| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.1

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

Ben Procter. William Randolph Hearst: The Early Years, 1863–1910. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. Pp. xiv, 345. $30.00.

The modern American newspaper emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nurtured by urbanization, retailers' need to advertise, and seemingly insatiable demand by readers for news. Between 1880 and 1920, the number of daily newspapers nearly trebled (from about 900 to nearly 2500) and circulation growth far outpaced population growth. This was a golden age for American newspapers; profits were high and expansion seemed limitless. 1

Ben Procter's biography of William Randolph Hearst provides a detailed portrait of one of the entrepreneurs who defined the modern newspaper. By his forties, Hearst had established a journalistic empire that included eight newspapers and two magazines in five of the largest U.S. cities; readership was near three million. Hearst emphasized that news could be fun. In 1896, his New York Journal proclaimed that "The public is even more fond of entertainment than it is of information." "Sob sister" columnists fed public interest in sentimentality and exposés, and colorful comics delighted young and old alike. Some of Hearst's crusades influenced public policy and whetted his appetite for political power—even the presidency. But his political prospect had dimmed by World War I and his later years—when he was ensconced with his movie star mistress in a castle overlooking the Pacific—had a soap opera quality to them. . . .

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