Sorry to hijack your comment and kind of unrelated, but does anyone have any books that discuss the beginning of mass media/newspapers. Your comment about the internet brining back the “attention” economy has me interested in the origins of mass media. Just seems like it would be an interesting topic that probably has some relevance today.
Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky. It was written in 1988 but is still one of the greatest breakdowns of the formation and behavior of mass media I’ve ever seen. Still manages to be relevant today.
Not exactly what you’re asking for but Ryan Holiday makes the “yellow journalism is back again” point in “Trust Me, I’m Lying - Confessions of a media Manipulator”. It’s a (terrifyingly) good book and he goes into how he engineered nationwide protests and counter protests starting with a billboard he paid for and defaced - all to drum up interest for a movie. Also includes other shenanigans he did that the attention-driven media ate up and never fact checked.
I also have a friend who has fooled/manipulated the media on a National scale to humiliate the US Navy (he’s a Westpoint grad). So… there’s likely truth to the book.
Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann, written 100 years ago but honestly just as applicable today. Libre Vox even has a free version up on YouTube[1]. Chomsky actually took the title of his book from Lippmann's, but Lippmann's is a much more advanced and nuanced take (also Chomsky has grossly misrepresented what Lippmann was saying, so I find it hard to trust him).
One of the most delightful takes I've run across is a 1909 lecture by Hamilton Holt, himself a magazine publisher, titled Comemercialism and Journalism. It's a short, engaging, fact-filled, and highly-informative read:
Other than that, I've compiled a "light reading list" which I still feel is a good starting point though I'd probably add to it. Previously mentioned in this thread, and inlcuding Holts's work, as well as several of the other suggestions responding to your question.
The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst by David Nasaw and Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power by James McGrath Morris both cover the time period I'm referencing through the lens of two of the most powerful men in the industry at that time.
The Form of News: A History by Barnhurst and Nerone is a dry and academic take but a pretty informative one.
