Hearst and Welles

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Welles's controversial film, "Citizen Kane", cast a negative light on the way Hearst operated his newspaper franchises, creating a struggle in which Hearst tried and succeeded in blocking the film from the public for many years. The author points out that William Randolph Hearst is commonly known as the originator of "yellow journalism", a type of news that distorts facts or makes them up to catch people's attention. The paper relates that Orson Welles also broke into prominence and became very well-known, just like Hearst. He was seen by many people to be a 'boy genius', and his dramatic skills as a public persona who could publicize himself were a lot like Hearst's.

From the Paper:

"Hearst acquired his fortunes by ruthlessly competing with other newspapers until they folded under his pressure. No tactic was too low for him: if a newspaper had a popular comic-strip, he would steal the artist. He even stole being recognized by the term "yellow journalism", which was originally used to describe one of Hearst's competitors,
Joseph Pulitzer. "Though the term was originally coined to describe the journalistic practices of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst proved himself worthy of the title". Hearst and Pulitzer competed mercilessly: "in 1895, William Hearst purchased the New York Morning Journal and entered into a head-to-head circulation war with this former mentor, Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World"."

More papers on Hearst and Welles:

• Analytical Essay # 120801 : "Patty Hearst and the SLA"
• Essay # 137459 : "Work and well-being"
• Book Review # 128925 : "The Elite of San Francisco"

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