Introduction
It is rather a difficult task to collect an unbiased, factual and accurate material which describes the life, political views of such a man as William Randolph Hearst. As he was a man whose life is marked by eccentricity and rumors surrounding him. Besides, he is that every man, who introduced the term “new journalism”, which was later called “yellow journalism” (Perkins, pp. 2-5) No matter what impact he had good or bad, no one can claim that this man was unknown. It is the fact, that William Randolph Hearst became “one of the best-known, best-hated, and most thoroughly publicized figures in the land.” (Welles, p. 57) He was born in San Francisco, California on April 29, 1863 and was a son of a geologist George Hearst, who succeeded in mining. Since his father was often away from home, he was raised by his mother as a privileged child. He was brought to Europe and tutored there in arts and antique. Then he entered Harvard University from which he failed to graduate because of a prank. Later he became the owner of a great empire of newspapers and magazines. It is obvious that no matter what this man did, whether having to do with his personal life or his professional life or political life, in each and every sphere he remained a highly motivated man and the one in a center of everybody’s attention, the man achieving his personal goals.
Personal Life
In the first place, William Hearst’s life was lighted thanks to his ability to stand out. Since his childhood he led a life of an only beloved child in his family, an apple of his mother’s eye, taking tours with her around Europe and being taught by the best tutors of Europe. He is sent to a St. Paul’s preparatory school to study, but in two years he leaves the school suddenly. Next he is being tutored at home after which he enters Harvard University in 1882 where he does not stay for long and ends up with the exclusion for a prank in 1885. Nevertheless, William’s university life is memorized for his attempt to work on the university humorous magazine Lampoon, after Hearst’s work in which, it became a money-making matter. Considering his personal life, he did not marry until he was almost 40, when he made up his mind to link his destiny to a twenty-one year old showgirl, thus breaking up with the girl he had supported since he was studying in the university, but this union doesn’t last either. In 1917 William falls in love with another girl from Broadway show, gets in affair with her and this relationship last until his death.
Professional life
In the second place, William’s professional life leads him to the status of a newspaper tycoon (Perkins, p. 2) through the difficult and more often than not infamous professional approach. His career takes its start from the publications in the San Francisco Examiner. William hires the best writers for his paper and buys the best equipment. He borrows the method of publication from Pulitzer focusing the main attention on the scandals, murders and corruption whether true stories, which they can find or invented ones. Day in day out, he makes some profit from a non-profit paper. Then he gets into a face-to-face war with his for the market domain. Gaining Pulitzer’s personnel over and using methods of unfair competition he achieves the best circulation of his paper. Then William goes even further on, reducing the price of his journal to one cent. No wonder that an expansion of his business is in store for him. The empire reached a circulation and turnover peak in 1928, but the recession and the collapse of the Great Depression cost him control of his holdings.
Political life
In the third place, the political life of William Hearst still makes critics argue and suggest assumptions about his impact on the political events in America. To be more just, one needs to mention, that William’s political career was a failure. As one of his successes was a membership in the United States House of Representatives. But then William failed the attempt a mayor of New York City both in 1905 and in1909 and governor of New York in1906. After that in 1930-s, there was a triumph of his reputation with the change of his political views. In 1932 he is becoming a major supporter of Roosevelt. After finishing his de juro political life, William doesn’t give up his de facto political life. It’s not difficult considering the fact that William runs a news empire. As one example of the Heart’s impact on the political situation in the country, can serve an example of giving force to the American Spanish war. Using double standards in his publications, William Hearts made American society feel compassion to Cubans at that time. Different theorists still argue if the war was started thanks to the Heart’s “yellow press” or not. But one fact remains obvious; mass media have a great impact on life of people and on political situations. Were Hearst something else but the newspaper magnate, maybe there would not have been any war.
Orson Welles vs. William Randolph Hearst
Hearst’s actions caused a sharp resistance by Orson Welles. He released a film “Citizen Kane” which “was an American saga about a giant who brings ruin to all, including himself.” (Welles, p. 15) Hearst from his side, tried to prevent this film from being in circulation. But his attempts didn’t work out, Welles resisted the attack and this film was seen. The question about the accuracy of data in the film can arise. But going by the fact that the film was twice number one in a rate, one might assume that it’s quite accurate. By the way, this film remains its good reputation till today.
Conclusion
Making a conclusion, one might mention that William Randolph Hearst was a man in public. No matter what he did, it was highlighted and discussed. Beginning with his private life with the twists and turns of life, going to his professional life and his methods of work, which mostly didn’t meet the agreement, he was a focal point standing and being discussed. And ending with his impact on the society and its way of thinking whether bigger or not, he came to the point that there was a whole book published and a film released to disclose his making harm both to the surrounding people and himself.
Works Cited
- “Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Yellow Newspaper.” A Journal of American Women Writers 2007: 24.
- George Evans “The Father of Tabloid Journalism ” Contemporary Review 2002: 1643
- Naremore, James, ed. Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane: A Casebook. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
- “The American Experience”. WGBH
- “The Return of Yellow Journalism.” The Washington Times 2004: B05.