Joseph Pulitzer

Born: April 10, 1847
Mako, Hungary
Died: October 29, 1911
Charleston, South Carolina
Hungarian-born American publisher and editor

Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-born editor and publisher, was important in the development of the modern newspaper in the United States.

Early years

Joseph Pulitzer was born in Mako, Hungary, on April 10, 1847, the son of Philip Pulitzer, a well-to-do grain dealer, and Louise Berger. Pulitzer was educated by private tutors, from whom he learned to speak German and French. Thin, with poor vision and weak lungs, he tried to enlist in the army in Europe but was turned down. In 1864 he left Hungary for the United States and became a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War (1861–65), when Northern and Southern American states fought mainly over the issue of slavery. After the war, the tall, red-bearded youth had no job and settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where there was a large German population. Pulitzer worked as a waiter, taxi driver, and a caretaker of mules before getting a job as a reporter on a newspaper called the Westliche Post.

A short time after joining the Post, Pulitzer was nominated (his name was put forward for consideration) for the state legislature by the Republican Party. His campaign was considered a long shot because he was nominated in a Democratic district. Pulitzer, however, ran seriously and won. In the legislature he fought graft (illegal gain) and corruption (improper conduct by elected officials). In one wild dispute he shot a man in the leg for saying that he had written an untrue story in the newspaper. Pulitzer escaped punishment with a fine that his friends paid.

Newspaper acquisitions

Pulitzer was hard-working and ambitious. He bought the St. Louis Post for about three thousand dollars in 1872. He also bought a German paper and sold it at a twenty thousand dollar profit. These profits helped pay for his political activities and for law school. In 1876 Pulitzer was allowed to practice law in Missouri. He started a law practice, but he gave it up in 1878 after purchasing the troubled St. Louis Dispatch at a sheriff's sale for twenty-seven hundred dollars and combining it with the Post. Aided by his brilliant editor in chief, John A. Cockerill, Pulitzer launched crusades against lotteries, gambling, and tax dodging; led drives to have streets cleaned and repaired; and sought to make St. Louis more civic-minded. The Post-Dispatch became a success.

In 1883 Pulitzer, then thirty-six, purchased the New York World for $346,000 from businessman Jay Gould (1836–1892), who was losing forty thousand dollars a year on the paper. Pulitzer made the down payment (a portion of the total price paid at the beginning of a loan) from Post-Dispatch profits and made all later payments out of profits from the World. Even as Pulitzer's eyes began to fail in the 1880s (he went blind in 1889), he carried on a battle for readers with William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951), publisher of the New York Journal. In New York, New York, he promised that the World would "expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils and abuses" and "battle for the people with earnest sincerity." He concentrated on human-interest stories, scandal (behavior that causes loss of faith in a person), and sensational material. Pulitzer's World was a strong supporter of the common man. It often supported unions during strikes.

Later life

Pulitzer in the early part of his career opposed large headlines and art. Later, as his fight with Hearst increased in the 1890s, the two giants went to ever larger headline type and more fantastic art and engaged in questionable practices until Pulitzer decided things had gone too far and cut back. Pulitzer defended his methods, though, saying that people had to know about crime in order to fight it. He once told a critic, "I want to talk to a nation, not a select committee."

Pulitzer died aboard his yacht in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, on October 29, 1911. In his will he provided two million dollars for the establishment of a school of journalism at Columbia University in New York City. Also, by the terms of his will, the prizes bearing his name were established in 1915. Pulitzer Prizes are awarded every year to honor achievements in journalism, literature, and music.

For More Information

Barrett, James W. Joseph Pulitzer and His World. New York: Vanguard Press, 1941.

Brian, Denis. Pulitzer: A Life. New York: J. Wiley, 2001.

Noble, Iris. Joseph Pulitzer: Front Page Pioneer. New York: Messner, 1957.

Seitz, Don C. Joseph Pulitzer: His Life and Letters. New York; AMS Press, 1970.

Whitelaw, Nancy. Joseph Pulitzer and the New York World. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds, 2000.

Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911)

Editor and publisher

Source

Recruited to America. Born in Hungary to a prosperous family, Joseph Pulitzer ran away from home at age eighteen to embark on a military carrer. After the Australian army and the French Foreign Legion both rejected him because of his poor eyesight, he signed up with an agent of the Union army of the United States recruiting in Europe in late 1864. At the end of the Civil War he found himself penniless in New York City and worked at a series of miserable jobs. By 1868, however, he had become a citizen and was hired as a reporter for the leading German-language daily in the nation, Carl Schurz’s St. Louis West lie he Post. Pulitzer soon became a top newsman and bought a share of the paper. He was then elected to the Missouri State Assembly and campaigned for the publisher Horace Greeley, who was a presidential candidate in 1872. He left newspapering for a time to return to Europe and marry, but soon returned to the United States and gained membership in the Washington, D.C., bar in 1874.

