EPISODE 9: THE MEDIA ## PART ONE: THE BIRTH OF THE MYTH ### CHAPTER 1: FLEET STREET The Ripper murders happened at a transformative moment in media history. The Education Act of 1870 had made schooling compulsory in England. By 1888, literacy rates had soared. A new reading public had emerged—working-class and lower-middle-class consumers hungry for news and entertainment. The newspapers responded. New printing technology made mass production cheap. The penny press made newspapers affordable. Competition for readers became fierce. Fleet Street, the traditional home of London journalism, was in the midst of a circulation war. Papers competed for scoops, for exclusives, for the most dramatic headlines. Sensationalism sold papers. The public wanted stories that shocked, horrified, and thrilled. Jack the Ripper provided exactly what the papers needed. --- ### CHAPTER 2: THE STAR The Star was a new paper, founded in January 1888—just months before the murders began. It was a halfpenny paper, cheaper than the establishment press, designed for working-class readers. Its editor, T.P. O'Connor, understood that his audience wanted excitement, not the dry political coverage of traditional journals. The Star's coverage of the Whitechapel murders was pioneering—and deeply irresponsible. The paper published graphic descriptions of the crimes, speculated wildly about the killer's identity, and criticized the police with abandon. It created the template that other papers...