英文原稿/谢熊猫 翻译/国英斌
便士报纸出现的背景 在美国新闻业的历史上，便士报纸时代出现在杰克逊时代之后。杰克逊时代的报纸有着强烈的党派倾向和政治气息，党派报纸本质上通常是支持某一个政客的，这一点尤其缩短了报纸的发布面，使报纸只能有一个极小的读者群，这样报纸的价格便定的很高。党派报纸不仅价格较高，登载的新闻还缺少轰动效果，难以对仅有初等文化的工人阶级产生吸引力。报纸的政治气氛用今天的标准来衡量也差强人意。便士报纸诞生于19世纪30年代，在此之前美国社会的政治和商业取得了形式上的公平平等，但是仍然只有男性白人有选举权，并没有实现真正的民主。与不稳定的政治结构伴随而来的，是技工和商人经济地位的显著变化。当时的政治气氛与工人阶级性情的变化共同作用，促成了新闻业的商业化，便士报纸的出现成为历史的必然。 便士报业 第一份便士报纸是本杰明•戴创办的《太阳报》，从商业角度上讲，可以说它几乎是一夜走红。便士报纸产生后，美国报业的年发行量激增，从1828年的6800万份，飙升到1840年的1亿4800万份，增长了足足117%，而同期美国人口增长仅有40%。便士报纸之所以能广受普通大众欢迎，主要是因为它定价低。之前的报纸通常一份就要6便士，而且常常只提供订阅而不零售。而在那个时候，工人日薪通常只有1美元，就连技术最娴熟的技工也不例外，他们是买不起报纸的，况且，在19世纪中叶的美国，每个公司平均只雇佣8.15个工人。19世纪40年代中期之后，大量外来劳动力流入美国，有人这样描述此时的情况：“在美国六个最大的城市，只有费城的本国劳动力比外来劳动力多。”很明显，多数工人阶级选择了自谋生路，或者是在小作坊工作，这样一来，普通大众的收入不仅低，而且还不稳定。为了促进报纸的销售，便士报纸便应运而生，它把报纸的价格压低到一便士，即便是不宽裕的普通大众，也能得以从报纸上了解新闻，获知消息。 便士报纸之所以能大行其道，其新闻报道的风格和内容也功不可没。先前的报纸，其新闻缺少轰动效果，而便士报纸恰恰相反，它着重报道的是大众喜闻乐见的新闻。然而，它跟今天那些哗众取宠的新闻还不尽相同，因为它反映、传达社会动态，在关注事件本身的同时，更注重报道的风格。新闻报道中所采用的语言简短精炼，积极向上，平实而又清晰，对于仅受过初等教育的普通大众而言，这甚合他们的胃口，而且也为他们所能接受。直到今天，便士报业时代那种简洁的新闻语言风格，仍然被媒体业所延用。在报道手法上，便士报纸也为媒体业带来了另一项革命性创新。便士报纸不像从前的报纸那样引经据典，而是用现场采访和报道的方式，这些实践手段是由小詹姆斯•戈登•贝内特最先采用的，它一直沿用到今日，在新闻业仍然被奉为圭臬。1836年，理查德•罗宾逊-海伦•休伊特谋杀案轰动一时，在对该案的报道中，可以看到这些手段的效果。在后文中将会讨论该案例。 不容忽视的最后一点，是美国商业媒体的独立性，它同样也促成了便士报纸的成功。相对于同时期的欧洲报纸，美国的商业报纸受政府操控相对较少，而是跟工人阶级的发展一同前行。然而在德国、法国乃至英国等欧洲国家，报纸仍然要接受政府的审核，这一状况持续了很长的时间。 英国报业发展比美国同行要缓慢。1815年至1836年期间，英国的工人阶级已经意识到报纸跟他们的生活休戚相关，此时美国的工人阶级还鲜有想到用报纸来彰明他们的阶级身份。然而，后来独立的便士报业为美国工人阶级竭力争取阶级利益、阶级认同和权利，获得了发展的动力，把英国的报纸甩在了后面。到1887年，小詹姆斯•戈登•贝内特创办了《先驱报》，这份报纸在当时是《纽约先驱论坛报》的欧洲版，后来更名为《国际先驱论坛报》，自此美国的报界完全地超越了英国的同行。 **在工人阶级的崛起中便士报纸所起的作用 ** 1826年的纽约州宪法修正案，承认了白人男性的普选权，标志着从形式上实现了民主。这种政治上的普及让工人阶级意识到，原来在《独立宣言》和《人权法案》里，已经阐明了他们生来就有的权利。在此之前，工人阶级“竟然轻率地放权给那些享用他们劳动成果的劳动阶层，让他们为工人阶级的利益立法，对此工人阶级却没做什么考虑”。他们曾积年累月地受到不公正和贫穷的折磨，自从有了这个宪法修正案，情况终于得以改变，美国的工人阶级开始要求他们长期以来忽视的自由平等权利。此后纽约工人阶级的期刊《The Man》曾在1834年2月18日创刊号上声明： 现在美国人民必须要确定，他们的共和国，会是名副其实的共和国，还是仅仅虚有其名。人人生而平等的原则，是要切实履行，还是仍然当成口号。 _ 当时工人阶级在政治上的崛起，很大程度上是靠了便士报纸，这些报纸不带政治色彩，想说什么就说什么。而其根源在于便士报纸的广大读者，正如《太阳报》的标志里所宣称的：“普照大众”。经济和政治上的巨大变化催生了“中产阶级革命”。政治和商业上的民主化进程产生了一个时代，这个时代不适合精英主义者的存在，也不适合杰克逊时代的党派观念。便士报纸无党派特征，不牵扯政治，实行自由放任的政策，这非常适合当时正在崛起的中产阶级。便士报纸为普通人提供获取信息的渠道，帮助实现了民主化的过程，它击败了六便士才能买得到的报纸，帮助工人阶级打破了新闻的垄断；它让每个人都能获取知识，教人们去获取个人想要的知识，挑战并征服了贵族的保守主义。 的确，便士报纸的伟大编辑们认为他们是“社会改革家、普通大众利益的捍卫者。”他们的成就，印证了弗朗西斯•培根的名言：“知识就是力量。”他们使工人阶级真正拥有了权力。比如，贝内特的《先驱报》为开化的公众舆论提供了一个讨论的平台，普通人可以把他们的思考“建立在理智这一牢不可摧的基础上”。由于便士报纸的作用，笛卡尔的“我思故我在”在普通大众那里得到实现，工人阶级开始思考，他们的思考又进一步推动他们社会地位的提高。 便士报纸是同情工人阶级的，它为工人阶级争取利益，代表的是工人阶级的呼声。以下两个例子可以最好地证明这一点。本杰明•戴创办的《太阳报》一直力挺工会，1836年2月25日出版的一期甚至要求“增加工人收入”。霍勒斯•格里利的《论坛报》也对工人阶级的福利表示极大的关注。从1852年至1862年的十年间，报纸以专栏形式连续登载了卡尔.马克思的信件。在1866年纽约国会的中期选举中，格里利顺理成章地获得了工人阶级的支持。 不仅如此，便士报纸还因抨击精英主义文章而著名。本杰明•戴创办的《太阳报》曾指责《商业日报》，把它称作“富有贵族的小团伙”，他声称《商业日报》发表有党派性的文章是为了“获得读者，或者为了招徕广告客户”。小詹姆斯•贝尼特也对华盛顿的报纸大加挞伐，认为它们垄断了华盛顿的新闻。迈克尔•舒德森把便士报纸与售价六便士的党派报纸间的关系，说成是垄断寡头与工人阶级之间的“阶级冲突”。 小詹姆斯•贝尼特自己宣称，他在进行“一项伟大的事业——一项坚持揭露真相、支持公信、弘扬科学，反对虚假、欺诈和无知的事业”。正如他所说的这样，贝尼特开风气之先，恪守新闻的客观原则，坚持进行无党派偏见的报道。另外，由于便士报纸本质上是独立的，这样才可能不带偏见地为公众说话。在1836年对著名的理查德•罗宾逊-海伦•休伊特谋杀案的报道中，可以清晰见到报纸披露真相的努力。 在妓女海伦•休伊特被杀后不久，她的保护人理查德•罗宾逊便被逮捕，未经审讯过程便被指控有罪。贝尼特对这桩耸人听闻的谋杀案进行了最全面的报道，基于新闻记者和公众不得参加听证的事实，他对审理结果提出了质疑。于是公众便对此案结果表示怀疑，要求了解案件背后的阴谋。他们了解真相的欲望甚为强烈，这则追踪报道也成功的迎合了公众利益。理查德•罗宾逊最后逃脱了制裁，但是此案的意义超越了一个案件的范畴。这个事例表明了便士报纸的力量，它可以发动群众，对当局提出质疑，要求知晓真相。 结论： 本文描述了便士报纸出现的历史背景、促成其成功的若干主要因素、以及在19世纪的美国这种售价低廉的商业性报纸在工人阶级的崛起中起到的作用。当然便士报纸的贡献不仅限于此。它们中的一部分后来成为世界上发行量最大的报纸，如《国际先驱论坛报》、《纽约时报》等。然而一个自由的报社，对于社会的意义远不止此。