Identifier

etd-04072017-140737

Degree

Master of Mass Communication (MMC)

Department

Mass Communication

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

William Francis Mannix was a colossal hoaxer, journalist, criminal, and literary forger. He most famously fabricated “Memoirs of Li Hung Chang” (1913); sent sensational dispatches from Cuba during the Spanish American War that were published in the New York Times, Philadelphia Press, and other reputable papers; and is suspected of forging love letters written by Abraham Lincoln, published by the Atlantic Monthly in 1929. Mannix is representative of a type of journalist at the turn of the nineteenth century. At that time elements of the press were striving for professional respectability and embracing ethical standards. Historians have held these publications up as standing apart from the sensational press. In fact, even the best publications were tied in with journalists like Mannix. This thesis attempts to consolidate the threads of Mannix’s life, putting his career into the larger journalism context it illuminates.

Date

2017

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Hamilton, John Maxwell

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.4415

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