As a follow up to my first blog topic about Boss Tweed and political corruption, I decided to do my next topic on muckraking. Think Boss Tweed, but on a larger scale.
A defining moment in American journalism, muckraking helped bring to light many of the horrors and corruptions found within our financial, social, and political systems. Just like I selected the Boss Tweed story because I felt it was relatable due to our recent financial meltdown, partially caused by greed and underhanded dealings; I find this muckraking story relatable as well for many of the same reasons. The big corporations trying to get over on the public, and journalism standing up for the little guy and exposing the truth, regardless of consequences. It's moments like these that really helped make journalism the powerhouse it is today and it is also a moment we should look back on and learn from.
I feel our country currently lacks this kind of raw, hard hitting journalism that asks tough questions and exposes what's really going on behind the scenes.I will once again be using Rodger Streitmatter's Mightier Than The Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History as a reference, as well as images and videos I find along the way.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Personal Thoughts About Tweed Ring
I have to salute Thomas Nast for his role in bringing down the Tweed empire. For pretty much every site I visited for information about Tweed, Thomas Nast and his cartoons were not far behind. They follow him everywhere, even to this day. History has sewn them together.
Again, that speaks to the influence and the power of journalism, even back then. Without the technology we have today, where we are able to spread word faster, and to a bigger audience. He was a solitary man going up against an entire system, and he took them down. Was it solely his doing? Of course not. Ultimately the people who went to the polls that year and voted Tweed and his goons out of office should receive some of that credit; but to say his cartoons didn't play a significant role in the downfall of the Tweed ring is simply ignorant, in my opinion.
That's something I feel we lack in today's world of journalism. With so much corruption in politics and business, who is going to stand up and speak out for us? Who is going to risk their jobs (even lives) to bring us the truth and help open the eyes of this country. With major corporations owning major news networks, it's hard to get that done, but at the same time, we all have a platform now. Thanks to social networking, blogs, youtube, etc., we all have a voice that can be heard now. Maybe we don't need a solitary man or woman to help bring about change. Maybe we can start a grassroots movement and bring even bigger change than Nast did with his cartoons.
Regardless, it just gives me hope that we don't always have to solve problems with money, or violent protests. Something as simple as a pen and paper can get the job done. If we can master a language, and target and audience, we can do more than power and money ever could. We can plant ideas in peoples' minds, we can bring about a movement. Hopefully my generation will take heed to this and use that kind of power for good. After reading up on the Thomas Nast/Tweed conflict, I feel more inspired to get something done.
Again, that speaks to the influence and the power of journalism, even back then. Without the technology we have today, where we are able to spread word faster, and to a bigger audience. He was a solitary man going up against an entire system, and he took them down. Was it solely his doing? Of course not. Ultimately the people who went to the polls that year and voted Tweed and his goons out of office should receive some of that credit; but to say his cartoons didn't play a significant role in the downfall of the Tweed ring is simply ignorant, in my opinion.
That's something I feel we lack in today's world of journalism. With so much corruption in politics and business, who is going to stand up and speak out for us? Who is going to risk their jobs (even lives) to bring us the truth and help open the eyes of this country. With major corporations owning major news networks, it's hard to get that done, but at the same time, we all have a platform now. Thanks to social networking, blogs, youtube, etc., we all have a voice that can be heard now. Maybe we don't need a solitary man or woman to help bring about change. Maybe we can start a grassroots movement and bring even bigger change than Nast did with his cartoons.
Regardless, it just gives me hope that we don't always have to solve problems with money, or violent protests. Something as simple as a pen and paper can get the job done. If we can master a language, and target and audience, we can do more than power and money ever could. We can plant ideas in peoples' minds, we can bring about a movement. Hopefully my generation will take heed to this and use that kind of power for good. After reading up on the Thomas Nast/Tweed conflict, I feel more inspired to get something done.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Outline of Tweed Ring
I. 1864-1869: Height of Tweed's Power
II. Late 1869: Thomas Nast Attacks
III. 1870: The Movement Picks Up Steam
IV. 1871: The Beginning of the End
V. 1871-1876: Goodbye Tweed
- Holds several positions of power including NYS Senate seat, NY Democratic Party Central Committee chairman, highest official of Tammany Hall.
- Election fraud, extortion, city contracts used to the monopolize city.
- Pays newspapers to keep quiet on corruption schemes in order to maintain a clean image.
II. Late 1869: Thomas Nast Attacks
- Political cartoons are aimed at Tweed and Tammany Hall, depicting them as greedy, vicious animals.
III. 1870: The Movement Picks Up Steam
- New York Times board of directors member James B Taylor dies, New York Times runs its first anti-Tweed editorial.
