In the 1940s, hard news accounted for four pages of the average daily newspaper, while by the 1980s, this had grown to only five pages despite doubled newspaper sizes.
Bagdikian noted that 'fluff' content was favored by advertisers to create a buying mood, showing a clear disconnect between media content and readers' desire for hard news.
Newspapers began to suppress hard news around the 1930s, particularly studies linking smoking to cancer, due to pressure from large advertisers.
The rise of 'fluff' content in journalism signaled a shift in focus from informing the public to catering to advertisers' preferences, diluting the essence of news.
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