Pulitzer : a life / Denis Brian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brian, Denis.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pulitzer, Joseph, 1847-1911.

Pulitzer, Joseph.

Journalists--United States--Biography.

Journalists.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 438 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : J. Wiley, [2001]

Summary:

This intriguing biography of one of the most monumental and controversial figures in publishing history is filled with fascinating stories of the Hungarian emigrant's rise from a practically penniless soldier in the Union army to U.S. congressman, and, finally, to the pinnacle of American journalism -- and power -- as the owner of two of the country's preeminent newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and New York World.

Including new personal information about Pulitzer's public and private life culled from his own correspondence and interviews, this absorbing book reveals how he transformed the New York World into one of the nation's most influential and respected papers and inaugurated the era of the modern popular press and a "new journalism" that mixed sensational stunts, entertaining stories, and cartoons with serious financial, foreign, and political news, as well as editorial campaigns that helped to change the course of history.

Also revealed here are the intriguing details of the frantic Pulitzer-Hearst circulation battle during the Spanish-American War; how Pulitzer, struck blind at forty, continued to run his empire for twenty-two more years with the aid of a coterie of extraordinary secretaries, to champion the underdog, expose corrupt insurance companies and crooked politicians, and to fight injustice wherever he found it; how he was a pioneer in hiring women reporters -- including Nellie Bly, uncovered James Blaine's shady deals to assure Grover Cleveland's victory, led the campaign to erect the Statute of Liberty, defied President Theodore Roosevelt's attempt to imprison him for criminal libel, and founded the Columbia School of Journalism.

The result is a frank and unique insider view of the man whose courage, high principles, original thinking, and driving ambition despite incredible obstacles have earned him his place as the "Father of American Journalism" and whose influence has left an indelible mark on a culture.

Contents:

Introduction: Joseph Pulitzer and His "Indegoddampendent" World 1

1 The Fighting Immigrant 5

2 Upright, Spirited, and Dangerous 15

3 Survives Fire and Marries 21

4 Buys St. Louis Post-Dispatch 31

5 President Garfield Assassinated 40

6 Jesse James "Shot Like a Dog" 51

7 Pulitzer Takes Over the World 63

8 Puts a Democrat in the White House 79

9 Saves Statute of Liberty 97

10 Haymarket Square Massacre 110

11 Nellie Bly Goes Crazy 120

12 Tries to Save His Sight 133

13 "An Instrument of Justice, a Terror to Crime" 139

14 Nellie Bly Races around the World 144

15 Running the World by Remote Control 158

16 Pulitzer's "Satanic Journalism" 169

17 Prevents War between the United States and Britain 184

18 Fighting Crime and William Randolph Hearst 196

19 War Fever 213

20 Americans at War in Cuba 226

21 For the Boers, against the British 244

22 "Accuracy! Accuracy!! Accuracy!!!" 252

23 President McKinley Assassinated 266

24 "Find a Man Who Gets Drunk and Hire Him" 275

25 Euphemisms for Abortion 282

26 Breaking In Frank Cobb 288

27 Unmasking Corrupt Insurance Companies 299

28 "I Liked the Way He Swore" 310

29 Protesting Jingo Agitation 322

30 Secret Double Life of Rockefeller's Father 331

31 Roosevelt Tries to Send Pulitzer to Prison 343

32 "The Big Man of All American Newspapers" 350

33 Roosevelt Seeks Revenge 359

34 Victory! 370

35 The Last Days 383

36 The Aftermath 391.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 419-422) and index.

ISBN:

0471332003

OCLC:

47140669

Online:

Table of Contents