IV. 1871: The Beginning of the End
- New York Times gets documents and incriminating evidence from former supporter of Tweed Ring, James O' Brien. Publishes massive exposé showing Tweed corruption in great detail.
- Nast continues attack with cartoons. Audience continues to grow. Support increases.
- Elections take Tweed and his co-conspirators out of office.
V. 1871-1876: Goodbye Tweed
- Tweed goes to jail on fraud-related charges
- Bribes his way out of jail and flees to Spain
- Nast political cartoon gets Tweed captured
[Photos] Nast Political Cartoons
"The Brains"
Cartoon That Led To Tweed's Capture
Photo From: http://blog.cagle.com/news/2009/09/15/father-of-american-cartoons-eligible-for-nj-hall-of-fame/
Tweed Ring Summary
After reading Chapter 4 in Rodger Streitmatter's Mightier Than The Sword: How The News Media Has Shaped American History titled "Attacking Municipal Corruption, this is what I gathered:
From the 1860's all the way up to the early 1870's, William Marcy Tweed ran a well oiled machine. Backed by Tammany Hall, a political organization at that time, he gained power through manipulation, election fraud, extortion, and the list goes on. Holding multiple positions simultaneously, including a New York State Senate seat, construction supervisor for the New York County Court House, and the highest official of Tammany Hall, Tweed and his pals (who also held high positions within the city's political system) made their money from city contracts, creating a monopoly in the city and buying out anyone who tried to compete.
His reign and dominance was no secret to those involved in businesses and/or politics. It wasn't that those people didn't know about his corruption, but rather they didn't have the fire power (money, political pull, etc) to bring him down. It also helped that he had ironclad control over the media. It's kind of hard to expose somebody when they are keeping you employed and cutting your checks. Because of this, he was able to stay clear of any bad publicity, thus keeping the general public in the dark about everything that was going on around them. Arrogantly pushing his agendas through the city, he dared anyone to get in his way, issuing a challenge to any takers; "Well, what are you going to do about it?" Luckily for the city, and for journalism in general, one man accepted this challenge.
Thomas Nast, a German immigrant with a passion for drawing (and exposing truths, as we would soon find out) landed himself a job at Harper's Weekly in 1862. A large publication at the time, due to its ability to speak to the common man. The newspaper was for everyday people, not just elitists. That in itself played a key role in bringing down the Tweed powerhouse. The more people you have on your side, the better.
Nast, who had already gained notoriety from his coverage of the Civil War, began his assault on Tweed in 1869. Nast used vivid imagery to get his point across and open the eyes of the public. Images like portraying Tammany Hall as a vicious tiger, devouring the laws and ballots of the city, and his cartoon titled "The Brains" which depicted Tweed as a greedy fat man with a bag of money for a head, Nast didn't mince his words or shy away from his opinions. He went at Tweed and his circle of friends and he went at them hard, and consistently, waking up a sleeping giant inside of the hearts of New Yorkers, and bringing to light the corruption of Tammany Hall.
It wasn't long before other publications and politicians got behind Harper's Weekly and Nast, and helped drive the public to the polls to rid themselves of this toxic reign. In 1871, Tweed was found guilty of fraud-related charges and actually did jail time. He bribed his way out of jail and made his way to Spain, which, in complete irony, was caught by officials because of a drawing Nast did of Tweed grabbing hold of a child, which Spanish law enforcement perceived as a wanted poster for a kidnapper. This just goes to show that sometimes imagery is more powerful than actual words. Images cross boundaries that language sometimes can't, and because of that, Tweed was brought down and his days of corrupting the public and the media were over.
From the 1860's all the way up to the early 1870's, William Marcy Tweed ran a well oiled machine. Backed by Tammany Hall, a political organization at that time, he gained power through manipulation, election fraud, extortion, and the list goes on. Holding multiple positions simultaneously, including a New York State Senate seat, construction supervisor for the New York County Court House, and the highest official of Tammany Hall, Tweed and his pals (who also held high positions within the city's political system) made their money from city contracts, creating a monopoly in the city and buying out anyone who tried to compete.
His reign and dominance was no secret to those involved in businesses and/or politics. It wasn't that those people didn't know about his corruption, but rather they didn't have the fire power (money, political pull, etc) to bring him down. It also helped that he had ironclad control over the media. It's kind of hard to expose somebody when they are keeping you employed and cutting your checks. Because of this, he was able to stay clear of any bad publicity, thus keeping the general public in the dark about everything that was going on around them. Arrogantly pushing his agendas through the city, he dared anyone to get in his way, issuing a challenge to any takers; "Well, what are you going to do about it?" Luckily for the city, and for journalism in general, one man accepted this challenge.
