The reporting of the Jack the Ripper case was as much about the rise of mass literacy and the competitive nature of the newspaper industry as it was about the crimes themselves.

“Because I think, as lots of ripper historians think, this is as much a story about the newspapers and about publishing and indeed about mass literacy as it is one about crime or poverty or prostitution.”

Holly Frey claims that domestic and international news agencies have a significant influence on culture and language through their established style guides.

“I read an interesting article preparing for this that was about how um not just international news agencies, but domestic news agencies have a huge effect on culture and on language because like I mean you and I for years have used the Associated Press style guide um as like that was has been like t”