I feel it's my calling I believe that I can be an advocate for the common man so that is why I request that you give me that little newspaper you own the San Francisco Examiner the newspaper has redefined the way America tells its stories but its rise to prominence was fueled by a bitter rivalry between Joseph Pulitzer we'll dedicate ourselves to the course of the people a man who built himself up from [Music] nothing and William Randolph Hurst excuse me you're fine the wealthy son of a business tycoon two media Titans battle for the loudest most trusted voice in journalism you don't care that he's printing lies blurring the lines between fact and fiction you ready to start War million readers are as they lie cheat and steal their way to the top to the New York Journal New York Jal an intense conflict that would define journalism as we know it today and change America forever [Music] did you hear that the governor is going to Jefferson next week the governor is getting popular Mr Augustine would you mind telling me about the new menal house and how much is your construction firm charging the city for itest from his earliest days as a reporter Joseph Pulitzer has aspired to be the voice of the people it's a dream born of his humble beginnings as a young immigrant from Hungary he came here struggling he had really had a fight to survive in this new country I mean his immigrant experience was pretty harsh one pulitzer's life as an immigrant gives him a firsthand view of the Divide between the rich and the poor so when he's offered a job at a St Louis newspaper he jumps at the opportunity journalism gives Pulitzer a platform form for his unique voice one he can use to protect people just like him from being exploited by the rich and Powerful a newspaper in in a town like St Louis was geared towards men of a certain class but for Pitzer the newspaper fit his sense of social responsibility his sense that the poor people needed a Defender and he very much saw himself as that that type of person p is on a mission to find corruption and use his writing to expose it headon all the while maintaining a high standard for accuracy and his Fearless brand of Journalism quickly catches [Music] on for the next 10 years pulitzer's tactics help him climb the ranks in journalism and Rise Above his once impoverished lifestyle with the money he's earned he acquires two failing newspapers and merges them into the St Louis Post Dispatch a venerable newspaper that's still around [Music] today with Pulitzer at the helm it quickly becomes the city's top newspaper but soon enough he outgrows St Louis and decides to take his brand of Journalism to the greatest newspaper town in America [Music] politzer moves to New York because that was the center of Journalism the newspapers there had the biggest circulation they had the biggest impact the best newspapers in American history were newspapers that operated out of New York City [Music] Pulitzer purchases a declining newspaper called the New York [Music] world and begins to put his unique stamp on it our Rock of faith will be accuracy we'll expose all fraud and shame fight all public evil we'll dedicate ourselves to the ca of the people but to make it a New York City Pulitzer needs a newspaper that stands out Pulitzer saw in New York City a place where millions of immigrants were coming with no jobs in many cases with no idea of what to expect or how to navigate the United [Music] States pitzer's Mission create a newspaper for New York's immigrants and working class but in order to attract these new readers he's going to need to revolutionize the newspaper newspapers back then were really a boring dry bu are written primarily for the upper class they were very gray the typography was the same across the whole page no such thing as a big headline they were little more than propaganda sheets and often supported by the political parties [Music] pull it certain visions of paper that uses bold headlines to draw attention to his stories of the everyday struggles and successes of the Immigrant population he wanted to tap into this Market with a whole new style of news that was meant to entertain people to get them turned on to this idea of the American Experience what it meant to be an American and he knew from his own firsthand experience what that was like within 6 months the New York World circulation triples to 45,000 and with within a year and a half Pulitzer is selling 100,000 newspapers and it's all because of his bold approach there's the expression think out of the box and when it comes to genius that's exactly what you have to do you have to look way Outside the Box in order to find that glimmer of inspiration which will Propel you into the future Joseph Pulitzer is on his way to owning the largest newspaper in the country and the power and influence he wields doesn't go [Music] [Music] unnoticed 200 mil [Music] away you are absolutely adorable you know that thank you William Randolph Hurst has been following pulitzer's rise with a keen interest William Randol Hurst was a child of privilege his father made a fortune in mining so young will went to good schools he went to expensive schools he was indulged you could say he was quite spoiled but for Hurst getting out from his father's Shadow and making a name for himself is the first first priority careful haven't read this one yet the newspaper industry may just be the path he needs heard of Joseph Hurst is specifically inspired by Pitzer he's been reading pitzer's world he sees the excitement that this paper generates he sees the enormous circulation that poiter has racked up he thinks he'd like to do something like that Hurst sees the newspaper as a source of influence and he wants to bring pulitzer's brand of Journalism to the West [Music] Coast I feel it's my calling I believe that I can be an advocate for the common man so that is why I request that you give me that little newspaper you own the San Fran Cisco examiner I think the fundamental difference between William Randolph Hurst and Joseph Pulitzer Pulitzer is interested in power in order to achieve a particular set of reforms William Randolph