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Show 24 evolved. 59 Richard West Sellars, a historian for the National Park Service, examined the evolution of how parks were thought about and managed from the perspective of the park service. 60 Although their research did not focus on journalism and the national parks, both Runtc and Sellars relied in part on newspaper reports in their research. Runte in particular cited newspaper accounts of the West's scenic beauty as a force contributing to support for the national parks. He credited the popular press with laying the foundations of the national park idea in the American consciousness: Indeed, much as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and others fostered an appreciation of landscapes on an intellectual plane, so publicists of a more common bent aroused support for preservation while introducing their readers to the scenery of the Far West. 61 Evidence that the press played a role in land preservation dates back at least to Yosemite in 1864. Although Yellowstone was the first official national park, eight years before Congress declared it as such, the federal government played a major role In preserving Yosemite. Researchers credit the press with building public support and support in Congress for preserving Yosemite.62 Several researchers have identified New York Tribune publisher and editor Horace Greeley as "one newspaperman who S9 [bid Richard West Sellars , Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997). 60 61 Runte, National Parks: The American tXperience, 12. Neuzil and Kovarik, Mass Media and Environmental Conflict, 56-62. In 1852, businessman George Gale cut down the largest known tree, named the '·Mother of the Forest," near Yosemite Valley. His intention was to create a business of taking parts of the 2,500-year-old tree on tour and charging admission. Neu.lit and Kovarik credited the media coverage of Gale's stunt and the subsequent public outcry as a catalys1 for land preservation. Members of Congress knew about the Yosemite region because of media coverage of the controversy. 62 |
