A Man of Dreams

“Hearst” I said to myself, I’ve seen that name before, plenty of times, but where? That is the question I asked myself before I came to learn about the man responsible for acquiring his own legacy by turning around the newspaper business. Oh yeah, of course a few seconds into my research, I realize I have subscriptions to five Hearst magazines including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire, House Beautiful and last but not least Seventeen. Yeah, I must say I’m a big Hearst fan and (financial contributor!) without even knowing it!

William Randolph Hearst was born in San Francisco on April 29, 1863. He was an only child of his father George Hearst who became a millionaire by developing mines and mother Phoebe Apperson Hearst, a philanthropist. William Hearst attended college at Harvard University. It was there where Hearst became interested in newspapers. He was an apprentice under Joseph Pulitzer who would later become his competitor. But that soon came to an end once Hearst was expelled from Harvard because he played a joke on a professor. At the tender age of 23, William Hearst was given control of the San Francisco Examiner newspaper; previously owned by his father whom had won the newspaper as repayment for a poker debt. History was in the making!

Soon after, Hearst quickly got to work. He worked long hours and put all his energy and dedication into his newspaper. He renamed it “The Monarch of the Dailies.” Its been said, Hearst employed the best of the best writers and reporters that he could find and paid them the highest wages. According to Hearst Corporation Timeline, Hearst also improved the appearance of his newspaper by buying the most advanced printing equipment of his day to dramatically revise the newspapers appearance. His motto was to do whatever it took to get readers. Hearst Corporation timeline states, Hearst invigorated the newspaper with energetic, exciting news stories, editorials worded with force and conviction and dramatic illustrations that enlivened the once drab oceans of tiny type. Stories were written to shock readers while other stories were written to affect readers emotionally. A few years later, the newspaper was an inevitable success.

This was just the beginning, Hearst was just warming up. In 1895, Hearst purchased his second newspaper, The New York Journal. This led him to become a direct competitor with Joseph Pulitzer, one time his mentor and his newspaper The New York World. Their bitter battle led to yellow journalism, in other words “yellow press.” After pulling some research, Wikipedia states that yellow journalism is defined as a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. In the encyclopedia of World biographies, the author stated that one American in every four read a Hearst newspaper. He was dominating the newspaper industry from coast to coast! While on honeymoon trip through Europe in automobile with wife Millicent Wilson, Hearst Corporation Timeline states “Mr. Hearst had the idea of creating a publication for people he felt certain would be fascinated by this new mode of transportation.” Later that year, Motor Magazine was introduced and that was the start of Hearst magazine business. He conquered the magazine business and expanded into radio and movies. In 1929, Hearst Metrotone News was created, which was a production company that thrilled moviegoers with news footage shot from around the world as stated in Hearst Corporation Timeline. Shortly thereafter in 1948, Hearst became owner of one of the first television stations in the country, WBAL-TV in Baltimore.

William Randolph Hearst died at the age of 88 in 1951 leaving behind his widely flourishing empire and most importantly a legacy never to be forgotten. Today, the lucrative Hearst Corporation is the world’s largest monthly publisher of magazines including the ever so popular Cosmopolitan, The Oprah Magazine and Country Living. Hearst Business Media produces a wide variety of publications, books, databases, and catalogs that serve the professional interest of several industries. William Hearst changed journalism on a grand scale through his business endeavors and his passion in journalism.