A ‘New’ Journalist: The Americanization of W. T. Stead

Helena Goodwyn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

W. T. Stead, the journalist and editor, is known primarily for his knight-errant crusade on behalf of women and girls in the sensational investigative articles ‘The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’ (1885). The controversial success of these articles could not have been achieved without Stead’s study and adoption of American journalistic techniques. Stead’s importance to nineteenth century periodicals must be informed by an understanding of Stead as a mediating force between British and American print culture. This premise is developed here through exploration of the terms ‘New Journalism’ and ‘Americanization’. Drawing from every stage of his career including his amateur yet dynamic beginnings as an unpaid contributor to the Northern Echo, I will examine Stead’s unofficial title as the father of New Journalism and the extent to which this title is directly attributable to his relationship with America, or, to use Stead’s term, his Americanization.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)405-420
JournalJournal of Victorian Culture
Volume23
Issue number3
Early online date15 Jun 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2018

Keywords

  • New Journalism
  • W.T. Stead
  • America
  • International
  • Popular journalism
  • Americanization
  • Transatlantic
  • Britain
  • Newspapers

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