November 12, 2024 - 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

The WSU Humanities Center invites faculty, students, staff, and the community to a Brown Bag presentation given by Joshua Duchan (Associate Professor, Associate Chair, Music) and Eric Freedman (Professor and Knight Chair, Environmental Journalism, MSU) on the topic of "Please Buy My Last Paper, I Want to Go Home: Portrayal of Newsboys and Newsgirls in 19th and 20th Century Music".

Abstract: For publishers, newsboys—and some newsgirls—were essential players in the circulation pipeline, cheap labor that made the highly competitive industry profitable. The newsboy became an America cultural trope or archetype, a focus of rags-to-riches fiction, the target of pity and social welfare activism, a smiling stereotype, an exemplar of hard work, and an incarnation of urban poverty. Although the music itself is fairly consistent in popular sheet music of songs about newsboys from the mid-1840s through the late 1930s, two major themes emerged from the titles, lyrics, and covers: First, depiction as sad, abandoned, vulnerable, pitiable, and often homeless, laboring for pennies to feed themselves and their families—if they had families. Such songs carried pathos-laden titles such as “I've Not Sold a Paper To-Day.” A contrasting, upbeat depiction in songs such as “I'd Rather Be A Newsboy in the U.S.A. than a Ruler in a Foreign Land”— masquerading as reality— portrayed them as cheerful, enthusiastic entrepreneurs who made the latest news accessible for a penny or two per copy.

 

Please RSVP for the zoom link.