11. Newspapers were a growth industry in the decades following the American Civil War
Following the Civil War and throughout the period of Reconstruction newspapers became a major growth industry, often fueled through government and party patronage. Newspapers became an early business in western boom towns, often supported by the mines, cattle barons, lumber camps, or other businesses which gave the towns their main source of income. Though they typically reported national news, copied from other newspapers, they also served as mouthpieces for the leading businessmen of the community. Smaller towns generally supported weekly newspapers, though in the larger cities and communities the growth of dailies continued unabated. By the end of the 19th century, the United States produced more than half of all newspapers published in the world. Most had loyal subscriber bases which turned to them for their information of world events. Competition for readers was fierce.
Major publishers such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst shifted their publications to a less partisan middle-of-the-road political position, in order to attract more readers rather than alienate those of differing political persuasion. Instead, the newspapers began to focus on sensationalism. Reporting of hard news displaced editorials as the main focus of most publishers. Newspapers began to focus on the public interest in terms of societal ills; hazardous working conditions, child labor, adulterated food and beverage products, dangerous patent medicines, political machines, and more. The labor movement became a major focus of newspapers during the latter part of the 19th century. Americans came to trust the descriptions of their factories, railroads, bankers, meatpackers, steel mills, mines, and other industries as they were described in the newspapers of the day.