Things you didn’t know about Joseph Pulitzer, the man behind the prestigious Pulitzer Prize
In the literary circles, authors who receive the Pulitzer Prize are attributed a God-like status. Starting from Jhumpa Lahiri to Toni Morison, there are many literary geniuses who received this prestigious award. But do you know who it is named after? Well, it is named after one of the most influential figures of 20th century American journalism, Joseph Pulitzer. The Pulitzer Prize was introduced in 1917 and has been a leading award for exemplary contributions in print journalism (newspapers and magazines), online journalism, literature and musical composition within the United States. It is administered by the reputed Columbia University and patroned by the Joseph Pulitzer family fund. This year, the Pulitzer Prize was announced on 9th May 2022. Despite such stature, there are some significant controversies surrounding the man himself, Joseph Pulitzer. Let’s find out!
Beginning of the Great Newspaper War, New York City
In 1883, Pulitzer bought the controversial New York local newspaper called ‘The World’ from business tycoon Jay Gould. By 1888, he had turned ‘The World’ into a popular publication by publishing crime stories and other controversial tales. Apart from these, ‘The World’ also featured a comics section (1889). By the end of the 1880s, ‘The World’ had become so popular that it started to sell as many as 250,000 copies per day. This was because, for the first time in the history of American newspapers, the newspaper had shifted its focus from politics to entertainment.
The New York World versus New York Journal
Pulitzer’s goal was simple, to entice readers with luring headlines or what we know today as being click-bait. However, he was soon faced with a fierce competitor when famous editor William Randolph Hearst purchased the failing newspaper ‘New York Journal’ in 1895 with the sole intention of overthrowing ‘The New York World.’ He even tried to hire away Pulitzer’s writers and editors. Morill Goddard, Pulitzer’s right-hand man and ‘The World’s’ lead editor, joined Hearst’s team. Further, to seek vengeance, Pulitzer hired Hearst’s nephew and a brilliant editing prodigy, Arthur Brisbane. This is how the great New York City newspaper war raged as the two publishers battled for attention of the city’s reading population.
Sensationalism and Yellow Journalism
In the early 20th century, Pulitzer pioneered a literary movement that is known till date as yellow journalism. This refers to the kind of journalism in which newspaper reporting was not only reckless and provocative, but also of questionable accuracy and taste. It was a direct result of the circulation war between two New York City newspapers, New York Journal and The World. The aim was to prompt the competitor to print over-sensational and made-up stories to deceive readers. In fact, many people believe that yellow journalism indirectly led to the civil war across America. To date, the phrase 'yellow journalism' stands for irresponsible reporting of current news.