The New York Herald was a pioneering penny press newspaper known for impartial political reporting and commercial coverage. However, it gained notoriety for a fake 1874 article about escaped animals from Central Park Zoo injuring people, which was later admitted to be fabricated.
The New York Herald was one of the first newspapers founded during the penny press era, when advances in printing technology made news accessible to the middle class at a reasonable price. Otherwise known for its nonpartisan political reporting and robust commercial coverage, the paper is forever inked by a bogus 1874 article that falsely claimed that animals at the Central Park Zoo had escaped and were “mangled, trampled and injured” a certain number of people in the city. Eventually, journalist Joseph Clarke admitted that he and editor-in-chief Thomas Connery made up the story to illustrate what might happen if conditions at the zoo didn’t improve.
A bad idea that backfired:
At the end of Clarke’s original story, the reporter also stated: “Of course, the whole story above is pure fabrication. Not a single word is true.” But the belated disclaimer was missed by more alarmed New Yorkers.
Central Park was about 15 years old at the time and was popular with New York’s leisure class. The zoo, home to elephants, zebras, bison, big cats, monkeys and other creatures, was one of the park’s most popular attractions.
The rival New York Times called the stunt “a violation not only of journalistic correctness and due respect for the public, but also of common decency and humanity.”
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