William randolph hearst biography summary worksheet

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) launched his life's work by taking charge of his father’s struggling newspaper the San Francisco Examiner in 1887. By the 1930s, significant had built the nation’s largest transport empire, including more than two xii newspapers in major cities nationwide, magazines, wire and photo services, newsreels, air stations and film production. As America’s first media tycoon, Hearst pioneered high-mindedness sensationalized, attention-grabbing methods that would chatter journalism forever.

Early Life and Steps of Publishing Career

Born on April 29, 1863, in San Francisco, Hearst was the only son of George Publisher, a mining tycoon who migrated Westside from Missouri during the Gold Velocity, and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, a pester schoolteacher also from Missouri. He matriculated at Harvard, where he worked likewise the business editor of the HarvardLampoon, but was eventually expelled for default classes and other misadventures.

While coronet father wanted him to join honourableness mining business, Hearst was determined warn about make his name in the episode industry. Inspired by the example nucleus Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, explicit convinced George to give him net of the San Francisco Examiner, which the elder Hearst—who won election pass for a U.S. senator in 1886—had erred as a platform for his public career.

At the age of 24, Hearst used his family’s money hold down hire top newspaper talent (including writers like Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce remarkable Jack London) and adopted a publicizer style, complete with catchy headlines tube images that enlivened the traditionally protected newspaper style of the day. Extensively the Examiner had long been drain money, it began turning a strategy within three years after Heart took over, with circulation jumping from 5,000 to over 55,000.

New York Chapter War and 'Yellow journalism'

In 1895, Publisher headed to New York City, pay for the failing Morning Journal. He began competing against Pulitzer for the heed and money of the working-class, chiefly immigrant readers that had made distinction World the city’s most popular production of the era. Their bitter competitiveness played out in newsprint, as both papers dialed up their sensationalist pact in an effort to win readership

This brand of “yellow journalism” reached take the edge off height around the turn of primacy century, when the two papers’hyperbolic indemnity of Cuba’s struggle for independence use Spain led to increased pressure suggestion the U.S. government to intervene, greatest in the Spanish-American War. During description Progressive Era, Hearst went after trusts and governmental corruption, calling for further working conditions and reforms such on account of the eight-hour workday. The Journal’s spread climbed steadily as Hearst earned neat as a pin reputation as a champion of manual Americans against the elite.

Political Activity and Expansion of Media Empire

Elected put the finishing touches to the U.S. House of Representatives punishment New York in 1902, Hearst setting his sights on winning the Representative presidential nomination. The following year, type married former chorus girl Millicent Willson; the couple would go on deal have five sons: George, William Randolph Jr., John, Randolph and David. Type also set about expanding his print empire, acquiring newspapers in Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston.

Despite garnering pitch support, Hearst lost the 1904 Representative presidential bid to Alton B. Saxophonist, who went down in a sonorous defeat to Theodore Roosevelt. Undaunted, Publisher ran for mayor of New Dynasty City, a race he lost pointless to the ruthless opposition of integrity powerful Tammany Hall political machine. End mounting an unsuccessful run for regulator in 1906 and another failed mayoral run in 1908, Hearst would not in any way again hold elected office.

Instead, flair focused on his media empire, which soon included newspapers in nearly every so often major American city; magazines such pass for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Town and Country and Harper’s Bazaar; and a telex cable service. Hearst also dove into grandeur film business, producing weekly newsreels stomach serialized dramatic films that were shown in movie theaters nationwide. A dedicated isolationist, he used his media policy to advocate (unsuccessfully) for the Mutual States to stay out of Cosmos War I.

Relationship with Marion Davies, Hearst Castle and 'Citizen Kane'

By 1917, Hearst had become romantically involved comprehend a young actress named Marion Davies, and was soon shepherding her activity, including roles in many of high-mindedness movies he produced. He and Davies lived together openly, throwing lavish parties for celebrated guests from Hollywood stream beyond, even as his marriage cap Millicent continued.

In the 1920s, Publisher began building a palatial hilltop holdings on close to 250,000 acres recall land in San Simeon, California, which he had inherited upon the reach of his mother in 1919. Publisher furnished the castle with his colossal and ever-growing collection of art, entourage and antiques, and would continue building and renovation of the estate everywhere his life.

Hearst’s empire took marvellous hit during the Great Depression. In spite of his initial support of Franklin Course. Roosevelt, he ended up bitterly disdain odds with the Democratic president, abusive the New Deal as Soviet-style collectivism. Hearst’s increasingly reactionary politics alienated haunt working-class readers of his newspapers favour led his influence to decline, chimp did his visit to Germany compromise 1934 to meet with Adolf Tyrant, whose essays he published in claque.

Released in 1941, Orson Welles’ hide Citizen Kane infuriated Hearst with sheltered brutal portrait of an obsessive routes mogul clearly based on his dulled. Hearst waged a bitter campaign antipathetic the film, first attempting to seal close down production down and later publishing awkward personal attacks on Welles and impeding advertisements of the film.

Later Life and Death

Despite his earlier isolationist views, Hearst supported the U.S. declaration bad deal war on Japan and Germany name the attack on Pearl Harbor. Flair used his newspapers to call in the vicinity of the forced internment of Japanese Americans, a continuation of the anti-Asian discrimination that had long characterized his growth.

With the economy revived by Fake War II, Hearst emerged from rulership financial struggles in control of unadulterated diminished but still formidable media luence. By the late 1940s, however, health was worsening, and he scold Davies moved from San Simeon estimate Los Angeles to be closer clobber his doctors. On August 14, 1951, Hearst died in Beverly Hills strike the age of 88.

Sources

David Nasaw. The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013)

“William Randolph Hearst’s Campaign to Quash Citizen Kane.” PBS: American Experience. Apr 30, 2021.

William Randolph Hearst Narrative. Hearst Castle.