Media

Dream America (2015) by Violette Bule, a conceptual artist who worked in the service industry

How Artists' Day Jobs Shape Their Craft

A new exhibition examines the generative relationship between work and creativity

On January 12, 1928, Ruth Snyder was executed at Sing Sing prison for murdering her husband, Albert.

How a New York Tabloid Captured the First Photo of an Execution by the Electric Chair

In January 1928, Tom Howard of the "Daily News" smuggled a camera into Sing Sing, where he snapped a picture of Ruth Snyder’s final moments

Prince Charles and Princess Diana in South Korea in November 1992, shortly before they officially separated

Based on a True Story

Why 1992 Was Such a 'Horrible Year' for Elizabeth II and the Royal Family

The fifth season of "The Crown" explores the dissolution of Charles and Diana's marriage, a catastrophic fire and other Windsor tragedies

Andrew Dominik's Blonde doesn't purport to be historically accurate. Instead, like the Joyce Carol Oates novel it's based on, the film seeks to be spiritually faithful to the image Monroe embodied.

Women Who Shaped History

Who Was the Real Marilyn Monroe?

"Blonde," a heavily fictionalized film by Andrew Dominik, explores the star's life and legend in a narrative that's equal parts glamorous and disturbing

A boy riding his bike while delivering newspapers with his dog in tow, 1970s

What Ever Happened to the Neighborhood Paperboy?

To mark the premiere of Amazon's "Paper Girls," we delved into the surprisingly murky history of bicycle-riding newspaper carriers

In 1951, mobster Frank Costello (seated, center) testified in front of the Kefauver Committee during a televised congressional hearing on organized crime that captivated the country.

History of Now

A Brief History of Televised Congressional Hearings

From a 1951 investigation into organized crime to the Watergate scandal, the ongoing January 6 hearings are part of a lengthy political tradition

The Saguache Crescent’s masthead is cast from lead in a process that allows it to survive a year of printing.

This Small-Town Newspaper Is the Last of Its Kind

The "Saguache Crescent," a weekly in a Colorado hamlet, still prints on the 19th-century technology known as linotype

Scream is a surprisingly scathing critique of the way real-life trauma is laundered into news, then entertainment for the masses.

How 'Scream' Explored the Exploitative Nature of the Nightly News

Twenty-five years ago, the first installment of the horror franchise hit theaters just as a national debate about on-screen violence reached a fever pitch

The 1940 press pass for an AP reporter named Joe Abreu.

How the Associated Press Got Its Start 175 Years Ago

A newsworthy birthday for a venerable source of trusted reporting

The stories of children who participated in polio vaccine tests became a constant in media coverage, appearing alongside warnings and debates.

Vintage Headlines

The Press Made the Polio Vaccine Trials Into a Public Spectacle

As a medical breakthrough unfolded in the early 1950s, newspapers filled pages with debates over vaccine science and anecdotes about kids receiving shots

The 74-foot-tall slab will be installed at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The Newseum's Iconic First Amendment Tablet Is Headed to Philadelphia

Weighing in at 50 tons, the marble slab previously adorned the facade of the now-shuttered journalism museum in D.C.

A 1932 facsimile of the first issue of the Emancipator, published on April 30, 1820

History of Now

New Project Reimagines the U.S.' First Antislavery Newspaper, the 'Emancipator'

A joint initiative from Boston University and the "Boston Globe" revamps a 19th-century abolitionist publication for 21st-century research about race

Father Coughlin's bully pulpit.

When Radio Stations Stopped a Public Figure From Spreading Dangerous Lies

When radio was king, many outlets chose to cease broadcasting Father Charles Coughlin's anti-Semitic sermons

Children cluster around Santa in this 1903 illustration.

Christmas Wasn't Always the Kid-Friendly Gift Extravaganza We Know Today

How a once-raucous holiday became a time of childlike wonder and beribboned consumerism

An estimated 750 million people worldwide tuned in to the July 1981 ceremony.

Based on a True Story

14 Fun Facts About Princess Diana's Wedding

The royal nuptials—and the couple's tumultuous relationship—feature heavily in season four of Netflix's "The Crown"

Baseball star Babe Ruth in his last year with the Boston Red Sox in 1919, one year after he survived the Spanish flu.

Covid-19

When Babe Ruth and the Great Influenza Gripped Boston

As Babe Ruth was emerging as baseball's great slugger in 1918, he fell sick with the flu

Though much has changed since 1918, the sentiments shared in writings from this earlier pandemic are likely to resonate with modern readers.

Covid-19

What We Can Learn From 1918 Influenza Diaries

These letters and journals offer insights on how to record one's thoughts amid a pandemic

Charles Lindbergh, Walter Winchell and Franklin D. Roosevelt (L to R) are among the public figures fictionalized in Philip Roth's The Plot Against America.

Based on a True Story

The True History Behind 'The Plot Against America'

Philip Roth's classic novel, newly adapted by HBO, envisions a world in which Charles Lindbergh wins the 1940 presidential election

Silhouette of Horace Greeley made by profile artist William H. Brown in 1872, the year Greeley died. Greeley changed journalism in America, considering himself to be a “Public Teacher” who exerted “a resistless influence over public opinion … creating a community of thought of feeling … giving the right direction to it.”

How Horace Greeley Turned Newspapers Legitimate and Saved the Media From Itself

The 19th-century publisher made reform-minded, opinion-driven journalism commercially viable

Depictions of Madame Yale often suggested that she had a hand in crafting her concoctions.

Madame Yale Made a Fortune With the 19th Century's Version of Goop

A century before today’s celebrity health gurus, an American businesswoman was a beauty with a brand

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