New York World
Encyclopedia
The New York World was a newspaper
published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers
. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party, and from 1883 to 1911 under publisher Joseph Pulitzer
it became a pioneer in Yellow Journalism
as it pushed its daily circulation to the one-million mark.
.
in 1883 and a new, aggressive era of circulation building began. Reporter Nellie Bly
became one of America's first investigative journalists
, often working undercover. As a publicity stunt
for the paper inspired by the Jules Verne
novel Around the World in Eighty Days, she traveled around the planet in 72 days in 1889-1890. In 1890, Pulitzer built the New York World Building
, the tallest office building in the world at the time.
In 1889, Julius Chambers
became the managing editor of the New York World on the invitation of Joseph Pulitzer, where he remained until 1891.
In 1896, the World began using a four-color printing press and became the first to launch a color supplement
, which featured the Yellow Kid cartoon Hogan's Alley. It then joined a circulation battle with William Randolph Hearst
's New York Journal American
.
The World was at the time attacked for being "sensational", and its later circulation battles with Hearst's Journal American gave rise to the term yellow journalism
, which have led many to believe the World and the Journal were little more than scandal sheets. One should note, however, that the charges of sensationalism were most frequently leveled at the paper by more established publishers, who resented Pulitzer's courting of the immigrant classes. And while the World presented its fair share of crime stories, it also published damning exposés of tenement
abuses. After a heat wave in 1883 killed a disproportionate number of children and led the World to publish stories under headlines like "Lines of Little Hearses", the adverse publicity spurred action for reform. Hearst reproduced Pulitzer's approach in the San Francisco Examiner and later in the Journal American.
Frank Irving Cobb
was employed on a trial basis as the editor of the World in 1904 by publisher Pulitzer. Cobb was a fiercely independent Kansan who resisted Pulitzer's attempts to "run the office" from his home. However hard the elder man might try, he simply could not keep from meddling with Cobb's work. Time after time these men battled each other, and not often in the most temperate language. Ironically, both men found common ground in their support of Woodrow Wilson
. But there were plenty of other issues to disagree about. When Pulitzer's son took over administrative responsibility in 1907, Pulitzer wrote a precisely worded resignation which was printed in every New York paper—except the World. Pulitzer raged at the insult, but slowly began to respect Cobb's editorials and independent spirit. Exchanges, commentaries, and messages between them increased. The good rapport between the two was based largely on Cobb's flexibility. In May 1908, Cobb and Pulitzer met to outline plans for a consistent editorial policy. However, the editorial policy did waver on occasion. Renewed battles broke out over the most trivial matters. Pulitzer's demands for editorials on contemporary breaking news led to overwork by Cobb. Pulitzer revealed concern by sending him on a six-week tour of Europe to restore his spirit. Pulitzer died shortly after Cobb's return; then Cobb published Pulitzer's beautifully written resignation. Cobb retained the editorial policies he had shared with Pulitzer until he died of cancer in 1923.
, who hired writers such as Frank Sullivan
and Deems Taylor
. Among the Worlds noted journalists were columnists Franklin Pierce Adams
(F.P.A.) who wrote "The Conning Tower," Heywood Broun
who penned "It Seems To Me" on the editorial page, and hardboiled
writer James M. Cain
. C. M. Payne
created several comic strips for the newspaper.
The paper published the first crossword puzzle
in December 1913. The annual reference book
called The World Almanac
was founded by the newspaper, and its name, World Almanac, is directly descended from the newspaper. The belief that the World Series
of baseball
is also named after the newspaper, however, is unfounded.http://roadsidephotos.com/baseball/name.htm
The paper ran a twenty article exposé
on the Ku Klux Klan
starting September 6, 1921.
