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‘In what sense was W
...
Stead’s ‘The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’
an example of ‘new journalism’? Discuss with reference to ‘The Maiden
Tribute’ and Stead’s other work
...
One of the most important pioneers of this transition
period was William Thomas Stead, who was editor of the ​ Mall Gazette​ 1883 to 1889
Pall
from
(Wikipedia: 2004)
...
Martin
Conboy defined ‘new journalism’ in the nineteenth century as the “combination of already existing
features…made more commercially attractive for a wider readership”; as editor of the ​ Mall
Pall
Gazette​
Stead introduced more visual elements such as illustrations and headlines making the
page easier for the reader to scan
...
(Conboy: 2004: 168) Some of these characteristics were influenced
through the American press, and therefore Stead can be seen as at least partially responsible for
the Americanisation of the British press
...
It is through applying this
characteristic to one of Stead’s most famous pieces – ‘The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’ –
that we can argue that Stead’s work was the perfect example of ‘new journalism’
...

Stead published a series of articles in the ​ Mall Gazette​ July 1885 entitled ‘The Maiden
Pall
in
Tribute of Modern Babylon’
...
In order for Stead to uncover the truth about the happenings in many brothels in and
around Victorian London, he felt it necessary to become part of this environment himself; he
purchased a thirteen-year-old girl for £5 in order to highlight the simplicity and accessibility of
child prostitution
...

Stead made his intentions for the series as a campaign known in the first part of his ‘Maiden
Tribute’ articles, depicting that his “purpose was not to secure the punishment of criminals but to
lay bare the working of a great organization of crime
...
While the
series gained popularity for Stead and the ​ Mall Gazette,​
Pall
generating self-publicity,​ any were
m
​
also repulsed by the work, with some even cancelling their orders for the ​
Gazette,​ distributor
and
W
...
Smith refusing to stock the publication at all
...
This again is an example of ‘The Maiden Tribute’ as a piece of ‘new journalism’, as Stead
had created and entwined himself in a news story as opposed to passively reporting it
...
(Conboy: 2011) Regardless of the varying public opinions on the
morals of Stead’s work through ‘The Maiden Tribute’, it is by no coincidence that the Criminal Law
Amendment Act was implemented in 1885 – the same year that the series was published –
legislating that the age of consent was to be raised from 13 years old to 16
...

Stead’s work with, and employment of, women throughout his journalistic career further
highlights ‘The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’ as well as Stead’s other works as examples of
‘new journalism’
...
(Conboy: 2004: 71) This can be
further analysed through the argument that a keener interest in the visuality of publications as
part of ‘new journalism’ is itself a product of femininity
...
T
...

Women were incorporated into the press through emotionalism as well as through a heightened
awareness of their social and political rights, as highlighted through journalism
...
This we can see in his work through ‘The Maiden Tribute’,
as his campaign was for an end to the prostitution of young girls
...
In his ​
Review of Reviews​
Stead acknowledged the
divisions between genders in society, but called for equality professionally, saying: “​ be a
To
woman confers many privileges and inflicts many disabilities; but if you were a hundred times a
woman that would give you no right to a niche in the journalistic profession
...
” (Stead: 1832: 373) This
came at a period in history where there was much discussion about women’s rights within society
and politics, and as a result more publications aimed at women; there was even specific criticism
of women as journalists contextually – in Arnold Bennett’s ​
Journalism for Women​ describes the
he
idea that “in Fleet Street there are not two sexes, but two species – journalists and women
journalists” (Adbergham: 1972: 272)
...
It was under his editorship that Hulda
Friedrichs was hired as chief interviewer, and Flora Shaw also worked for the ​
Gazette​
, most
notably reporting on Gibraltar, and has been described as a “trail-blazer for ‘New Journalism’”
(Conboy: 2004: 69) The sense of personalisation encouraged through not only representation of
women but also through the creation of the awareness of their social and political rights in Stead’s

journalism creates further examples of his work being ‘new journalism’, as it connects with the
concept of human interest
...
We have already discussed Stead’s
introduction of sub-headings within his work, making it easier for readers to process information
on the page of a newspaper
...
One such technique is the idea of relaying stories told within journalism as they were told
orally; this was sometimes portrayed as speech written, for example in the context of an
interview, where the speech would be transcribed exactly as it had been spoken, including any
regional dialects
...

While many saw this personalisation of the press as a positive concept as it not only attracted a
wider bracket of society but also showed linguistic flexibility within journalism, critics of Stead and
‘new journalism’ argued that in fact his integration of his own opinions with those of his witnesses
and interviewees combined with his personal linguistic tone resembled “partisan” journalism
(Chapman, Nuttall: 2011: 131), implying that Stead’s work was biased
...
However, considering the idea that one of the
main characteristics of yellow journalism is that a lot of its content, including its interviews, were
fake and Stead’s interviews often ​ ​ story, this comparison can be analysed as tenuous and
were the
therefore as can the description of Stead’s work as “partisan”
...
Until the press became broader in its subject matter, the main topic which it
covered was politics
...
While some were more in favour of the masculine topics
covered in this ‘traditional’ journalism, these techniques were contextually a human interest
element, and remain so to this day
...
It
combines elements such as interviews – in which speech is transcribed accurately as it is heard –
subheadings and emotive language depicting the horror of the scenes witnessed by Stead during
his investigation
...
And then there rose a wild and piteous
cry–not a loud shriek, but a helpless, startled scream like the bleat of a frightened lamb
...
Furthermore, Stead’s general
work as a journalist and as editor of the ​ Mall Gazette ​ him utilise ‘new journalism’ through
Pall
saw
highlighting t​ significance of women by giving them power within the industry, as well as
he
catering to their subject preferences
...
His belief in the idea of “government by
journalism” was reflected in his passion for campaigning for the rights of others; he sought to
establish a ‘new journalism’, and through doing so his legacy is still present today
...
wikipedia
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E
...
T
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36 No
...
, Nuttall, Nick (2011) ​
Journalism Today: a Themed History
Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester
Grey, Tobias (2012) “The Father of Tabloid Journalism” ​ Wall Street Journal​
The
Available
at:
http://online
...
com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303448404577407883607369146
(Accessed 11/01/2014)
Stead, William Thomas (1883) “The Bitter Outcry of Outcast London: An Inquiry into the
Condition of the Abject Poor” Available at:
http://www
...
co
...
php​
(Accessed 17/01/2014)
Stead, William Thomas (1886) “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon” ​ Pall Mall
The
Gazette​
Available at: ​
http://www
...
co
...
php​
(Accessed
09/01/2014)
Stead, William Thomas (1892) ​ Review of Reviews, vol
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attackingthedevil
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uk/reviews/womjourn

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