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Sarah Vlazny Joseph Pulitzer

Occupation Joseph Pulitzer was a newspaper editor and one of the first to introduce “new journalism” techniques. Driven by competition by his rival William Randolph Hearst, both men’s newspapers aimed to maximize profit and circulation by increasing their entertainment value. They resorted to “yellow journalism,” or the printing of scandal, rumor, or exaggeration to make readers more interested. It was named “yellow journalism” after the The Yellow Kid comic strip character depicted in both newspapers. Both Pulitzer and Hearst wanted to utilize the semi-literate immigrants by making their papers more attractive to them through large headlines, exaggerated stories, and attention-grabbing pictures.

Position on Issue Though Pulitzer was against corruption and big business he was an imperialist. Perhaps because imperialism ideas sold more papers, his news stories exaggerated the situation in Cuba and misled the public about the true events. He exaggerated Cuban oppression under Spain and Spanish hostility towards America, blaming Spain for the Maine incident. His papers described the concentration camps where Cubans were held to the point of fabrication. All of these things fueled the imperialistic attitude of the people and caused the papers to fly off the shelves. Pulitzer favored the annexation of the Philippines in order to keep up the nationalistic war-hungry imperialism and the feverish mass-circulation.

Reasons for Interest Pulitzer knew that imperialism stories that emphasized great conquest, moral superiority, and daring adventure were more interesting to read than careful and considerate thought of the Filipinos’ well-being. The imperialistic formula for writing stories had proven itself profitable with Spain, and Pulitzer wanted to keep sales up. Pulitzer also likely perceived that the annexation of the Philippines would create interest and conflict for a more prolonged time than if the United States had simply left them alone, and those two elements were the bread and butter of sensationalistic writing. Though Pulitzer’s position was largely financial, it had a profound effect on shaping the American people and, by association, the decisions of those in charge.

Bibliography 1894, late. "R. F. Outcault, The Father of the American Sunday Comics."Neponset.Com - Serving Dorchester, Canton, Dedham, Foxboro, Medfield, Norwood, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood and the Internet.. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. . "Joseph Pulitzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. . "Joseph Pulitzer Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ."Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. . Topping, Seymour. " The Pulitzer Prizes | Pulitzer biography ." The Pulitzer Prizes | What's New. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. .