Randolph Hearst's influence on the newspaper business

            Randolph Hearst is famous for transforming journalism and the newspaper business in the twentieth century.  He went to Harvard University and immersed himself in journalism, acting as the business manager of the Harvard Lampoon. His career began when he was the “Proprietor” of the San Francisco Examiner that his dad received for him as payment for a gambling bet. His father was a self-made m     multimillionaire, miner, and rancher and his family’s wealth helped him to see the world and gain the experiences that influenced his work. Eventually, Hearst turned his newspaper into a combination of investigative reporting and sensationalism. He was known for having the best journalists working for him like Stephen Crane and Mark Twain. He purchased the New York Journal as his second publication and at one point he owned about 28 newspapers and 18 magazines (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhearst.htm) At one point nearly one of four people got a Hearst publication. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives but he lost when he ran for mayor. He did not support the country’s involvement in the First World War and he attacked the formation of the League of Nations. In addition, he also owned several radio stations and movie companies, influencing the entertainment industry as a whole. Hearst died in 1951 and he believed that Hearst inspired the movie Citizen Kane.

Overall, Hearst changed the newspaper business forever because of the mass amount of newspapers he sold and because of his passion and approach to the business. He worked really long hours and put all of his energy in to his newspaper. He changed the way newspapers were printed because he bought the most modern equipment. According to an article found on manythings.org (http://www.manythings.org/voa/people/William_Randolph_Hearst.html),” Mr. Hearst believed in doing whatever it took to get readers.  His newspaper policy was:  make the news complete; print all the news; shorten it if necessary, but get it in.  That became the policy in newsrooms across America.” Although affected by the Great Depression when he lost most personal control of his newspapers and other forms of communication, Hearst was still known for influencing the newspaper business. Specifically, he influenced journalism by introducing banner headlines and creative illustrations to newspapers. Although many reporters did not adapt his overly biased reporting technique, many adapted his formats and mindset. I think many of the tabloids that exaggerate the lives of celebrities relate to how Hearst used to report. However, he is most well known for being partially blamed for initiating the Spanish-American War in 1898 in order to help increase sales of his newspapers. He was blamed for the start of the war because of his distorted exaggerated reporting and campaigning for an aggressive foreign policy. His newspapers had accused Spain of sinking the American battleship Maine and killing two hundred fifty sailors. He made his news sound even greater than it was and this became known as yellow journalism. He had huge political influence because of how large his newspaper organization was and he became a voice for working people and the poor.