Background
Pulitzer came from a wealthy family known for grain merchants in Hungary according to this article. With poor vision and weak lungs, he was rejected by the European army but came to the United States and became a soldier for the union army in the Civil War. After a short stint, he was honorably discharged and stayed in St. Louis where he worked a multitude of random jobs to stay afloat. He finally gained a job as a reporter for a newspaper known as Westliche Post. He was nominated for state legislature for the republican party and won. From that point forward his goal was to root out corruption within and outside legislation. After getting into a fight with one of his friends on the board regarding accusations of advantageous behavior in his position, Pulitzer accidentally shot him in the leg. From that point on, Pulitzer wasn’t regarded in the same light in the political realm and would not become elected again. He also eventually switched his political party to democratic.
Journalism Career
He sold his assets within his current newspaper to buy another and merged it with St. Louis Dispatch to create the newspaper, Post Dispatch, according to this article. The narrative that they served was to uncover corruption and seediness within St. Louis. They also told their audience that they are not affiliated with a certain political party as their motive was to deliver news and information without an objective. From tax fraud, to the underworld of gambaling, to political deception, Pulitzer left no rock unturned in the name of journalistic reporting. After making that newspaper the main publication in St. Louis, he moved to the Big Apple where he would become the owner of The New York Journal. These standards for his newspaper were not upheld as the need to win out won his values with the competing newspaper and owner William Hearst.
Yellow Journalism
It is characterized as a type of exaggerated news writing veered towards a certain narrative according to this article. Visually, the newspaper would include: big heading, multiple columns, salacious front page stories, bolded fonts, questionable sources, and illustrative drawings. In an effort to keep up with one another, Pulitzer and Hearst would try to one up one another without thought to accuracy or unbiasedness. Hearst and Pulitzer devoted a large portion of their newspapers to the struggle of independence in foreign countries that shed light on the cruelty of Spanish rulers and revolutionaries. While accomplishing this narrative, they ended up printing hyperbolic stories that appealed to people's emotions but were ultimately proved to be false. This portrayal is said to have been a defining factor in starting the Spanish-American War. Since Hearst and Pulitzer were primarily Democratic, the conservative press wanted to punish them for their misconduct in the news and spearheaded a boycott against both of their publications. Although newsstands did go along with the boycott and decided not to sell their papers, it added even more readership as curiosity and drama drew readers back to their newspapers.
Comic Strips
Pulitzer is also deemed responsible for the creation and layout of a comic strip. This started with the illustration of “The Yellow Kid” which is an illustration poking fun of politics and society’s biggest figures. The drawings seemed to have a yellow filter over it which would contribute to the name “Yellow Journalism.” Although there had been comical drawings in the past, these comic strips were innovative because of their layout and the use of word balloons according to this article.
United States v. Press Publishing Co. (1911)
Pulitzer’s newspaper allegedly claimed that Theodore Roosevelt benefited from the sale of the Panama Canal. As a result, Roosevelt attempted to prosecute Pulitzer for libelous activities under the Assimilative Crimes Act of 1898 through which the state law would apply since the Post Office from where the newspapers were being distributed from was federally owned. The Supreme Court thwarted the charges and stated that the Assimilative Crimes Act of 1898 wasn’t meant to be used as a loophole for jurisdiction according to this article.
Pulitzer prize
Towards the end of his life, Pulitzer coordinated funds to be given to Columbia University to start one of the first graduate schools of journalism according to this article.He also gave the university a stipend for an award that would go to an accomplished journalist every year. The award is steered towards journalists who made an impact and exposed government corruption. Every May, the recipients are chosen in 21 different categories related to journalism and the arts. The stipend ranges from $10,000 to $15,000.
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