Upton Sinclair: The U.S. Media Landscape 100 Years Ago
Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), U.S. muckraking* journalist
[Scroll down for the English]
KISWAHILI
[[ Tafadhali fahama, ifuatayo ni nukuu yenye ukosoaji kwa kiasi kuhusu mazingira ya vyombo vya habari vya Marekani, lakini inabakia kumulika kwetu kwa sababu iliandikwa mwaka wa 1920—zaidi ya miaka 100 ya kabla—na inatusababisha kujiuliza "Je, kwa namna gani jinsi za ushawishi wa Pesa Kubwa au wa mambo mengine zinaingizia maisha yetu ya kila siku?" Yaani, tunawaza tunafanya machaguo yetu binafsi, lakini mambo gani yalichangia kuunda menyu hiyo kutoka kwayo tunafanya machaguo hayo? Ni kitu cha kufikiria, kweli? ]]
"Njia ambazo "Dola la Biashara" linashikilia udhibiti wake juu ya uandishi wa habari ni nne: Kwanza, umiliki wa magazeti; pili, umiliki wa wamiliki hao; tatu, ruzuku zinazotoka utangazaji; na nne, rushwa ya ana kwa ana. Kupitia njia hizi, huko Marekani kuna udhibiti wa habari na maoni ya sasa fofofo kuliko ukiritimba wowote katika tasnia nyingine yoyote.” (1920)
- Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), mwandishi wa habari za uchunguzi*, mwandishi wa riwaya za kufichua, na mgombeaji wa ugavana wa Jimbo la California mnamo 1933-1934.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
[[ Please note, the following is a somewhat critical quote regarding the U.S. media landscape, but still edifying in that it was written in 1920—over 100 years ago—and it caused me to reflect on how different—or the same—is the influence of Big Money or other outside actors in our daily lives. We ostensibly make individual choices, but which factors went into designing that menu from which we make those choices? It is something to think about, yes? ]]
“The methods by which the "Empire of Business" maintains its control over journalism are four: First, ownership of the papers; second, ownership of the owners; third, advertising subsidies; and fourth, direct bribery. By these methods there exists in America a control of news and of current comment more absolute than any monopoly in any other industry.” (1920)
- Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), muckraking* journalist, social reform novelist, and one-time gubernatorial candidate for the State of California in 1933-1934.
Asante na tutaonana tena (Thank you and may we see each other again),
Mmerikani
* A muckraker is a journalistic term associated with the Progressive Era (1890s to 1920s) of the United States that employed detailed, investigative reporting to expose abuses and unchecked exploitation occurring in new industries, politics, business, and the court systems, such as:
unsafe and unsanitary working environments of the meatpacking industry;
corrupt political municipalities;
questionable sentencing and subsequent leasing of convicts for unpaid labor; and
extrajudicial, lethal violence levied upon Black American citizens (lynching) as a means to obtain their land, businesses, and property at reduced prices.
Chanzo (source): Sinclair, Upton. The Brass Check: A Study of American Journalism. Pasadena, California: published by the author, 1920, page 241. Accessed via the HathiTrust repository at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015015186540&seq=3 on December 19, 2024.