EL•高德金曾说过：“一个没有报社的共和国不可能存在，它的存在是矛盾的。” **Before the Penny Press ** In the history of American journalism the Penny Press era was preceded by the Jacksonian era, one that is known for its highly partisan and political newspapers. The nature of a partisan newspaper which usually supported one politician in particular made the lifespan of the newspaper short and its audience narrow, thus causing the high pricing of the newspapers. In addition to the high price, the absence of sensationalism also made newspapers not attractive to the semiliterate working class. The political atmosphere was also dissatisfying in today's standard. Formal equality in both politics and commerce was achieved before the appearance of penny newspapers in the 1830s, however suffrage was still limited to white males and substantive democracy was yet to be achieved. The unstable political structure was accompanied by the distinct transformation in the artisans' and merchants' economic status, political influence and ideological awareness caused by trading in such an unstable society. It was the effect of both the political atmosphere and the transformation in the working class's temperament that made the commercialization of journalism in the form of penny press historically inevitable. The Penny Press The penny press, pioneered by Benjamin Day's the Sun, stroke a virtually instant success in the business sense. With the introduction of the penny newspapers, the total annual circulation of all the newspapers in America increased from 68 million in 1828 to 148 millions in 1840. During this period, the population increased by 40 percent while newspaper circulation increased by 117 percent. The major reason that penny newspapers appealed to the common men was its low price. A typical copy of old style newspaper cost six pennies and was usually supplied only via subscription. In a time when a normal wage paid $1.00 a day even for the most skilled craftsmen and artisans, it was not easily affordable. Worse still, in the middle of the 19th century, a typical American firm employed on average 8.15 wage earners. Consider the drastic inflow of immigrant labors after the mid-1840s, in which it was recorded that "among the six largest cities in America, only Philadelphia had more native-born workers than immigrant workers,” it was clear that most working class people were self-employed or working for small workshops. This made the income of the common men unstable and low. Therefore to strike for large circulations, penny newspapers made the price as low as one penny each copy so even the common men can have access to news and information. Another essential factor for the success of the penny newspaper was the style and content of the news reporting. Contrary to the absence of sensationalism in the preceding era, penny newspapers put great emphasis on stories that were of human interest. However, slightly different from the modern day yellow journalism, the sensationalism in penny newspapers were more reflected and conveyed through the style as well as through the subject matter. The use of short, active, simple and clear language made the news appealing and accessible to the semiliterate common men. The concise style of journalism language originated in the penny press era is still in use today. Another revolutionary change the penny press contributed to the media landscape was the use of innovating reporting techniques. Instead of documents, observation and interviewing had become the frequent means to gather information. These practices introduced by James Gordon Bennett Sr. is still the standard of professional journalism today. The effect of these new techniques can be best illustrated by the coverage of the famous Richard Robinson-Helen Jewett murder case in the 1836. This case will be discussed in the later