1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE & FIRE.   Term Paper ID:25617 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines tragedy & its press coverage, including impact on three newspapers themselves.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines tragedy & its press coverage, including impact on three newspapers themselves. Paper Introduction: This paper is an examination of the press coverage of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, a devastating natural disaster that remains vivid in the public memory in part because of the destruction it caused and in part because of the detailed journalistic record that kept the public informed of the unfolding events. The earthquake occurred just as American journalism was coming into its own as a serious institution, and, while press coverage of the time still used some of the sensationalistic language and irresponsible tactics that had been the accepted way of reporting the news, the majority of the coverage was relatively accurate. Examining the ways in which the press covered this terrifying milestone in history provides a fascinating glimpse into the nature and purpose of modern journalism. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The professionalismexhibited by most of San Francisco's press corps would provide an excellentexample of journalism's importance in society. They faced "the newspaperman's nightmare: the greatestnatural catastrophe that has ever happened in the United States and, by theend of the day, not a single newspaper's presses left to print thestory."[11] The only paper in San Francisco that did manage to get an issue outon April 18 was the Daily News, which was located on Ninth Street andescaped burning until later in the afternoon. . It also includes 13 chapters on other natural disasters, includingvolcanic eruptions; 12 days before the earthquake, Mount Vesuvius had beguna massive eruption in Italy, and many feared that the two disasters weresomehow linked. . The 7.5 magnitude quake that shook the city that year killed12 people and caused more than $4 , in property damage. The buildings housing the Call and the Chronicle hadwithstood the disaster sufficiently to be rebuilt; the Examiner's buildingwas razed, and the newspaper was relocated, while continuing to publishdaily editions. One of the first published accounts insists that the shocklasted 48 seconds.[6] The earthquake was devastating and caused considerable damage.However, the true catastrophe came in its aftermath. He then went about his job of preparing an evening edition as if the earthquake and fire were nothing unusual. By the quake of 1868, SanFrancisco finally had enough people and buildings for a large quake to dosome damage. on the Richter Scale, what was tobecome the standard measure of earthquakes. Two years later, the first formal school ofjournalism would be established in the United States. This paper is an examination of the press coverage of the 19 6 SanFrancisco earthquake and fire, a devastating natural disaster that remainsvivid in the public memory in part because of the destruction it caused andin part because of the detailed journalistic record that kept the publicinformed of the unfolding events. A large staff of photographers have supplied illustrations for this great historical work . Linthicum and White write, "Of the deaths in Chinatownby the earthquake and fire no reliable list has been possible but inestimating the victims the construction of the district [including itsextensive system of underground tunnels and rooms] should be regarded as aninconsiderable factor."[17] The widespread discrimination against theChinese that had kept them confined to a discrete neighborhood also madetheir plight less interesting to white reporters and their readers. By the time Complete Story was published, San Francisco was startingto return to normal. One article, written for the Richmond Times-Dispatch inVirginia, repeated the Call-Chronicle-Examiner claim that the city wasunder martial law, estimated the death toll at 1, or more, and contendedthat the tragedy "swept away $2 , , worth of the most valuableproperty in the city,"[14] without including the Call-Chronicle-Examiner'scaution, "These figures are in the rough and nothing can be told untilpartial accounting is taken."[15] In fact, estimating the loss of life and the costs of the catastrophewas a nearly impossible job during the first few days following theearthquake. [5]Eric Saul and Don Denevi, The Great San Francisco Earthquake andFire, 19 6 (Millbrae, CA; Celestial Arts, 1981), 24. BibliographyBronson, William. . . They found themselves forced out of their buildings,first by falling debris and then by smoke. John Castillo Kennedy describes the publication: It was a joint issue, but it gave a curious effect of three papers separately edited, each slightly disagreeing with the other. [11]John Castillo Kennedy, The Great Earthquake and Fire: SanFrancisco, 19 6 (New York: William Morrow, 1963), 111. As fire fighters began totry to battle what began as a series of small blazes, they discovered thatthe quake had also disrupted water mains. Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror. [17]Ibid., 254. "Hundreds Dead!" The San Francisco Daily News, 18 April 19 6, 1.Kennedy, John Castillo. The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned: A Moving Record of America's Great Earthquake and Fire, San Francisco, April 18, 19 6. The 19 census put the population at 343, ; by 19 6, estimatesplaced this figure at 425, . Before the year had ended, atleast one book had been rushed into print. The foreman of the pressroom reported that his boilers could not heat up because of lack of water. Survivors combed through the paper for details about what hadhappened and what might happen next. . Russell, 19 6), 33. The earthquake occurred just as Americanjournalism was coming into its own as a serious institution, and, whilepress coverage of the time still used some of the sensationalistic languageand irresponsible tactics that had been the accepted way of reporting thenews, the majority of the coverage was relatively accurate. naval forces andrenamed San Francisco; three years later, California became a member of theUnion. Linthicumand White detail one of the important reasons that the death toll could notbe accurately kept during the disaster: Whenever a body was found it was buried immediately without any formality whatever and, as these burials were made at widely separated parts of the city by different bodies of searchers, who did not even make a prompt report to headquarters, considerable confusion resulted in estimating the number of casualties and exaggerated reports resulted.[16] Tabulation efforts were also hampered by the nature of one of SanFrancisco's more colorful and notorious districts, the area known asChinatown. The Call-SpreckelsBuilding, as it was referred to, was a distinctive structure, capped by anelaborate dome that made it easy to pick out in the city's skyline.Farther away, on Ninth Street, were the offices of the Bulletin, a 4-year-old paper just starting to come into its own, in part because of thededicated work of its editor, Freemont Older. During the previous 14 years in which records were kept, theearliest large shock occurred in June of 1836; scientists later estimatedthat it may have been as severe as 8. Linthicum and White's account notes, "There seems to be noreason to believe the earthquake shock in San Francisco had any directconnection with the eruption of Vesuvius,"[21] thereby providing areassurance to readers in 19 6 that may be mysterious to a modern audience. [15]"Earthquake and Fire," 1. The quake threwbuildings off their foundations, dislodged chimneys, ripped apart gas mainsand, in consequence, started hundreds of fires. The Great Earthquake and Fire: San Francisco, 19 6. The introduction to CompleteStory of the San Francisco Horror lays out the book's intent: The publishers set out with the determination to produce a work that would leave no room for any other history on this subject, a task for which they had the best facilities and the most perfect equipment . Other papers included theDaily News. Fire fighters had no ammunitionto stop the fires. But for all its discrepancies, its tendency to report as facts events which the reporters felt must have occurred, but actually had not - a tendency that grew much worse in the days that followed - it was a remarkable paper, put out in haste against unprecedented obstacle. In19 6, Hearst was across the country, in the middle of an ultimatelyunsuccessful run for the governorship of New York; the Examiner's workcontinued under an expert editorial staff back in San Francisco. [21]Ibid., 23 . Re-establishing physical headquarters took months, but theCall, Chronicle, Examiner, and Daily News (publishing from the offices ofthe Oakland Herald) and the Examiner (publishing from the Oakland Tribunepresses) were all back in full swing before the end of the first week,continuing to serve their readers with as much detailed coverage about thecity's recovery as possible. Outside the city, local concerns took precedence in the press. [2 ]Linthicum, 7. The 19 6 earthquake and fire were a devastating trial for SanFrancisco and the journalists covering the news of the city. The city had grown rapidly through thesecond half of the 19th century because of the gold rush and theconstruction of the Central Pacific railroad. [14]________, "Hundreds Are Killed; Thousands Are Homeless." RichmondTimes-Dispatch, 19 April, 19 6, 1. Within the hour, the reporters were piling eyewitness accounts on his desk.[1 ]Yet, while reporters from all the city's papers were struggling to continueto do their job, all three Newspaper Row editors soon had to concede theirown devastation. The paper turned out ahurried edition on borrowed, hand-cranked presses until the printers wereforced to evacuate the shop. Atapproximately 5:12 a.m.,[3] "the onrushing violence of a tortured earthbroke upon the City to twist and wreck and kill."[4] Eyewitnesses disputethe length of the initial temblor; Eric Saul and Don Denevi, writing in1981, contend, "The steady shaking lasted, according to the most reliablereports, a total of 28 seconds,"[5] but other accounts insist that theearthquake came in two waves, which may account for some of thedisagreement. The haste with which it was assembled isevident in a number of typographic errors, redundancies, and mixture ofwriting styles; its tone varies between breathless, sensationalist languageand fairly straightforward writing, which may also be the result of itsbeing the work of two writers. By the time the disasterstruck, half the population of California was living in San Francisco andits outlying towns. The editors ofthe three major newspapers started a frantic search for presses out of thefield of danger, and they came up with an unprecedented solution. The few individuals outside of Chinatown's borders likely tohave access to a press would probably not have considered the needs ofChinese survivors to be a priority. Examining theways in which the press covered this terrifying milestone in historyprovides a fascinating glimpse into the nature and purpose of modernjournalism. . [1 ]Saul, 56. Saul and Denevi recount thepredicament that began at the Call-Spreckels building: The situation was becoming desperate. A few minutes later, it was realized that the offices of the Call and the Examiner were in direct line of the fire and therefore couldn't be saved.