William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was born in San Francisco in 1863. The son of a millionaire, Hearst wanted for nothing. He attended Harvard College for two years before his expulsion due to antics such as throwing large scale parties and sending chamber pots to his professors. [1]
In 1887 Hearst took over management of the San Francisco Examiner, a paper owned by his father. Eight years later, Hearst purchased the New York Morning Journal, a paper which at the time was failing.
The New York Journal and The New York Post (owned by Joseph Pulitzer, Hearst's biggest competition and rival) both mastered the art of yellow journalism.
Yellow Journalism refers to newspaper stories with little to no legitimacy. These stories include exaggerations or have been sensationalized. The goal of these stories is not to inform the public, but to catch the public's attention and therefore yield more sales of the paper. [2]
Leading up to the Spanish-American War, Hearst pushed coverage of the Cuban Revolution. The stories were one-sided and often failed to contain reliable sources. Hearst had taken a pro-Cuba stance, and as a result published stories illustrating the atrocities committed by the Spanish. Many of the atrocities reported never happened or were sensationalized to the point that they no longer resembled the actual event they drew inspiration from. The New York Journal helped to popularize the idea that The USS Maine was destroyed by sabotage, a claim that had no evidence. [3]
The most well known quote of Hearst, which ironically has no factual backing as to whether he really said this or not, was in regards to being told by his illustrator Fredric Remington that all was quiet in Cuba, "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." [4]
Footnotes
[1] Streimatter, Rodger. Mightier than the Sword. New York, NY: Westview Press, 2016.
[2] Campbell, W. Joseph. Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
[3] Streimatter, Rodger. Mightier than the Sword.
[4] Campbell, W. Joseph. Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies.
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Image
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Ewing, and Harris. “HEARST, WILLIAM RANDOLPH.” Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Library of Congress, January 1, 1970. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016858735/.
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