Today in Media History: Wireless telegraph reported the sinking of the Titanic

On April 15, 1912, the news media reported that the British steamship Titanic sank after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Information about the disaster came fast, but it was often inaccurate, leading to numerous incorrect headlines and stories.

At the end of an article in The New York Sun, John George Phillips, the ship’s senior wireless telegraph operator was mentioned. As one of the Marconi telegraph operators, Phillips called other ships for help as the Titanic sank into the North Atlantic. It is not clear how, but he died either on the ship or later in a lifeboat. The ship’s wireless telegraph, a new technology in 1912, saved hundreds of lives. Back in the United States, news organizations used the same technology to quickly gather information about the sinking of the Titanic. In addition to newspapers and magazines, silent newsreels also reported the story of the Titanic.