Hurst is interested in power to advance himself he had an unlimited supply of money that he could use to fulfill whatever ambition he wanted [Music] hurst's handed ownership of the San Francisco Examiner a failing newspaper with subpar reporting and lackluster circulation numbers excuse me can you tell me where I can find the the editor-in chief please thank you [Music] what do you need I'm William Hurst George's boy didn't he tell you I was coming in today no now the life is do it's wor purs excuse [Music] me you [Applause] fir so I want you both to go down to City Hall speak to someone down there I've heard first rebuilds the San Francisco Examiner from scratch fashioning his paper to the style that has brought Pulitzer so much success in New York h makes the examiner into what we now call a yellow paper since San Francisco was already kind of a fecting town it was hard to shock people but he was making the paper visually more entertaining something you'd want to pick up and be attracted by the headlines hurst's plan pays off and it isn't long before he's gained a massive following we are number one in its first year under Hurst The Examiner doubles in circulation and soon the paper that once couldn't turn a profit is an undeniable success don't be asking for that much more money here one [Music] more but Hurst wants to expand his Empire even even further and following in the footsteps of his Idol Joseph Pulitzer he sets his eye on a New York City paper of his own first success is based on a checkbook he has unlimited resources to bring to war in New York and now he's ready to come and compete with the master himself he's coming to duel with bullets are it's like two Western gunsling instead of okay carral it's going to be Fifth Avenue New [Music] [Applause] York by 1895 Joseph Pulitzer has established himself as a newspaper giant his New York world has become the largest newspaper in the country and he's turned an elite industry into a medium for the masses but his Reign is about to be challenged by one man William Randolph [Music] Hurst fresh off the success of his West Coast newspaper Hurst arrives in New York City New York at this time is a massive and rapid changing and fascinating and colorful and scary and volatile City Hurst Dives in and it's very clear that Hurst is going to spend whatever money it takes after purchasing a penny paper called the New York Morning Journal Hurst moves quickly to build his Empire over here is the editor and chief so I can keep an eye on him this is City bureau over over here will be Sports and where you're sitting International journalists were part of the brand they were part of what you were selling they were star journalists they were big names and who were writing for newspapers in those days so people would buy a newspaper in part to see what these Stars had written with Pulitzer away on [Music] vacation that should last you the rest of the year Hurst moves to phase one steal his staff one by one Hurst picks off the cash cows from pitzer's pocket his City editor his business maner maner his best artist and even his Sunday [Music] Editor to the New York [Music] Journal Hur was ruthless he had more money than God and he knew it the fact that he would go to the world's employees with a stack full of cash and say you're working for me now he really was hellbent on taking over the newspaper industry only months after arriving in New York Hurst has acquired the greatest newspaper staff that money can buy and it's not the only move he's made to try and take down his biggest competition phase two of his plan match pitzer's page count Hurst uses pitzer's own tactics but he pushes it up two or three notches past whatever Pitzer would do had done was capable of doing Hurst wants to knock the legs out under Pitzer and take over pitzer's terrain with the same kind of [Music] readership Hurst packs the front page of his paper with Sensational headlines about scandals and crime and he does it all for one penny half the price of the New York world to stand at the competition you can't stand still throwing yourself all the way deep into the battle that's what playing to wind's all about in just 3 months Hurst has doubled his circulation got ofage the King of New York journalism is in danger of being dethroned both of these men were alpha males both of them were used to walking into a situation and triumphing [Music] poiter had come in and invented a new kind of Journalism and basically wiped the floor with the herald in the Tribune and now somebody was going to do that to him his pride was involved his pride was going to be hurt [Music] that should last you the rest of the [Music] year William Randolph hurst's mission was simple Crush Joseph pulitzer's newspaper at whatever the [Music] cost poaching his staff is only the beginning her sells 16 Pages for a scent we sell eight pages for two cents we'll drop the price if H can afforded we bullets are viewed hst's attack deeply personally Pitzer found himself in Mortal Combat with a man whose basic weapon was an unlimited amount of money that he had not earned this is contrary to everything that pulitzer's own experience had had in life and everything that Pulitzer believed [Music] in your lead needs to be five words shorter those five words are the difference between a good article and a bad article this is going to kill us no it won't this is exactly what we wanted now we just have to stay in the offensive when you think about rivalries people always have to think about what gets the competitive juices going I woke up every morning wanting to knock seamons off or knock M Mitsubishi off that's part of the jeice uses that flow in a competitive [Music] environment and I know right where to hit him you say we uh spread our wings a little huh Hurst seizes the opportunity when he discovers Evangelina ciso an 18-year-old girl caught in the crosshairs of the Cuban Revolution the young Cuban Rebel has been imprisoned by the Spanish and for Hurst it's just the story he needs to boost his readership the story of Cuba and the oppression and what Spain is doing is going to serve Hurst in his fight