part of this paper. The last but certainly not the least defining factor in the success of penny newspaper was the independent nature of commercial media in America. In contrast to the newspapers of the same time in Europe, the commercial papers in America developed relatively free of government control, but alongside the working class itself. Whereas in European countries like Germany, France, and even England, newspapers were under government scrutiny and the situation persisted for long. This may also well explain the slower pace of development in English newspapers relative to their American counterparts. The working class of England realized newspaper as a vital contributor to their wellbeing in a time (1815-1836) when the American working class had barely started using newspaper as their agent of class identity. Yet as the independent penny press gathered momentum in development through the process of struggling for the interest, identification and empowerment of the American working class, English newspapers’ lead soon diminished. By the year of 1887, when James Gordon Bennett Jr. started the Herald, then the European version of the New York Herald, which later became the International Herald Tribune, the perception of an American press that surpassed its English counterpart was well-established. Influence of Penny Press on the Rise of the Working Class The New York State Constitution Amendment of 1826 conceded the universal suffrage of white male and marked the achievement of formal democracy. This popularization of politics made the working class aware of their inherent heritage from the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Prior to this, the working class had "imprudently, indolently, and ignorantly permitted the consuming classes, who live on the produce of their labor, to legislate for the interest of their own class." Yet from that moment onwards, the long accumulated suffering of injustice and poverty started to change and the American working class started to reclaim their long neglected rights of freedom and equality. Later on, New York's working man's periodical the Man, in its debut issue on 18th February 1834, stated: _ The time has arrived when the people of the United States must decide whether they will be a Republic in fact, or only a Republic in names; whether they will act upon, or only continue to assert, the principle, that all men are born free and equal. The political uprising of the working class was then assisted in large by the presumptuously apolitical penny press. The root of this fell on the wide spread audience of penny press, or as the Sun stated in its logo, "It shines for all." The massive economic and political changes caused a virtual "middle-class revolution" The democratization of politics and commerce created an era unsuitable for the elitist and partisan factors of the Jacksonian era to survive. The penny newspapers which were non-partisan, apolitical and support laissez faire suited this rising middle class perfectly. By giving the common men the equal access to information, penny newspapers helped to realize the democratization. By overwhelming the sixpennies, the penny press helped the working class to overcome the asymmetry of information. By giving everyone the access to knowledge and teaching people to derive personal knowledge, the penny press challenged and overthrew aristocratic conservatism. Indeed, the great editors for the penny press saw themselves as "social reformer and defender of the rights of common men" Their achievements were the real life elucidation