In 1931, Pulitzer's heirs went to court to sell the World. A surrogate court judge decided in the Pulitzer sons' favor; it was purchased by Roy W. Howard for his Scripps-Howard chain. He promptly closed the World and laid off the staff of 3,000 after the final issue was printed on February 27, 1931. Howard added the World name to his afternoon paper, the Evening Telegram, and called it the New York World-Telegram
.
for example. By contrast, long-established editor Charles A. Dana, of The Sun, held to a traditional view of the working man as one engaged in a struggle to better his working conditions and to improve himself. Dana thought the 20th century would see even fewer faddish illustrations and wished newspapers did not need advertising. Dana resisted buying a Linotype. These two editors, and their newspapers, reflected two worlds—one old, one new—and Pulitzer won.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers
History of American newspapers
The history of American newspapers goes back to the 17th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.-Colonial period:-The New England Courant:...
. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party, and from 1883 to 1911 under publisher Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
it became a pioneer in Yellow Journalism
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
as it pushed its daily circulation to the one-million mark.
Early years
The World was formed in 1860. From 1862 to 1876, it was edited by Marble Manton, who was also its proprietor at the time. After Manton ran into financial trouble, he was forced to sell the unsuccessful newspaper. In 1864, the World was shut down for three days after it published forged documents from Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
Joseph Pulitzer years
The World was a relatively unsuccessful New York newspaper from 1860 to 1883. It was purchased by Joseph PulitzerJoseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
in 1883 and a new, aggressive era of circulation building began. Reporter Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She remains notable for two feats: a record-breaking trip around the world in emulation of Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from...
became one of America's first investigative journalists
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
, often working undercover. As a publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
for the paper inspired by the Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
novel Around the World in Eighty Days, she traveled around the planet in 72 days in 1889-1890. In 1890, Pulitzer built the New York World Building
New York World Building
The New York World Building was a skyscraper in New York City designed by early skyscraper specialist George Browne Post and built in 1890 to house the now-defunct newspaper, The New York World. It was razed in 1955.-History:...
, the tallest office building in the world at the time.
In 1889, Julius Chambers
Julius Chambers
Julius Chambers, F.R.G.S.,There is disparity about an unused first name. The Americana Vol.4 calls him Charles Julius Chambers, Dictionary of American Biography and The Delta Kappa Epsilon Quarterly call him James Julius Chambers. Regardless of the correct name, he used neither one in...
became the managing editor of the New York World on the invitation of Joseph Pulitzer, where he remained until 1891.
In 1896, the World began using a four-color printing press and became the first to launch a color supplement
Supplement (publishing)
A supplement is a publication that has a role secondary to that of another preceding or concurrent publication.A follow-on publication complements its predecessor, either by bringing it up-to-date , or by otherwise enhancing the predecessor's coverage of a particular topic or subject matter, as in...
, which featured the Yellow Kid cartoon Hogan's Alley. It then joined a circulation battle with William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
's New York Journal American
New York Journal American
The New York Journal American was a newspaper published from 1937 to 1966. The Journal American was the product of a merger between two New York newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst: The New York American , a morning paper, and the New York Evening Journal, an afternoon paper...
.
The World was at the time attacked for being "sensational", and its later circulation battles with Hearst's Journal American gave rise to the term yellow journalism
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
, which have led many to believe the World and the Journal were little more than scandal sheets. One should note, however, that the charges of sensationalism were most frequently leveled at the paper by more established publishers, who resented Pulitzer's courting of the immigrant classes. And while the World presented its fair share of crime stories, it also published damning exposés of tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
abuses. After a heat wave in 1883 killed a disproportionate number of children and led the World to publish stories under headlines like "Lines of Little Hearses", the adverse publicity spurred action for reform. Hearst reproduced Pulitzer's approach in the San Francisco Examiner and later in the Journal American.