against bullets and his fight for circulation Hurst decides to Champion the struggle of a virtuous girl held against her will as a way to get his readers interested in the rebels cause against [Music] Spain okay we got to give him the story of a century complete with a hero and a damsel in distress a Fearless reporter and a Cuban Rebel she's locked up but he's got a plan and not a moment passes without the fear of sudden death Hurst publishes a theatric account of evangelina's Escape fashioning his story with The Dramatics of a play and keeping his readers wanting more the way the heurst newspapers reported it was like a soap opera unfolding in front of their eyes the stories ahead readers are enthralled by Hurst take on evangelina's daring Escape I can't express the horrors and fear I faced when I was in prison but now I'm free Hurst transforms his heroin into a celebrity thanks to my Brave friend at a New York Journal well he's really a genius at doing was bursting out of The Columns of the newspaper and making the story into an event by getting people involved in participating in the story Americans begin to Rally around Cuba's struggle against Spain just as he planned [Music] how do we compete with this Joseph Pitzer can only watch as Hurst basks in the spotlight but he refuses to sink down to the level of his bitter rival poiter had signs in his Newsroom all over the walls accuracy accuracy accuracy he believed that reporting ought to be accurate this is hard hard [Music] he offered me my own column you never offered me that I see and you don't care that he's printing lies unsubstantiated claims either something is true or it's not pulitzer's top editor Arthur brisban defects to the journal brisbane's switch to the journal represents an achievement for HSE in that he's made it clear the journal's going to be around but it's a betrayal of Pulitzer I mean Pulitzer felt betrayed by Brisbane and anybody else who left his paper to go and work for of all people H Joseph Pulitzer is standing firm on principle but those same beliefs could cost him his Empire on the heels of publishing the Evangelina siso's story he offered me my own column and now equipped with his rival's top editor William Randolph Hurst Journal has become one of the most popular newspapers in the country creating stiff competition for Joseph pulitzer's New York world but Hurst isn't stopping there and soon a tragic event provides him his next big opportunity on February 15th 1898 the USS main is docked in Havana Cuba when a sudden explosion rips apart the ship 266 American Sailors lose their [Music] lives here's your headline the work of an enemy and I want an extra addition on the streets within an hour you ready to start a war yeah ion readers are Hurst jumps to the conclusion that this was the work of Spanish treachery is the word that he put in headlines and there was no evidence of that but for Hurst it quickly became the reason for the United States to go to war with Spain over Cuba [Music] when hurst's paper begins printing headlines holding Spain responsible for the tragedy piser has no choice but to respond Joseph Pitzer saw that if they didn't join in this war cry they would fall behind in their sales and lose a lot of readers and everybody would go to H Joseph are faces a crisis of conscience either hold on to his journalistic Integrity or compete on Hurst level Hurst made in Cuba into a story I don't think the nation would have paid as much attention to it had it not been for the journal constantly reporting what was going on but by doing so bullets had to respond for Pulitzer there's no other choice without any hard evidence his newspaper also begins to speculate about what happened to the Maine with Hurst coming up more and more every day with weirder and weirder stories it seemed impossible for pulitzer's world to stop and step back for a minute and say this isn't where we want to go he was so involved in the competition with Hurst that he lost his bearings day after day the two Titans are locked in battle as the world and the journal try to one up each other's reporting on the main it's a misnomer to say that what these two newspapers were doing in New York triggered the United States entry into the war but what they did do is they were like the Bellows on a flame they both helped Stoke a nation that was eager for war on April 25th 1898 after two months of Sensational headlines Congress declares war against Spain the war becomes a golden opportunity for both Pulitzer and Hurst to sell more papers and between them no expense is spared it's very clear that pulitzer's paper is trying very hard to be just as grabby just as entertaining just as Sensational in the spiraling competition Hurst was pouring so much money into this and the world felt we need to put that much money in too we can't fall behind they're both spending enormous amounts of [Music] money gentlemen do we have 300,000 readers no do we have 600,000 readers no do we have 900,000 readers no how many riders do we have 1 million by August 1898 after only 4 months the conflict in Cuba is over Hurst gets exactly what he wanted as circulation of the morning and evening editions of his journal it's 1 million copies his newspaper has become a dominant force in modern journalism [Music] but Pulitzer struggle has only just [Music] begun Joseph what are these numbers last month's losses the month before that and the month before that I will not raise prices I will not lose Rus When The War is Over circulation drops and they've got to cut somewhere where to cut he can't cut salaries of their staff because their staff might defect to the other guy he can't raise the prices what is he going to do [Music] how many rers do we have 1 million the Spanish American war has come to an end congratulations both Joseph Pulitzer and William Hurst have spent a fortune covering the event and now the bills must be paid but unlike Hurst Pulitzer doesn't have a family fortune to keep his paper [Music] [Music] afloat Pulitzer must make a sacrifice so he looks to the one group of people that don't have the power to defend themselves the news boys how many