the type of journalism that relies on sensationalism and lurid exaggeration to attract readers
Word origin
C19: perhaps shortened from the phrase Yellow Kid journalism, referring to the Yellow Kid, a cartoon (1895) in the New York World, a newspaper having a reputation for sensationalism
yellow journalism in American English
US
the use of cheaply sensational or unscrupulous methods in newspapers, etc. to attract or influence readers
Word origin
< the use of yellow ink, to attract readers, in printing the “Yellow Kid,” a comicstrip, in the New York World (1895)