Helen Jewett Murder

The murder of Helen Jewett attracted a lot of attention, because it was about a well-educated woman and a young man both taking paths to get into trouble. The expansion of the newspapers made everyone know about the case from all across the United States. New people were coming into New York City which was bringing a greater population expansion. It was quicker for people to move around the city because there was transportation and Richard Robinson and Helen Jewett were not being controlled as much like the smaller cities, such as walking. The resulting media attention on the murder of Helen Jewett created panic while it highlighted the affect of the expansions of newspapers, population, and technology on the societies ability to control youth. The expansion of the newspapers made it easier for everyone to know about the case from all across the United States. With newspapers it was way more easy to get information and it was far more difficult to hide conflict. With more people migrating into the city there was a better chance that someone may witness another person creating a crime, such as Richard Robinson killing Helen Jewett. “The cold-blooded,
As the Jewett murder story gained greater popularity in the penny press, the more traditional papers found themselves struggling to equalize their sense of journalistic against the drama that had become the talk of the town. “The Evening Post of June 8, for example, called it ‘disgusting’ and ‘disagreeable,’ covering it only to satisfy a ‘public excitement.’ (Cohen 26)” This became outrageous when the collapse to discern involved a wanton disrespect for human life, which ended up leading to manslaughter. Killing is immoral. Some people are afraid to read about murder because they are afraid of blood and guts, but others think it was interesting and uncommon like to discuss about in the