William Randolph Hearst

by Ben H. Procter

William Randolph Hearst was one of the most colorful and important figures of turn-of-the-century America, a man who changed the face of American journalism and whose influence extends to the present day. Now, in William Randolph Hearst, The Early years, 1863-1910, Ben Procter gives us the most authoritative account of Hearst's career in newspapers and politics. Born to great wealth - his father was a partial owner of four fabulously rich mines - Hearst began his career in his early twenties by revitalizing a rundown newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner. Hearst took what had been a relatively sedate form of communicating information and essentially created the modern tabloid, complete with outrageous headlines, comic strips, wide photo coverage, and crusading zeal. His papers fairly bristled with life. By 1910 he had built a newspaper empire - eight papers and two magazines read by nearly three million people. Hearst did much to create "yellow journalism" - with the emphasis on sensat