you want how many you want the Newsies as they're called were these deeply impoverished children many of whom were homeless and lived under bridges they would get a bundle of papers for which they would pay for it at a very discounted rate and then they go out and sell it and that's how they earned their keep Pitzer and Hurst dependent on these kids because a newspaper could print hundreds of thousands of papers and sell them on the street within an [Music] hour the news boy's only means of survival are the pennies they earn shouting out headlines on the street during the Spanish American war HST and Pulitzer raised the prices they charged the news boys because because of the enormous expense of covering the war rather than selling them 100 copies for 50 cents they sold them 100 copies for 60 and if they didn't sell all their newspapers they didn't get any [Music] refund now that the war is over the news boys assume that Pulitzer will return the bulk price to 50 cents but in an effort to repay his debts Pitzer refuses to give up a single [Music] penny at the journal William Hurst has a choice to make he knows if he wants to keep his newspaper in the top spot he'll have to stay on par with his [Music] rival when Pitzer and Hurst face these disenfranchised Street kids who are just needing a little more money it's understandable that Hurst the rich kid from San Francisco was [Music] unsympathetic the fact that Pulitzer was unsympathetic to these kids is contrary to everything that Pulitzer believed in the Newsies represent the world that pulet had left and he now becomes the protector of wealth as opposed to the one who attacked it in 1883 in July [Music] 1899 with the city's top paper shutting them out the Newsies go on strike the bo protest shocking every everybody the boys protest there are lots of them they get together they insist they're going to stay together their leaders emerge it's covered wildly in the other newspapers who love seeing this kind of tilting of the lances at the great Hurst and pulit or Empires the times the Tribune they're all giving it massive coverage they make them seem like you know little Heroes going up against the big corporate monsters more than 5,000 News Boys shut down New York City to gain attention for their cause they clogged the Brooklyn Bridge halting City traffic for hours with the Newsies in protest distribution of the world and journal grinds to a halt over the course of 2 weeks circulation of the New York World drops over 50% bulletz at this point has forgotten his roots he has forgotten in a sense that he was once AI he is fighting these Street kids and at some point sanity had to Prevail now the news boy protest is not only costing him his business but also his reputation [Music] the careers of two newspaper Giants are now in Jeopardy thanks to their own ruthless [Music] tactics the news boy strike has brought the world and the journal to their knees in a matter of days circulation of both Pulitzer and her first newspapers [Music] plummet it's just not right I know you think that but they're just children and they're holding us hostage [Music] if Pulitzer and William Randolph Hurst are going to save their businesses the two newspaper Giants have no choice but to put aside their rivalry and agree to make a deal with with the news boys the strike did show them that they needed to cooperate just a little bit it was reluctant but there was an understanding that ruthless Breakneck competition was not going to serve either of their interests they won't lower the bulk price but they agree to refund the news boys for any papers they don't sell the Newsies accept the proposal and on August 2nd 1899 the strike ends the victory of the Newsies is a dramatic moment in American labor history when the most disenfranchised most powerless group of kids come together and fight these two giants it's David and Goliath on a huge [Music] scale William Hurst and Joseph Pulitzer are the reigning Kings of New York City journalism but it's clear they're no longer just the voice of the people they also represent the interests of an industry in some ways Pulitzer and hers were Coke and Pepsi they were Ford and Chevy they went at each other they improved each other in some ways they made each other a little worse a little more Craven in their search for audiences the newspaper Giants may have won but Joseph Pulitzer fears that his competition with Hurst has tarnished his legacy [Music] it's a little disturbing to think that that Pulitzer the champion of the people went after a bunch of little boys but a lot of the decisions he made were made in fear of letting Hurst win I think Pitzer felt an extreme need to [Music] atone Pulitzer donates $2 million to Columbia University which helps to develop one of the country's first journalism schools in hopes of restoring his own name one of Bullit legacies was creating what is now regarded as the premier training spot for journalists but the second Legacy and the one that was most important to him was the prize that would bear his name the Pitzer prize because it really reflected his notion of Journalism a Matt prize has become the biggest and most important prize you can get and [Music] journalism William Hurst uses his journalism Empire as a stepping stone to a career in politics and eventually Hollywood William Randolph Hurst reputation has survived in large part because one of the great movies of all time Citizen Cane by arson well was based on his life I think otherwise he would be less well known today than he is a bitter rivalry between two publishing Giants revolutionized journalism and propelled mainstream media as we know it today h and poiter Together made the newspaper essential for daily life so much of today's newspapers more than a 100 years later still reflects many of the Innovations and changes that Hurst and pulit are made they were responsible for a large part of the way newspapers work [Music] today the modern mass media that we turn to every day comes from the achievement of these two men the very notion of consuming news as a form of entertainment that you want to read about what's happening