The reader will understand that I despise these 'yellows'; they are utterly without honor, they are vulgar and cruel; and yet, in spite of all their vices, I count them less dangerous to society than the so-called 'respectable' papers, which pretend to all the virtues, and set the smug and pious tone for good society--papers like the 'New York Tribune' and the 'Boston Evening Transcript' and the 'Baltimore Sun,' which are read by rich old gentlemen and maiden aunts, and can hardly ever be forced to admit to their columns any new or vital event or opinion. These are 'kept' papers, in the strictest sense of the term, and do not have to hustle on the street for money. They serve the pocketbooks of the whole propertied class--which is the meaning of the term 'respectability' in the bourgeois world. On the other hand the 'yellow' journals, serving their own pocketbooks exclusively, will often print attacks on vested wealth, provided the attacks are startling and sensational, and provided the vested wealth in question is not a heavy advertiser.

Media·Truth·Journalism·Propaganda·Bias·Censorship·Class