, because this is what the circumstances offered. Societal values were unsettled, and this led to fundamental changes in everything, journalism being one of them. Indeed, sensational journalism was relatively superficial considering the thirst for taboos and topics which were only meant to arouse emotion rather than inform or construct the public sphere. Although, again, it merely only followed timely trends as do most things no matter the year or place. Tabloid journalism, which is jazz journalism of recent time, continues to thrive yet receive criticism nowadays as well. People rarely admit this, but gossip is entertaining and perhaps at times necessary in order to escape from the monotonous reality of politics, bills and loans even if it is just for a few minutes. However, there are always boundaries to maintain in order to remain within somewhat acceptable frames. Journalism has withstood the test of time, morphing into and taking different appearances and approaches. Jazz journalism was solely a glistening disguise of entertainment to keep up with current developments.

Bibliography

Evensen. B. (1989). Journalism's Struggle over Ethics and Professionalism During America's Jazz Age.

Journalism History, paged: 53-64

Saalberg, H. (1973). The Canons of Journalism: A 50-Year Perspective. Journalism Quarterly, Volume:

50 issue: 4, page(s): 731-734

Simkin, S. (2014). Cultural Constructions of the Femme Fatal: Ruth Snyder (1891-1928). Palgrave

Macmillan, London

Stevens, J. (1985). Social Utility of Sensational News: Murder and Divorce in the 1920's. Journalism

Quarterly, Volume: 62 issue: 1, page(s): 53-58