2001, American Journalism Historians Association. Media historians sometimes divide late nineteenth century newspapers into "yellow" or "elite" categories on the basis of whether they indulged in sensationalism. The eras editors and press reformers, however, found it difficult to perform the same task because of disagreements about how sensationalism should defined and how it should be used. This case study examines the period debate about sensationalism and uses it to evaluate how "elite" and "yellow"New York dailies covered a common story, the end of the nineteenth century. Using 1890s standards, the study found elements in both groups coverage that could be sensational. In this case, the application of sensation links, rather than separates, the news practices of "elite" and "yellow"journal.