Papers. In 1878 Pulitzer bought the bankrupt St. Louis Dispatch, merged it with the Post, and created one of the great newspapers in the United States, the Post-Dispatch. Driven by insatiable curiosity and boundless energy, Pulitzer remade American journalism in the last twenty years of the nineteenth century. Claiming to be the champion of the people against injustice and ill-gotten power, he published a statement of policy that read in part: “The Post and Dispatch will serve no party but the people; be no organ of Republicanism but the organ of truth; will follow no causes but its conclusions; will not support the ‘Administration,’ but criticize it; will oppose all frauds and shams wherever and whatever they are; will advocate principles and ideas rather than prejudices and partisanship.” At the same time the paper carried on high-minded crusades against monopolistic power, it also printed sensational stories about adultery and scandal. Furthermore, exaggeration and half-truths also appeared in Pulitzer’s paper.

New York, New Journalism. Although he was a physical wreck from years of hard work, when Pulitzer heard in 1883 that the New York World was for sale, he bought it and quickly turned it into a successful paper. His formula for the New Journalism included sensational headlines and self-promotion. He maintained a strong news department and published an unparalleled editorial page. The World advocated taxes on luxuries, profits, and the wealthy, as well as railing against corruption in government. Those who were suspicious of wealth flocked to the paper, and those who approved of chasing profits disdained it. The World presented news in sensational form; when a heat wave took a terrible toll on children in the slums of New York, the headline in the World read: “How Babies Are Baked.”

Success. Within one year Pulitzer’s Sunday edition circulation reached approximately ninety five thousand, and by 1887 it increased to a quarter of a million. By paying close attention to the fact that four out of five New Yorkers were first- or second-generation Americans and by providing coverage of political figures along with entertainment, Pulitzer captured the public’s imagination. He talked directly to his readers without being condescending. Over the years the worst sensationalism disappeared from the World, while its commitment to the well-written human-interest story never dissipated.

Later Years. Pulitzer added an Evening World in 1887, and three years later he opened a new building on Park Row, at the time the tallest building in New York City. Pulitzer retired in 1890 but continued to monitor the progress of his papers, summoning editors to his various homes or to his yacht. Among the editors who worked at the World were some of the best in the business, including John A. Cockerill, William Merrill, S. S. Carvalho, George Harvey, Frank I. Cobb, Morrill Goddard, and Arthur Brisbane. In his retirement Pulitzer supported the progressive spirit of reform and muckraking in journalism. He also endowed the Columbia School of Journalism and the Pulitzer Prizes. Chronic illness plagued Pulitzer in his remaining years. He died in October 1911 at age sixty-four aboard his yacht in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

Source

W. A. Swanberg, Pulitzer (New York: Scribners, 1967).

Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), Hungarian-born editor and publisher, was instrumental in developing yellow journalism in the United States.

Joseph Pulitzer's father was a well-to-do grain dealer. Joseph was born in Budapest in April 1847. Thin, weak-lunged, and with faulty vision, he was unable to have an army career in Europe. In 1864 he emigrated to America, enlisted in the Union cavalry, and became a mediocre soldier. The 6-foot 2-inch red-bearded youth was among the jobless at the end of the Civil War. In St. Louis, where a large German colony existed, Pulitzer worked as mule tender, waiter, roustabout, and hack driver. Finally, he gained a reporter's job on Carl Schurz's Westliche Post.

A short time after joining Schurz, Pulitzer was nominated for the state legislature by the Republicans. His candidacy was considered a joke because he was nominated in a Democratic district. Pulitzer, however, ran seriously and won. In the legislature he fought graft and corruption. In one wild dispute he shot an adversary in the leg. He escaped punishment with a fine which was paid by friends.

Newspaper Acquisitions

Industrious and ambitious, Pulitzer bought the St. Louis Post for about $3, 000 in 1872. Next, he bought a German paper which had an Associated Press membership and then sold it to the owner of the Globe at a $20, 000 profit. In 1878 Pulitzer purchased the decaying St. Louis Dispatch at a sheriff's sale for $2, 700. He combined it with the Post. Aided by his brilliant editor in chief, John A. Cockerill, Pulitzer launched crusades against lotteries, gambling, and tax dodging, mounted drives for cleaning and repairing the streets, and sought to make St. Louis more civic-minded. The Post-Dispatch became a success.

