By the late nineteenth century to early twentieth, the attention of the common people had progressively waned. There was a growing need for entertainment, something that could catch the attention and mind of the people. The solution? Sensationalism, or using shocking, possibly inaccurate stories, to capture the attention of the audience. This practice was abused and perfected by two men who would transform the media we see today. One of the men, Joseph Pulitzer is very well known today, at least by his name. In his will, he donated to the university of Columbia to award an honor in journalism in his name. This award was the Pulitzer Prize, one of the most recognizable achievements today. But who was the other man, his competitor? What did he do and why is his legacy not as remembered?
William Randolph Hearst:His father had made a fortune in the mining industry and became a senator in California. William would inherit the San Francisco Examiner from his father. He would use this to become a newspaper tycoon. Hearst targeted urban workers- especially immigrants- favoring labor unions, municipal ownership of utilities, and taxation. He was able to pander to Irish and German readers by criticizing the British and Asian immigration. In 1898, when the American Naval Ship, Maine, blew up in an expedition to Cuba, Hearst was quick to accuse the Spaniards, sending outrage throughout America even though evidence decades later overwhelmingly shows it was a simple malfunction in the ship. In his later years, Hearst decided to pursue a career in politics. In 1903, he was elected to the House of Representatives and later narrowly missed out on being Mayor of New York City, and later governor of New York. In the 1930s, his views took a complete turnaround as he would become ultraconservative, nationalist, and anti-communist. He would speak out loudly against Franklin Roosevelt. Nearing the end of his life, Hearst's empire fell out of control. He spent lavishly on art and real estate, while failing to keep his newspapers running. By 1940, only seventeen out of forty-two remained in circulation. In 1941, the classic film Citizen Kane was released. Believing that the movie was based on him and portrayed him in a very bad manor, Hearst used his influence to limit the release of the film, ruining director Orson Welles' career. Overall, Hearst's legacy has been tarnished and is remembered as one who always tried any means necessary to grab the audience, as well as maintain his image.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/william-randolph-hearst
This is a great posts that helps understand behind the scenes of the entertainment of the late 19th century. I liked how most of what happened with William Randolph Hearst's stories can relate to today. How magaizines and news articles online most of the time have to lie to get people interested and entertained just like how it is today.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Alex! I think it was interesting to pick out one of the figures we have read and learned about and go more in-depth about his life - especially his political career which I did not know about. I like how you created a narrative of his personality where you not only described how he used sensationalism, which hurt his reputation, but he also ironically went to far lengths to save his reputation which in turn tarnished his legacy. Overall, the scope of your post is very comprehensive and I think this was very well-done.
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