Newspaper_Biases_About_the_Woodstock_Music_and_Art_Fair

November 18, 2010 Library Project II The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was an “Aquarian Exposition” that took place on a 600-acre farm in Bethel, New York from August 15 to August 18, 1969. The event was described to be “three days of peace and music” and drew a crowd of over 450,000 people[1]. Because this function drew such a large crowd, it also drew much media attention. The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer were three newspapers that published articles about Woodstock that had different attitudes about it based on a number of reasons such the region of America they were in, the demographics, etc. The Philadelphia Inquirer's article “N.Y. Rock Fair Issues 'Disaster' Plea” described what was happening at Woodstock in a rather negative way. The article only mentions the bad things that took place there such as “New York State police … made 94 drug arrests”, “[a doctor] treated at least 1000 patients … suffering from unfavorable drug reaction”, and “Sanitary facilities were sparse … weed was in better supply than water.” The opinion of the author was dismissive and there was only a brief mention of what the “Rock Fair” was actually about[2]. It seemed like the article was written to warn parents about all the drug use and dangers of Woodstock so they could make sure that their children did not go. The unfavorable article could be mostly due to the fact that The Philadelphia Inquirer's target audience was largely the older generation, and it also has a history of being a more Republican publication. The New York Times' article “200,000 Bound for Rock Festival Jam Roads Upstate” was more neutral in its description of Woodstock. The article states the facts and doesn't seem too biased either way. It remarks on “arrests made … for possession of … drugs” but it also quotes state police for saying that the people “are polite and none of them has really given us any trouble yet.” A large part of the article is about how “traffic was 'at a virtual standstill'” and that it was “bumper to bumper up to four and one-half hours”[3] but that was mainly because Woodstock was taking place there: New York's citizens would want to know about which roads to avoid driving on. It read as though the article was written to inform readers the facts and details of the festival and give them a warning about the traffic jams. This neutrality might be because the target audience for The New York Times tends to be educated, a little younger, and more interested in current affairs. The Washington Post's article “People Together” portrayed Woodstock as a good thing; bringing out the kindness in people. It divulges the number of “hippies” that were attending and how there was a “call for emergency help with food, water, and medical assistance”. It goes on to say that about 36 hours after the emergency call was made, “it was the people who didn't want them who gave them food, water, and medical help.” Some food establishments decided not to tax the “kids” because “they need the three cents more than we do.”; people even started to give way food and water to the “poor kids stuck out there.” People who at first viewed Woodstock with “disgust and dismay”[4] soon rose up to help the people who needed it. The article came across as just trying to bring an uplifting story about people coming together in a time of crisis to the readers. This positive story might have been because Washington D.C. Was a little farther from Woodstock than Philadelphia or New York. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was an experience of three days of music that also caused heavy drug use and a shortage of supplies such as food and water. Newspapers from different states had articles that focused on reporting different things from the drug use and consequent arrests, the traffic jams it caused, and heartening stories about the kindness of strangers. The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer were three newspapers that revealed animosity, support, and remained neutral toward Woodstock because of a number of reasons from their target audience, to the writer of the article, to the setting of where it was published. --------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Skolnick, Arnold. Woodstock Music & Art Fair Poster. 1969. [ 2 ]. “N.Y. Rock Fair Issues 'Disaster' Plea”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 17, 1969. [ 3 ]. “200,000 Bound for Rock Festival Jam Roads Upstate”, The New York Times, August 16, 1969. [ 4 ]. Phillips, B.J., “People Together”, The Washington Post, August 18, 1969.