Nearby Words

yellow journalism

Origin
World English Dictionary
yellow journalism
 
n
the type of journalism that relies on sensationalism and lurid exaggeration to attract readers
 
[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]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Yellow journalism is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

yellow journalism
"sensational chauvinism in the media," 1898, Amer.Eng. from newspaper agitation for war with Spain; originally "publicity stunt use of colored ink" (1895) in ref. to the popular Yellow Kid"character (his clothes were yellow) in Richard Outcault's comic strip "Shantytown" in the "New York World."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

yellow journalism definition


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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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