Hearst, William Randolph

Sensationalism

Sensationalism is a term used to describe the exaggeration and dramatization of news stories to capture the attention of the reader, appeal to their emotions, and deceive them. Hearst sensationalized news from the beginning of his career. As the owner of the San Francisco Examiner, Hearst devoted over a third of his newspaper to stories of crime and corruption and framed them as dramatic moral dilemmas. He sensationalized provocative and everyday events beyond ethical journalistic standards. For instance, just two months after Hearst took over management of the Examiner, a fire occurred at a hotel. On the front page, Hearst printed the bold, two-inch-high headline, “Hungry, Frantic Flames. They Leap Madly Upon the Splendid Pleasure Palace by the Bay of Monterey.” By sensationalizing stories through emotional appeals, Hearst deceived his readers, increased readership, and outperformed other San Franciscan newspapers.

Hearst amplified his sensationalistic style when he acquired the New York Morning Journal and began directly competing with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. One major competition came when reporting on civil uprisings in Cuba. In 1896, the Spanish government sent General Valeriano Weyler to quash a civil rebellion in Cuba. Weyler overran the Cubans with an overwhelming number of Spanish troops. He detained Cuban people in concentration camps that were devoid of basic necessities, resulting in numerous deaths.

While this was an egregious act, Hearst overdramatized accounts of Cuban conditions. In one edition, the bold headlines of the Morning Journal read “Cuban Babes Prey to Famine,” “Thousands of Children of the Reconcentrados Perishing in Island Towns,” and “Sights That Sicken Strong Men.” These headlines were accompanied by unrealistic drawings of small children suffering from severe malnutrition. Soon after, the New York World began covering the events in Cuba in response to the Morning Journal. The fierce competition between the two papers escalated the level of sensationalism.

Fabrication

“Fabrication” refers to the creation of false information to deceive readers, and Hearst used fabrication, particularly in his visual reports. Frederick Remington was an artist for Hearst's Morning Journal. He went to Cuba to illustrate events. He recounted in a telegraph to Hearst, “… there is no trouble here. There will be no war.” Hearst is accused of replying with, “Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war.”

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