[7]Linthicum and White write, "The Call editorial and mechanical departmentswere totally destroyed in a few minutes"[8] early in the afternoon, and thegutted building later "stood proudly erect, lifting its whited head abovethe ruin like some leprous thing and with all its windows, dead, staringeyes that looked upon nothing but a wilderness."[9] Although the employees of the Call and the Examiner were forced outof their offices almost immediately, one of their rivals attempted to carryon business as usual: There was an effort on the part of the San Francisco Chronicle and its managing editor to cover every possible phase of the disaster. By Saturday, the Chronicle'sheadlines were proclaiming "Residence Districts Out of Danger . [18]Bronson, 132. [2]William Bronson, The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned: A Moving Recordof America's Great Earthquake and Fire, San Francisco, April 18, 19 6 (SanFrancisco: Chronicle, 1959), 17. Millbrae, CA; Celestial Arts, 1981.----------------------- [1]Richard Linthicum and Trumbull White, Complete Story of the SanFrancisco Horror (San Francisco: Hubert D. The area knowninformally as "Newspaper Row" was the intersection of Market, Third, andKearney. [3]Reports vary about the exact time of the start of the earthquake.The upheaval stopped several clocks: the clock at Agnew's Insane Asylumshowed 5:13 1/2 a.m., while some clocks placed the onset as late as 5:15a.m. Thoughthe local news was alarming, the out-of-state stories that made up most ofthe front page had already been set, giving the impression that theearthquake had not been especially destructive, despite the local sub-headmentioning "alarming rumors."[19] Newspaper publishers were not the only ones attempting to fill theinformation gap caused by the disaster. "Hundreds Are Killed; Thousands Are Homeless." Richmond Times- Dispatch, 19 April, 19 6, 1.________. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1959.________. [12]________, "Hundreds Dead!," The San Francisco Daily News, 18April 19 6, 1. [9]Ibid., 48. San Francisco in the early 2 th century was an important port onAmerica's Pacific coast, described by contemporary authors RichardLinthicum and Trumbull White as "a city of magnificent splendor, wealthierand more prosperous than Tyre and Sidon of antiquity, enriched by the minesof Ophir."[1] The city had been founded by the Spanish in 1776 and namedYerba Buena. Theemergency edition of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat published the day afterthe earthquake, focused on the losses suffered in Santa Rosa. Aftershocksalso toppled buildings that had withstood the first shakes, and officialswere consumed with the almost overwhelming task of preventing furtherlosses, rather than tallying those that had occurred already. Many of these so-called California Bonanza Kings had helpedbuild the city's prestigious buildings, luxury hotels, and palatialmansions. New York: William Morrow, 1963.Linthicum, Richard, and Trumbull White. This single edition of the Call-Chronicle-Examiner remains afascinating, though limited, instance of journalistic solidarity. The worst of the initial blazes raged in the downtown district, rightalong Newspaper Row. Thepaper was not authorized by each of the respective publishers, but it waseagerly welcomed by the earthquake's victims, providing a source of solidinformation to counter the rumors that had begun to fly. . . [6]________, "Earthquake and Fire: San Francisco in Ruins." Call-Chronicle-Examiner, 19 April, 19 6, 1. The editorshad to look outside San Francisco, and, in a remarkable example ofcooperation, quickly struck a joint deal with the Oakland Tribune topublish a brief edition under the combined banner of all three papers. The city included large populations of immigrants fromItaly, Ireland, and China, as well as emigres from the east. The paper washanded out free, though some ambitious distributors managed to get as muchas a dime per issue from those who had stumbled out into the wreckage withany cash. Gathering his force around him by 7: A.M., the editor ordered the reporters to especially check out the origins and extent of the fires then raging. The onlyother presses within the city sufficient to any sizable attempt at printingwere in the offices of the Bulletin, just a few blocks away. More than half a century later it still comes alive with the shock of the day's events.[13]The paper was the only edition of the "Call-Chronicle-Examiner" everpublished. They needed the news as much as theyneeded food, water, and shelter. The city was substantial enough to support three major newspapers andone promising newcomer, as well as a variety of smaller papers andspecialty publications; San Francisco's Chinatown district published threenewspapers entirely in Chinese, for example. Tallying the losses of life and property in this part of townwas extraordinarily difficult; 24, Chinese and Chinese Americans livedin a neighborhood just four blocks square, in the heart of the areadevastated by fire. Three separate stories gave three different times for the earthquake's occurrence. The buildings housing the three morning papers - the Examiner, theCall, and the Chronicle - were all located within 1 feet of one anotheralong Market Street, in the city's main business district. In theabsence of other sources of information, the survivors of a major disasterneed concrete, objective facts about the nature and scope of theirexperience. "Earthquake and Fire: San Francisco in Ruins." Call-Chronicle- Examiner, 19 April, 19 6, 1.