Era of the press barons

The era of the press barons is often seen as a maverick interlude in the development of the press. According to this view, press barons gained an unprecedented hegemony over the press, and cynically manipulated their newspapers as engines of propaganda. The despotic rule of the press barons is contrasted with a preceding golden age when proprietors played an inactive role, and editors were ‘sovereign’. ¹ The press barons have thus become favourite bogeymen: censoring them has become a way of celebrating the former editorial integrity of the press.