In 1883 Pulitzer, then 36, purchased the New York World for $346, 000 from unscrupulous financier Jay Gould, who was losing $40, 000 a year on the paper. Pulitzer made the down payment from Post-Dispatch profits and made all later payments out of profits from the World.

In the 1880s Pulitzer's eyes began to fail. He went blind in 1889. During his battle for supremacy with William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the New York Journal, Pulitzer had to rely on a battery of secretaries to be his eyes. In New York he pledged the World to "expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils and abuses" and to "battle for the people with earnest sincerity." He concentrated on lively human-interest stories, scandal, and sensational material. Pulitzer's World was a strong supporter of the common man. It was anti-monopoly and frequently pro-union during strikes.

Pulitzer in the early part of his career opposed the large headline and art. Later, in a circulation contest between Hearst and Pulitzer in the 1890s, the two giants went to ever larger headline type and fantastic "x-marks-the-spot" art and indulged in questionable practices until Pulitzer lost stomach for such dubious work and cut back. Pulitzer defended sensationalism, however, saying that people had to know about crime in order to combat it. He once told a critic, "I want to talk to a nation, not a select committee."

Pulitzer died aboard his yacht in the harbor at Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 29, 1911. In his will he provided $2 million for the establishment of a school of journalism at Columbia University. Also, by the terms of his will, the prizes bearing his name were established in 1915.

Further Reading

Biographies of Pulitzer include Don C. Seitz, Joseph Pulitzer: His Life and Letters (1924); James W. Barrett, Joseph Pulitzer and His World (1941); and Iris Noble, Joseph Pulitzer: Front Page Pioneer (1947). A particularly interesting book written by one of Pulitzer's secretaries is Alleyne Ireland, An Adventure with a Genius (1914; rev. ed. 1937). Julian S. Rammelkamp, Pulitzer's Post-Dispatch (1967), focuses on Pulitzer's early career, and George Juergens, Joseph Pulitzer and the New York World (1966), deals with the middle and late years and contains an excellent analysis of the appeal of the New York World. □

PULITZER, JOSEPH 1847-1911

Newspaper editor and publisher

Beginnings

Born in Hungary in 1847, Joseph Pulitzer immigrated to Boston to serve in the Union army during the Civil War. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1867, he worked for various German newspapers and became involved in Republican Party politics, campaigning for New York Tribune publisher Horace Greeley for president in 1872. But he soon became disenchanted with politics and the party. He began his newspaper empire with the St. Louis Staats-Zeitung and the Post and Dispatch in the 1870s, serving as publisher, editor, and business manager. In 1883 he bought the New York World from tycoon Jay Gould. The World became the strongest voice of the Democratic Party in the United States, crusading for the "people" against the powerful "interests," but Pulitzer did not always conform to party policies.

The Mastermind of the Modern Newspaper

Pulitzer created the New Journalism that dominated his age, establishing the model for the big-city daily in the twentieth century. His papers covered crime, sponsored and publicized stunts by its own staff, ran sensational features and more pictures than any other paper, and carried on crusades against corruption in government and business. Pulitzer conceived of news as stories that entertained the ordinary person rather than as strictly factual information. He also revolutionized advertising, linking its price to circulation and standardizing rates. In 1887 he inaugurated the Evening World and in 1890 opened the famed World Building on Park Row in downtown Manhattan, in its day the tallest and grandest structure in the city.

War with Hearst

The famous rivalry between the World and William Randolph Hearst's Journal began in 1896. Hearst raided the World for talent by greatly outpaying Pulitzer. Their competitive flag-waving is sometimes cited as a cause of the Spanish-American War. The war sobered Pulitzer, and after it ended, he returned the World to its former balance and always resented the tendency of critics to lump his papers together with Hearst's under the term yellow journalism.

Into the Twentieth Century

By 1900 Pulitzer had long since put aside his own political ambitions and wanted his papers to serve as schoolmasters and provocateurs. He cheered the reformist Republican president Theodore Roosevelt and relentlessly attacked New York City's Tammany Hall machine. In 1904 he endowed with $2 million the first professional school of journalism in the nation at Columbia University. Despite his belief that there was no substitute for practical experience in the world, he believed that labor combined with learning was unbeatable. His estate also endowed the prestigious Pulitzer Prizes. Despite the reputation of his papers for sensationalism, after his death his name became synonymous with the highest standards of journalistic excellence. He died aboard his yacht in Charleston harbor in October 1911.

