Newspapers

D.C.'s Newseum Is Closing Its Doors at the End of the Year

The museum dedicated to the history of journalism and the First Amendment has struggled financially since opening 11 years ago

An 1897 poster critiquing the McKinley administration set during the Fourth of July shows the inherent danger of do-it-yourself fireworks.

The 1900s Movement to Make the Fourth of July Boring (but Safe)

One activist thought celebrating the founding of the nation would be better spent as a "a quiet day under the trees"

Central Park as seen in 1990, a year after the attack that put the "Central Park Five" in the headlines

How Central Park’s Complex History Played Into the Case Against the 'Central Park Five'

The furor that erupted throughout New York City cannot be disentangled from the long history of the urban oasis

Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon and Sam Rockwell as Bob Fosse in Fosse/Verdon

How Broadway Legends Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon Made Headlines Long Before ‘Fosse/Verdon’

She was a megawatt performer, one of the best Broadway dancers of the last century, but it’s his influence that is remembered today

American orator, editor, author, abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) edits a journal at his desk, late 1870s.

‘The North Star’ Amplified Black Voices. How a 2019 Reboot of Frederick Douglass’ Paper Hopes to Do the Same

A new outfit sees inspiration from the 19th-century publication that pursued the cause of fighting injustice everywhere

Television remains dominant across all mediums, with 49 percent of Americans surveyed citing it as their most-frequented news source

Pew Finds Social Media Has Surpassed Print Newspapers as Americans' Main News Source

The research center says 20 percent of Americans rely on sites like Facebook, Twitter for news updates, while 16 percent cite print as main news source

Detail of a copy of the Declaration printed by Goddard

Mary Katharine Goddard, the Woman Whose Name Appears on the Declaration of Independence

Likely the United States' first woman employee, this newspaper publisher was a key figure in promoting the ideas that fomented the Revolution

P.D. East (above as a young man) proclaimed that his Petal Paper was “a sheet designed to keep everyone happy.” That did not last.

What Made P.D. East the Fearless Wit of Forrest County

The newspaper man's bravery rocked the racist establishment of the South—and heralded a new era of political satire

Charles II attempted to ban public coffeehouses, which he viewed as hotbeds of "fake news" and seditious murmurings

Missouri Exhibition Explores the Centuries-Old Specter of ‘Fake News’

Curator considers three categories of 'fake news': error, hoax and truths deemed false

Langston Hughes circa 1939

Researcher Finds Earlier Birth Date for Langston Hughes

It has long been believed that the famed poet was born in 1902, but his name appears in newspaper articles from 1901

A U.S. Marine carries an American flag on his rifle during a recovery operation in summer 1968

How the Fourth of July Was Celebrated (and Protested) in 1968

Headlines from <em>The New York Times</em> reveal how the nation and the world commemorated Independence Day in what had already been a tumultuous year

Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago chats to Congressional candidate Charles Hayes. The woman on Washington's right, who was cropped out of the photo, is Carol Moseley Braun; she would go on to become the first African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

The Archives of Historic Black Newspapers Are Going Digital

The Obsidian Collection is collaborating with Google Arts & Culture to ensure the journalism is preserved for many years to come

John Adams didn't literally call the Philadelphia Aurora (also known as the Aurora General Adviser) "fake news," but he was not pleased by the way he was often depicted in it.

The Age-Old Problem of “Fake News”

It’s been part of the conversation as far back as the birth of the free press

A massive task force—150 full-time personnel from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service—hunted the Unabomber.

When the Unabomber Was Arrested, One of the Longest Manhunts in FBI History Was Finally Over

Twenty years ago, the courts gave Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences, thereby ending more than a decade of terror.

Pauline Esther "Popo" Phillips and her twin sister Esther Pauline "Eppie" competed for influence as the hugely successful "Dear Abby" and "Ask Ann Landers" syndicated columnists.

What Makes the Advice Column Uniquely American

In a new book, author Jessica Weisberg dives into the fascinating history of the advice industry

Dorothy Parker at a typewriter in 1941

Writing in the Public Eye, These Women Brought the 20th Century Into Focus

Michelle Dean’s new book looks at the intellects who cut through the male-dominated public conversation

New Study Finds Fake News Spreads Faster and Deeper Than Verified Stories on Twitter

Looking at 126,000 stories sent by ~3 million people, researchers found that humans, not bots, were primarily responsible for the spread of disinformation

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in "The Post."

What <em>The Post</em> Gets Right (and Wrong) About Katharine Graham and the Pentagon Papers

A Smithsonian historian reminds us how Graham, a Washington socialite-turned-publisher, transformed the paper into what it is today

A woodcut from a 1720 history of "witches and wizards"

How New Printing Technology Gave Witches Their Familiar Silhouette

Popular media helped give witches their image

Civil Rights activist Grady O'Cummings talking with a group of boys. O'Cummings later faked his own death to avoid threats made by members of the Black Panthers against him and his family.

These Never-Before-Seen Photos From "The New York Times" Offer a New Glimpse Into African-American History

The editors of the new book, “Unseen” talk about recognizing the paper of record’s biases

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