Revisiting Hearst

Our first lecture of the new year focussed on revising the general overview of one of America's first newspaper barons, William Randolph Hearst. Indeed, the man may be largely credited for introducing the world to tabloid journalism as we know it today... so Murdoch may have someone to thank in this respect.

Hearst's father, George, was originally lured to the promise land of California in the mid 19th century, where he, along with many hopeful European immigrants, hoped to strike it rich in the Gold Rush. I think that in many ways, here was born the fledgling American Empire, as the idea of a 'manifest destiny' began to spread, giving the country a mentality of inherited rights to expand and develop. One offshoot of this may be seen in the subsequent Indian Wars, a battle for land and territory.

George Hearst, having made a decent living in mining, went on to invest in a successful publishing company and soon began to form his own business empire. Toward the end of his life, his son, William Randolph, insisted on inheriting this investment. One such paper, was the San Francisco Examiner. The young Hearst seemed already to have an eye for the potential power of the press and its propaganda.

But, after the death of his father, Hearst raced on to create one of the greatest newspaper corporations of his time. There is certainly a case for recognising him as one of the true geniuses of the century, with incredible business acumen. He transformed dry journalism into sensationalist 'art', employing bigger, bolder headlines, reducing the size and number of stories, and perhaps most importantly, introducing pictures and illustrations that would 'attract the eye and stimulate the imagination' to 'materially aid comprehension'. The frontpage was critical to Hearst, as he recognised this as his selling pitch to millions of consumers.

As was mentioned in previous blogs, Hearst was not alone in his endeavours. Having moved to New York late on in the century, he competed with Joseph Pulitzer and his paper, New York World. I think this war of circulation may be epitomised in Hearst's poaching of one of Pulitzer's popular cartoon characters, the Yellow Kid, in 1896. He saw how audiences empathised with and loved the character, and so in his ruthless competitiveness, he effectively stole the idea. Pulitzer responded by creating 'a new' Yellow Kid, and so saw the birth of the term, 'yellow journalsim', or what may now be more commonly referred to as the 'red top papers'.

Although it is difficult not to respect what Hearst achieved in his lifetime, (evidenced by his lasting influences on contemporary journalism), there is also a darker side to the man, which may not be ignored. Whereas it is one thing to poach the asset of a direct competitor, for the sake of circulation numbers, it is another to verge on the illegality of war mongering.

Before the outbreak of the Spanish War, Hearst would naturally have been attracted by the possibility of increasing readers. He sent an investigator to report back important information as to its developments, but upon his man telegraphing no news, Hearst was thought to have allegedly replied; 'Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war'. While it is important to stress that these are allegations, it is seemingly not altogether beyond the man to have wished for as much.

Yes, William Randolph Hearst was a genius of his kind. But to use the old cliche, he was perhaps one of a flawed nature.