Source:

W. A. Swanberg, Pulitzer (New York: Scribners, 1967).

Pulitzer, Joseph (1847–1911), journalist.Born in Hungary, Pulitzer immigrated to America in 1864 and joined the Union army. Rootless after the Civil War, he went to St. Louis, Missouri, and became a reporter for a German newspaper. Following the failure in 1872 of the Liberal Republican movement he had actively supported, he became a Democrat. After buying and selling several bankrupt newspapers at a profit, Pulitzer in 1878 acquired the St. Louis Dispatch, merged it with the Post, and turned the Post‐Dispatch into a profitable newspaper with a formula of sensationalism and attacks on municipal corruption. With its profits he bought the floundering New York World in 1883.

The World quickly became a morning leader, attacking political corruption and the aristocracy of wealth. Such coverage, supplemented with cartoons, pictures, headlines, and crime news, appealed to New York City's growing immigrant population. In 1887, Pulitzer added a more sensational evening edition. He “retired” that year because of poor health and failing eyesight but continued to offer daily criticism and suggestions from his vacation retreats and yachts. The World’s sensationalism, especially its Cuban coverage, reached a peak in 1896–1898 during a circulation war with William Randolph Hearst's Journal. Pulitzer's paper grew more responsible after the Spanish‐American War, opposing imperialism and supporting reforms favored by the Democratic party. The World opposed Tammany Hall, New York City's corrupt Democratic organization, and Pulitzer bolted the party in 1896 in opposition to William Jennings Bryan and the free silver movement. In 1908, the World was sued for libel by the government for its exposés of corruption in Theodore Roosevelt's acquisition of the Panama Canal Zone, but in 1911, in an important First Amendment case, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court's dismissal of the indictment.

Pulitzer's sons proved unable to keep the World profitable after his death, and in 1931 it was sold to the Scripps‐Howard group. Before Pulitzer's death he gave two million dollars to Columbia University to establish a school of journalism and the Pulitzer Prizes.
See also Gilded Age; Urbanization.

Bibliography

W.A. Swanberg , Pulitzer, 1967.

James L. Crouthamel

Joseph Pulitzer , 1847–1911, American newspaper publisher and politician, b. Hungary. He emigrated to the United States in 1864, served a year in the Union army in the Civil War, and became a journalist on the Westliche Post, a German-language newspaper. In 1869 he was elected to the Missouri legislature, where he earned a reputation as a liberal reformer. As owner and publisher after 1878, he made the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a successful paper.

In 1883 he bought the New York World from Jay Gould. Pulitzer's aggressive methods of building up this paper, its Sunday issue, and the Evening World (started 1887) included the use of illustrations, news stunts, crusades against corruption, and cartoons, as well as aggressive news coverage. William Randolph Hearst established his New York Journal in 1895 to vie with Pulitzer's papers in sensationalism and in circulation. The ensuing contest, with its banner headlines, lavish pictures, emotional exploitation of news—in short, "yellow journalism" —reached notorious heights in the treatment of the Spanish-American War . Later the World became more restrained and the outstanding Democratic organ in the United States, although it sometimes opposed party policies.

In 1885, Pulitzer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served briefly. After 1890 partial blindness kept Pulitzer from the editorial offices, but he directed his papers no less closely than before. He left funds to found what is now the graduate school of journalism at Columbia Univ. and endowed the Pulitzer Prizes .

In 1931, Pulitzer's sons, Ralph (1879–1939) and Joseph (1885–1955), sold the New York papers to the Scripps-Howard chain, and the Evening World was merged with the New York Telegram. The Post-Dispatch, under his son Joseph and then under his grandson Joseph Pulitzer (1913–93), was cited repeatedly for outstanding journalism and public service. Its editorial page maintained the Pulitzer tradition of independent liberalism.

Bibliography: See biographies by W. J. Granberg (1966), G. Juergens (1966), W. A. Swanberg (1967, repr. 1972), and J. M. Morris (2010).

Pulitzer, Joseph (1847–1911), Hungarian‐born newspaper proprietor, came to the U.S. (1864), worked in St. Louis on the German Republican paper of Carl Schurz, and published his own paper there. He purchased the New York World (1883), which he made into a flamboyant symbol of yellow journalism, although it later turned to a more conservative policy, championing the Democratic party. He bequeathed funds to found the Pulitzer Prizes.

Pulitzer, Joseph (1847–1911) US newspaper publisher, b. Hungary, who founded the Pulitzer Prize. He made the New York World the USA's largest circulation daily newspaper. He crusaded for oppressed workers and against alleged big business and government corruption.