San Francisco Beginnings
The first edition of the Examiner under the ownership of Hearst in 1887.
William Randolph Hearst began his newspaper empire with the acquirement of the San Francisco Examiner from his father in 1887. Within a few years, the popularity of the Examiner increased significantly. Hearst's newspaper appealed to a variety of human interests, including political corruption, gossip, scantily illustrations, and advocations for safe school buildings and an income tax on "high earners." [1] Statistics (right) from newspaper directories show that over the course of ten years, the circulation of the Examiner increased from 50,000 copies to over 70,000 copies. Hearst was beginning to make a name for himself in San Francisco. However, he would soon begin to buy out more newspapers as well as establish new ones as the years wore on.
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[1] Kenneth Whyte, The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst (Berkeley, CA, 2009), 30.
New York Morning Journal
In 1895, Hearst purchased the New York Morning Journal from Albert Pulitzer, the brother of journalist, Joseph Pulitzer. According to Hearst, he purchased this morning newspaper because of its large circulation. "I thought it would be easier to change the reputation, and make that good, than to take a paper with a good reputation and little or no circulation, and build it up." [2]
Within a few months of purchasing the Morning Journal, Hearst was able to double its circulation without "relentless self-promotion." [3] Not only was Hearst able to increase the newspaper's circulation within months of his purchase, but he helped increase their circulation from 100,000 to 300,000 in about two years. Just like with the San Francisco Examiner, Hearst set in motion a trend for purchasing newspapers and then increasing their daily circulation within a few years. |
Between 1896 and 1898, the daily circulation for the Morning Journal increased dramatically.
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[2] Printer's Ink, December 4, 1895, 17.
[3] Whyte, The Uncrowned King, 92.
[3] Whyte, The Uncrowned King, 92.
Hearst's Empire as a Whole
Between 1897 and 1925, Hearst had owned over twenty newspapers across the country. As the map above shows, these newspapers were primarily located within major American cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. In the state of New York alone, Hearst owned six newspapers. Wherever there was a major city, Hearst would buy or establish a newspaper in that location.
Despite being a wealthy businessman, Hearst did not buy several newspapers for the sole hope of making profit. Rather, he was more interested in "making a great paper." [4]
Despite being a wealthy businessman, Hearst did not buy several newspapers for the sole hope of making profit. Rather, he was more interested in "making a great paper." [4]
Hearst once stated, "I didn't care about making money... at least not just to make money." [5] According to one of Hearst's financial advisors, making money meant little interest to him. Hearst was a "builder" whose main idea was to "build, build, build all the time." [6]
As stated previously, Hearst purchased the New York Morning Journal because of its large circulation. He was more interested in buying newspapers that already had large circulation numbers. In doing so, Hearst also strived to improve a newspaper's reputation and build it up to be a successful business. |
Within a few years of purchasing a newspaper, Hearst was able to successfully increase their circulation numbers. Below are the circulation statistics of five newspapers brought by Hearst. All five have growing trends in circulation statistics, with numbers doubling within a span of a few years.
Boston Daily Advertiser, purchased in 1917
Chicago Herald, purchased in 1918
Detroit Times, purchased in 1921
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, acquired in 1921
Washington Herald, acquired in 1922
In addition, some of Hearst's newspapers that he established on his own proved to be equally successful. Below are two newspapers that Hearst started from scratch.
Chicago American, established in 1900
Los Angeles Examiner, established in 1903
Based on this analysis, these newspapers' circulation numbers appeared to have increased over the course of a few years. Between 1895 and 1925, Hearst's corporation managed to build a newspaper empire. Some of my research questions were whether or not Hearst brought out any newspaper or did he specifically buy out newspapers that were not very successful. The truth is that neither questions are correct. Hearst may have been a wealthy businessman, but he was not motivated by profit and he would not just purchase any American newspaper. He was motivated to build an empire of successful, quality newspapers. Hearst focused on newspapers that already had high circulation numbers and would not bother with ones that showed little success. This method ultimately led to Hearst's corporation successfully increasing the circulation sales of the newspapers that it had acquired. The increase in circulation sales were a sign of "broad public favor" for Hearst and his empire. [7]
[4] Whyte, The Uncrowned King, 97.
[5] Lincoln Steffens, Hearst, the Man of Mystery (1901), 11.
[6] John William Tebbel, The Life and Good Times of William Randolph Hearst (New York, 1952), 308.
[7] Whyte, The Uncrowned King, 360.
[5] Lincoln Steffens, Hearst, the Man of Mystery (1901), 11.
[6] John William Tebbel, The Life and Good Times of William Randolph Hearst (New York, 1952), 308.
[7] Whyte, The Uncrowned King, 360.