Yellow journalism is a journalistic style that aims for impact, trying to generate emotions and sensations in the public.
The idea of sensationalism appears in the field of journalism . This is the style of those journalists who opt for sensationalism : that is, they try to generate sensations or emotions with the material they present.
The press that is dedicated to sensationalism is known as the yellow press . This type of publication privileges impact and always aims to attract attention. Generally they are more interested in the forms than in the quality of the content .
Characteristics of sensationalism
At a general level, it can be said that sensationalism is characterized by large headlines and explicit photographs . The language is usually informal or even vulgar, often including opinions or value judgments that generate controversy.
Accidents , police incidents and relationship problems are the most frequent topics of sensationalism. Instead of analyzing information or rigorous research, these publications, radio and television programs tend to give prominence to phrases, rumors and images that cause shock. Informing, in this way, remains in the background, behind the intention to impact.
The tabloid press often uses vulgar language and resorts to explicit images.
Some examples
Take the case of a collision between two vehicles that causes the death of two people. A newspaper trying to do serious coverage might headline “Highway Accident: Two People Lose Their Lives” and publish the photo of the two destroyed cars. A tabloid newspaper, on the other hand, will headline “Terrible! A crash causes two deaths: the bodies were left unrecognizable,” including in the note a photograph of the bodies in close-up.
Yellow journalism also negatively affects any undertaking by large companies in any market of popular interest; For example, when a new electronic device is released, the yellow press tends to publish dozens of articles empty of content focused on its defects and the accidents that it supposedly caused in the first users, trying to generate in the public the idea that the company will inevitably go bankrupt because of its failure, even though none of this is true.
Unlike the transparent and ethical press, which can be the source of articles that transcend their era and are immortalized by the use of language or the ideas they present to their readers, sensationalism seems to see only the day to day, the impact that can cause "today", regardless of what tomorrow will do. Today , for example, you can publish that "a famous artist has taken his life" , only to deny it tomorrow without apologizing to your readers, as if the past did not exist.
The power of sensationalism
It is very curious that sensationalism enjoys so much popularity despite being attacked and despised by so many people , but this speaks of the power of slander , rumors, gossip, which sometimes arouse the interest of the most sensible. Broadly speaking, we can say that there are two types of people opposed to this kind of journalism: those who remain firm in their decision not to consume it, and those who eventually take a look at it with a disinterested air.
In this last group are those people who, in their leisure time, cannot resist a headline such as "The actress reveals the whole truth about her separation" or "We tell you why the Japanese company is on the way to certain ruin." : It's not that they are really interested in that news, but that the language used in the titles in combination with the photographs attracts them, even if only for a couple of minutes. Although the truth should always triumph over lies and slander, sensationalism has ruined more than one professional career, and that is why we must avoid it.