Thomas Nast, a German immigrant with a passion for drawing (and exposing truths, as we would soon find out) landed himself a job at Harper's Weekly in 1862. A large publication at the time, due to its ability to speak to the common man. The newspaper was for everyday people, not just elitists. That in itself played a key role in bringing down the Tweed powerhouse. The more people you have on your side, the better.
Nast, who had already gained notoriety from his coverage of the Civil War, began his assault on Tweed in 1869. Nast used vivid imagery to get his point across and open the eyes of the public. Images like portraying Tammany Hall as a vicious tiger, devouring the laws and ballots of the city, and his cartoon titled "The Brains" which depicted Tweed as a greedy fat man with a bag of money for a head, Nast didn't mince his words or shy away from his opinions. He went at Tweed and his circle of friends and he went at them hard, and consistently, waking up a sleeping giant inside of the hearts of New Yorkers, and bringing to light the corruption of Tammany Hall.
It wasn't long before other publications and politicians got behind Harper's Weekly and Nast, and helped drive the public to the polls to rid themselves of this toxic reign. In 1871, Tweed was found guilty of fraud-related charges and actually did jail time. He bribed his way out of jail and made his way to Spain, which, in complete irony, was caught by officials because of a drawing Nast did of Tweed grabbing hold of a child, which Spanish law enforcement perceived as a wanted poster for a kidnapper. This just goes to show that sometimes imagery is more powerful than actual words. Images cross boundaries that language sometimes can't, and because of that, Tweed was brought down and his days of corrupting the public and the media were over.
[Video] Boss Tweed & Thomas Nast
According to the source, this was taken from a 1999 documentary about New York
Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/keefestudios
Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/keefestudios
The Tweed Corruption Ring
I will be blogging about William Marcy "Boss" Tweed, his power over New York city businesses and politics, and the driving force of journalism that ultimately led to his demise. I will be using the text Mightier Than The Sword: How the News Media have Shaped American History by Rodger Streitmatter as reference.
I chose this story because in some ways I find it relatable today. Corruption within the corporate and political arenas are nothing new to this country, it happened then, during the 1800s, and here we are in 2010, and not much has changed. Where we had Boss Tweed running his agenda for the financial benefit of him and his buddies, we now have politicians pushing their agendas in favor of different corporations and special interest groups. Wall Street executives abusing the lack of regulation in our market and giving themselves bonuses in the millions (and sometimes more). Where we had clever cartoonists like Thomas Nast using wit and humor to bring to light real problems to the common man, we now have political satirists and shows like The Daily Show that use similar devices to expose the hypocrisy and abuse within politics and corporations and do so in a way that is relatable to those not familiar with the intricacies of those issues. They break them down for the everyday citizen to understand, and helps them form a better opinion of what's going on around them.
I believe the way in which you present your news to an audience is just as important as the actual news you are reporting. If you can't find a way to target an audience, your plea will fall on deaf ears. People need to be reached. Whether it's straightforward reporting like newspapers and news on television, or more creative approaches like cartoons and imagery, you need to be able to capture the attention of the people, and Thomas Nast did just that. As humorous as his political cartoons were, they did bring about serious reform, and awoke a public who, without his drawings, would have most likely been in the dark about what was truly going on at the time. This just goes to show how powerful journalism truly is. As long as you have an audience, you have power.
I chose this story because in some ways I find it relatable today. Corruption within the corporate and political arenas are nothing new to this country, it happened then, during the 1800s, and here we are in 2010, and not much has changed. Where we had Boss Tweed running his agenda for the financial benefit of him and his buddies, we now have politicians pushing their agendas in favor of different corporations and special interest groups. Wall Street executives abusing the lack of regulation in our market and giving themselves bonuses in the millions (and sometimes more). Where we had clever cartoonists like Thomas Nast using wit and humor to bring to light real problems to the common man, we now have political satirists and shows like The Daily Show that use similar devices to expose the hypocrisy and abuse within politics and corporations and do so in a way that is relatable to those not familiar with the intricacies of those issues. They break them down for the everyday citizen to understand, and helps them form a better opinion of what's going on around them.
I believe the way in which you present your news to an audience is just as important as the actual news you are reporting. If you can't find a way to target an audience, your plea will fall on deaf ears. People need to be reached. Whether it's straightforward reporting like newspapers and news on television, or more creative approaches like cartoons and imagery, you need to be able to capture the attention of the people, and Thomas Nast did just that. As humorous as his political cartoons were, they did bring about serious reform, and awoke a public who, without his drawings, would have most likely been in the dark about what was truly going on at the time. This just goes to show how powerful journalism truly is. As long as you have an audience, you have power.
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