Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

News In Lights: The Times Square Zipper And Newspaper Signs In An Age Of Technological Enthusiasm, Dale L. Cressman Phd

Faculty Publications

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, when the telegraph had produced an appetite for breaking news, New York City newspaper publishers used signs on their buildings to report headlines and promote their newspapers. Originally chalkboards were used to post headlines. But, fierce competition led to the use of new technologies, such as magic lantern projections. These and, later, electrically lighted signs, would evoke amazement. In 1928, during an age of invention, The New York Times installed an electric "moving letter" sign on its building in Times Square. Popularly known as "the zipper," the monograph drew significant attention from …