________. The paper'spublishers were too consumed with their own dead, which included threedelivery boys crushed beneath the walls of the building, to be able tospare much attention at first for San Francisco's plight. Linthicum and White argue that government stations across the countryrecord the start of the quake at 19 minutes past the hour, but theyacknowledge that these stations were located three hours ahead and may,therefore, have taken a few extra minutes to begin to register the shockwaves. . Newspaper editors, reporters, and the journeymenprinters who operated the presses, were already on the job or about toreport for work. Gold, the railroad, and the many industries that both made possiblehad turned many of San Francisco's citizens into millionaires nearlyovernight. Although severely damaged, the building was rebuilteventually, rather than being torn down. Then, a gas explosion in the sewer in front of the building sent an iron manhole cover flying through the air, forcing the typesetting machines out of commission once and for all. FaithAbounds in United City."[22] The crisis was passing, and the city, and itsnewspapers, had survived. The fires raged for several days, continuing to destroyproperty and kill those who had survived the initial temblor. In a meetingheld on Tuesday evening, April 17, 19 6, to discuss emergency planning,city officials congratulated themselves on the city's prosperity andtranquility: "San Francisco had one of the finest fire departments in theworld and had remained free of conflagration for almost fifty-five years.There hadn't been a killer earthquake since 1868, and, as everyone knew,hurricanes and tornadoes belonged to other parts of the country."[2] On the morning of April 18, 19 6, the quiet came to an end. San Francisco: Hubert D. . The April 19thheadline read, "A Dreadful Catastrophe Visits Santa Rosa."[18] The April 18 edition of the San Jose Evening News was publishedbefore its editors knew that the quake had also hit San Francisco. These illustrations have special interest and value because they are made from actual photographs taken by trained and skilled photographers.[2 ] The Complete Story includes many eyewitness accounts (though repeatsat least one in separate chapters) and manages to convey a good sense ofthe scope of the disaster. While somehysteria and misinformation existed, the disaster brought out much that wasgood in its survivors. The edition detailed the initial destructionand the names of casualties. The desperation with which this four-page paper was receivedindicates the first important function served by journalism. The Call was located in the Carl Spreckels Building; at 18stories, it was the tallest skyscraper in the city. In 1938, its distinctive dome, ahighly visible landmark in many photographs from the disaster, was removedin order to add six floors. Contemporary reports do not mention whether the Chinese press in SanFrancisco was also able to print editions on the first days of thedisaster, but the limited availability of printing presses makes thisdoubtful. [8]Ibid., 35. The local press, while portraying the horrifying extent of thedisaster, also tried to remain optimistic. Though hastily compiled, it gave news-hungrysurvivors a great deal of accurate information.[12] With little available water to douse the growing fires, fire fightershad begun to dynamite buildings in the path of the flames. The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, 19 6. [19]Ibid., 138. [7]Linthicum, 57. Thebuilding is now known as the Central Tower. The downtown business district included many striking steelstructures, and the demand for housing throughout the city had increasedthe number of houses from 5 , in 19 to 85, in 19 6. [16]Linthicum, 77. Readers outside the range of the quake were also hungry forinformation, especially if they had friends or family living in the SanFrancisco area. [22]Bronson, 79.----------------------- 14 (It was eighteen stories high, or nineteen if one counted the last unfinished floor in the dome.) It took many a liberty with the day's events, too: it reported, for example, that martial law had been declared . By 1847, the town had been taken by U.S. Two articles disagreed even on the height of the Call Building: one called it fifteen stories, the other eighteen. [13]Kennedy, 112. Yet 19 6 beganquietly, and, during the first 16 days of April that year, the cityexperienced no tremors strong enough to be recorded at all. Russell, 19 6.Saul, Eric, and Don Denevi. More newspapers werepublished across the bay in Oakland and in many of the surrounding towns.One of the most prominent was William Randolph Hearst's San FranciscoExaminer, which he had run since taking over from his father in 1887. Most of San Francisco's journalists had some experience coveringlocal disasters, and the city itself had experienced earthquakes and firesbefore. [4]Bronson, 24. The services of the two best historical writers in the United States were secured within an hour after the first news of the catastrophe was received . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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