of Francis Bacon's "knowledge is power". Through their deeds, the working class experienced the real empowerment. Bennett's Herald in particular served as a symposium for the enlightened public opinions so that the thinking of common men would be at last "placed on the unshakable foundation of reason". Descartes’ "cogito ergo sum" was realized on the common men by the act of the penny press. The working class began to think, and this would further accelerate their rising in social status. Penny newspapers also showed sympathy to the working class labors by fighting for their betterment and projecting their voices. Two examples best illustrated this point. The Sun, started by printer Benjamin Day, consistently supported workers' unions and even demanded "increase in their wages" in the 25th February 1836 issue. Horace Greeley's Tribune also showed great sympathy for the wellbeing of the working class. It famously published Karl Marx's correspondence for ten years (1852-1862). Greeley then went on to win working class’s support in the 1866 New York congressional election. The penny press was also famous for taking on elitist publications. Benjamin Day's Sun denounced the Journal of Commerce as "a company of rich, aristocratical men" and charged that the publication would publish partisan content "to gain subscriber or a yearly advertiser." James Bennett Sr. also took on the Washington newspapers for their monopoly of Washington news. Michael Schudson described the relation between penny press and the sixpennies as a "class conflict" between the monopoly and the working class. James Bennett Sr., in his own word, had "a great cause---- the cause of truth, public faith, and science, against falsehood, fraud and ignorance." As such, Bennett pioneered the journalistic ideal of objectivity in terms of impartial exposure. In addition to this, the independent nature of penny press made it possible to become the impartial medium of public voice. In the famous 1836 Richard Robinson-Helen Jewett murder case, the cause for truth demonstrated its effect clearly. Soon after the vicious murder of prostitute Helen Jewett, her regular patron Richard Robinson was arrested and allegedly judged as the actual murderer without the process of any trial. Bennett offered the most complete coverage of this sensational murder case and made a point of doubt based on the fact that reporters and the public were denied to attend the hearings. A suspicion of this case thus rose from the public regarding the conspiracy behind it. The desire of the public to know the whole truth was so strong that this sensational news actually made sense in terms of public good. Richard Robinson was acquitted in the end but the significance and implication of this case went beyond the matter of one man's guilt. This case demonstrated the power of penny press to mobilize the public into questioning the authority for truth. **Conclusion ** This paper has shown the historical pretext of the inevitable appearance of the penny press, the essential factors that contributed to the success of the penny newspapers, and how these cheap commercial newspapers assisted in the rise of the working class in 19th century America. There are also other contributions by the penny press; the heritages of these early commercial newspapers helped shape the world's greatest publications such as International Herald Tribune and New York Times. Yet a free press means much more to the society than these, as E. L. Godkin put, "that a republic without a press is an impossibility, almost a contradiction in terms."