Peter Crosby
The race to the North Pole in 1909 was reported by the New York Herald and the New York Times.
The problem? Like much of the media landscape today, the readers of each paper accused the other of “fake news,” though presumably that term didn’t exist in those days.
This daring race was about much more than the two men, Robert Peary and Frederick Cook, who risked life and limb to physically reach the north pole.
Each claimed they were first along with the newspapers that supported and promoted their claims.
Journalist and author Darrell Hartman explores this curiously contemporary topic in his new book, "Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media."
