William Randolph Hearst & the Spanish-American War: How a Media Giant Altered American History
William Randolph Hearst was born into the top echelon of American society. His father, George Hearst, was a multi-millionaire miner. Hearst's mother was a school-teacher from Missouri named Phoebe Hearst. As a repayment of a gambling debt, George Hearst accepted a small newspaper called the San Francisco Examiner. William Randolph Hearst subsequently demanded to take ever the newspaper. George allowed him too. Soon after, William Randolph acquired the best equipment and most talented writers available and he nicknamed his newspaper "the monarch of the dailies." Hearst went on to publish exposes of corruption as well as stories of drama and inspiration (facts taken from spanamwar.com). Following these events, tensions erupted between Spain and Cuba due to Spanish corruption. Hearst seized the day. He authorized numerous stories about Spanish brutality towards Cubans.
These stories were greatly exaggerated. One headline infamously read "Blood on the Roadsides, Blood in the Villages, Blood, Blood, Blood." With the advent of this reporting style, the term "yellow journalism" was coined. This term was derived from the "Yellow Kid" comic strip in Hearst's New York Morning Journal, and was (and still is) used to refer to this type of sensationalized news story (facts taken from spanamwar.com). Shortly thereafter, the USS Maine exploded (the facts of who caused the explosion are still unclear, and the evidence we have indicates error on the part of the American troops on the ship, rather than terror by the Spanish). Hearst authorized a column entitled, "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain."
The consequences of the war had far-reaching ramifications that echo down the pages of history, even in today's time. In conclusion, it is written that "Hearst played a huge part in arousing the [American] publics intention to go to war with Spain (quote from spanamwar.com)." The importance of Hearst cannot be overstated. To understand the Spanish-American War, one must understand Hearst's role in it (and vice versa). Hearst's efforts signalled a sea-change in the way the American media conducted business. It forever established the media as a tool for propaganda, in all subsequent world events. The state of news-media today owes its success to William Randolph Hearst, a media-giant who, through his exaggerations, forever altered American and, as a result, World history.
--Mills Simpson
This publication caused the American public to reach a fever-pitch of frenzy. America soon entered into a war against Spain. In furtherance of these goals, Hearst made Teddy Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" into national heroes. The charge up San Juan Hill was exaggerated into a tide-turning victory for America and began to cement the popularity of Teddy Roosevelt all over the world. Consequently, America won the war, and Cuba and the Philippines were liberated. These two powers, along with the rest of Latin America, became major partners with the United States on the world-stage.