Sunday, February 25, 2007 10:44 PM CST
1799 newspaper shows changes in news styles
Coles County Historical Society hears presentation
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON -- The Newburyport Herald and Country Gazette hailed the late George Washington as “the hero of the age” and “the brightest ornament of human nature.”
“Washington was certainly held in high esteem then, and he is held in almost as high esteem now,” said Peter Voelz, professor of journalism at Eastern Illinois University and a history scholar.
Voelz used a Dec. 27, 1799, issue of the Newburyport newspaper as the centerpiece of a presentation on presidential and journalism history Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Historical Society’s Dudley House.
The newspaper, published in Massachusetts, is a relatively recent addition to the society’s archive. This paper was found in an 1869 Atlas of Coles County by John Renshaw and Joyce St.Michael.
The articles about Washington’s Dec. 14, 1799, death were not as prominently displayed on the front page as modern readers might expect. They were inserted in the midst of long columns of unrelated stories, a common newspaper layout of that era.
Pointing out differences in the media from the late 1700s to today, Voelz noted recent presidential announcements by Barack Obama and Mitt Romney did not get top billing from much of the television news media. He said they were “outshined” by the death of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.
“In Washington’s day, many politicians often had their own newspapers as a way of getting their message out,” said Voelz, adding that papers openly allied themselves with political parties.
Some newspapers supporting Washington’s detractors had actually referred to him as a “liar” or a “devil” and even called for him to be impeached, the professor said.
Voelz said the “era of the partisan press” began giving way to objective journalism after the Civil War. He said partisanship still surfaces at times within modern journalism, particularly in the highly competitive world of cable news.
Another characteristic of journalist writing during Washington’s time was the use of verbose and flowery language, Voelz said.
The Newburyport article about Washington’s death opens with two long paragraphs explaining how the passing of “the hero of the age” differs from the death of people of “common character” or even those of “more exalted worth.”
“When personages of more exalted worth are summoned from the scenes of sublunary existence, their death calls forth a burst of general regret, and invigorates the flame of public gratitude,” Voelz read aloud. He added, “That kind of writing and speaking was common down to Lincoln’s time.”
Voelz said Abraham Lincoln’s speeches, particularly “The Gettysburg Address,” made great use of simple, clear English, as well as parallels and repetition of key phrases. He said this set a standard that has been followed by President John F. Kennedy and many other presidents.
Speaking of the fallen Union soldiers at the Gettysburg battle site, Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
“We remember what his words were, what he said there, even more than what they (the soldiers) did,” Voelz said. “That is the power of language.”
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 KEN TREVARTHAN (JG/T-C)
Chelsea St.Michael takes a look at the Dec. 27, 1799, issue of The Newburyport Herald and Country Gazette on display Sunday afternoon during the Coles County Historical Society’s program on presidential and journalism history at the Dudley House in Charleston.
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Fxiccxypxc wrote on May 10, 2007 11:31 AM: