The classification of journalism in spanish 19th century. Rhetoric and literary precepts. A combination of scorn and perplexity

Abstract

During the 19th century there were no publications of handbooks governing the journalistic style rules which texts printed in newspapers and magazines should adhere to. However, by the middle of the century and after a period of certain contempt towards Journalism in general, treatises on rhetoric and literary precepts included these types of texts as examples of atypical and illegitimate literary disciplines. This paper reviews theassumptions of those 19th century authors and gathers the most relevant contributions from the main specialists who have studied this intersection between Journalism and Literature and interprets them from a journalistic perspective. The aim of the article is to clearly specify the key factors as to how this classification came about.