The Successes And Failures Of William Randolph Hearst

“Any man who has the brains to think and the nerve to act for the benefit of the people of the country is considered a radical by those who are content with stagnation and willing to endure disaster.” These words, uttered by William Randolph Hearst himself, exemplify the man and journalist he was.

In order to fully comprehend and effectively analyze the successes and failures of William Randolph Hearst, an understanding of his upbringing is a necessary onset. Born in San Francisco, the son of a multimillionaire father and a schoolteacher mother, Hearst received the absolute best obtainable education. His initial introduction to journalism was his father’s purchasing of The San Francisco Examiner, which he would later come to own and operate.

Though initially acquired to further his father’s political agenda, the newspaper would soon become Hearst’s own preface into both the journalistic and business worlds. After acquiring the Examiner, Hearst was quick to notice correlations between the type of news printed and the viewership obtained. Utilizing this newfound knowledge, he began to publish articles whose main goals were to captivate readers and convey the story at hand, all in an effort to augment public shock. Over the coming years, The Examiner was able to unearth corruption on local and national scales, often adopting new and groundbreaking protocols in an effort to obtain the truth.
Following his newfound success at the Examiner, Hearst continued on to New York, his desires cemented on conquering the industry of journalism.

Upon arriving in New York, he obtained the New York Morning Journal, a failing newspaper, and carried it to national popularity. In a successful effort to attract readers, headlines resembled bright billboards, their topics ranging from sport to crime to scandal. The Journal eventually clashed with analogous papers in the city, the most notable Joseph Pulitzer’s World. Competition began to grow increasingly fierce, Hearst often stealing from the World their most aggressive reporters and executives. Additionally, in an effort to gain circulation, Hearst lowered the price of his newspaper to a mere penny, causing all competing news outlets to match the same price or be forced out of business. Some of the ruthlessness later associated with Hearst can be attributed to these early actions. Continuing his practice of insertion of unnecessary and often falsified details in an effort to gain audience, Hearst’s sensationalist news empire began to multiply. In perhaps the most well known action of Hearst, an article was published boldly claiming the Spanish had sunk a battleship in the already tense Spanish-American conflict in Cuba, to which he and his news empire had no proof. In correlation with this act of inciting a war between The United States, Hearst often utilized his vast and powerful news outlets to push his own political views. This exercise of personal advancement, viewed differently by many, tarnishes the everlastingly important legacy of Hearst.

In order to truly discredit the naysayers who insist that Hearst’s negative legacy is indeed deserved, a full and comprehensive apprehension of any and all unfavorable issues surrounding the ambitious young journalist is essential. One such aspect of Heart’s journalistic career and life is his involvement with and constructing of what is known as yellow journalism. Yellow journalism

is defined as
“the use of lurid features and sensationalized news in newspaper publishing to attract readers and increase circulation.”
Hearst’s involvement with this sensationalist practice is utilized by many as a scapegoat to not truly recognizing the successes of Hearst. With regard to Hearst, Pulitzer and the Spanish American War, the practice of sensationalized journalism was the driving force behind America’s entry into a war with Spain. The articles published had no immediate effect on government decision, but they effectively persuaded the American people to voice their new opinion on the war: that The United States was obligated to act. The articles themselves were a constant attempt at manipulating and conjuring an atrocious image of the Spanish, accomplished by exacerbating Spanish flaws and spinning Spanish actions to resemble anti-American conduct. In perhaps the most well known implementation of yellow journalism, Hearst’s Journal utilized text and illustrations to purport the ways in which an American war ship had been devastated. The Journal, asserting that the Spanish were absolutely behind the destruction, did so without any tangible evidence to support their claims. While Hearst and his news empire surely stood as a catalyst for the war, often omitted were the business interests The United States had in Cuba.
Often scrutinized as well were both Hearst’s ruthlessness as a journalist and his unconventional personal life. What many have seen as harsh and often excessive efforts, the actions of Hearst were performed in order to truly uncover corruption and other malfeasance. Public perception drew only his means of actions from his inquiry of truth and justice, never taking into consideration the final product: the uncovering of wrongdoing. It was not until later in his life that Hearst’s personal relations underwent scrutiny. Having fallen in love with a 21-year-old showgirl, Hearst abandoned his longtime partner, a waitress he had supported since Harvard. This radical change in relationship caused many to mistakenly and erroneously become skeptical of his journalistic abilities.

The emphasis placed on Hearst’s practice of yellow journalism, ruthlessness, and unconventional personal life clouds the fundamentally positive influence Hearst had on journalism in the US.