Frank I. Cobb
Frank Irving Cobb was an American journalist. He succeeded Joseph Pulitzer as editor of The New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer. Cobb became famous for his editorials in support of the policies of liberal Democrats such as Woodrow Wilson.-Career:Cobb was born to a Yankee farm family in...
was employed on a trial basis as the editor of the World in 1904 by publisher Pulitzer. Cobb was a fiercely independent Kansan who resisted Pulitzer's attempts to "run the office" from his home. However hard the elder man might try, he simply could not keep from meddling with Cobb's work. Time after time these men battled each other, and not often in the most temperate language. Ironically, both men found common ground in their support of Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. But there were plenty of other issues to disagree about. When Pulitzer's son took over administrative responsibility in 1907, Pulitzer wrote a precisely worded resignation which was printed in every New York paper—except the World. Pulitzer raged at the insult, but slowly began to respect Cobb's editorials and independent spirit. Exchanges, commentaries, and messages between them increased. The good rapport between the two was based largely on Cobb's flexibility. In May 1908, Cobb and Pulitzer met to outline plans for a consistent editorial policy. However, the editorial policy did waver on occasion. Renewed battles broke out over the most trivial matters. Pulitzer's demands for editorials on contemporary breaking news led to overwork by Cobb. Pulitzer revealed concern by sending him on a six-week tour of Europe to restore his spirit. Pulitzer died shortly after Cobb's return; then Cobb published Pulitzer's beautifully written resignation. Cobb retained the editorial policies he had shared with Pulitzer until he died of cancer in 1923.
Later years
In 1911, Joseph Pulitzer died, passing control of the World to his sons Ralph, Joseph and Herbert Pulitzer. The World continued to grow under its executive editor Herbert Bayard SwopeHerbert Bayard Swope
Herbert Bayard Swope was a U.S. editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the New York World newspaper. He was the first and three time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting...
, who hired writers such as Frank Sullivan
Frank Sullivan (writer)
Frank Sullivan was an American humorist, best remembered for creating the character Mr. Arbuthnot the Cliche Expert....
and Deems Taylor
Deems Taylor
Joseph Deems Taylor was a U.S. composer, music critic, and promoter of classical music.-Career:Taylor initially planned to become an architect; however, despite minimal musical training he soon took to music composition. The result was a series of works for orchestra and/or voices...
. Among the Worlds noted journalists were columnists Franklin Pierce Adams
Franklin Pierce Adams
Franklin Pierce Adams was an American columnist, well known by his initials F.P.A., and wit, best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances as a regular panelist on radio's Information Please...
(F.P.A.) who wrote "The Conning Tower," Heywood Broun
Heywood Broun
Heywood Campbell Broun, Jr. was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, now known as The Newspaper Guild. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he is best remembered for his writing on social issues and...
who penned "It Seems To Me" on the editorial page, and hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
writer James M. Cain
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
. C. M. Payne
C. M. Payne
Charles M. Payne was an American cartoonist best known for his popular long-run comic strip S'Matter, Pop? He signed his work C. M. Payne and also adopted the nickname Popsy....
created several comic strips for the newspaper.
The paper published the first crossword puzzle
Crossword Puzzle
For the common puzzle, see CrosswordCrossword Puzzle was the second to last album made by The Partridge Family and was not one of the most popular albums. It was released in 1973 and did not produce a U.S. single. This album was finally released on CD in 2003 on Arista's BMG Heritage label...
in December 1913. The annual reference book
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
called The World Almanac
World Almanac
In 1993 Scripps sold the Almanac to K-III .The World Almanac was sold to Ripplewood Holdings' WRC Media in 1999. Ripplewood bought Reader's Digest and the book was then produced by the World Almanac Education Group, which was owned by The Reader's Digest Association...
was founded by the newspaper, and its name, World Almanac, is directly descended from the newspaper. The belief that the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
of baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
is also named after the newspaper, however, is unfounded.http://roadsidephotos.com/baseball/name.htm
The paper ran a twenty article exposé
New York World Exposé of the Ku Klux Klan
The New York World’s exposé of the Ku Klux Klan brought national media to the operations and actions of the Ku Klux Klan beginning on September 6th, 1921. It published a series of twenty one consecutive daily articles that discussed numerous aspects of Ku Klux Klan including rituals, recruitment...
on the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
starting September 6, 1921.
In 1931, Pulitzer's heirs went to court to sell the World. A surrogate court judge decided in the Pulitzer sons' favor; it was purchased by Roy W. Howard for his Scripps-Howard chain. He promptly closed the World and laid off the staff of 3,000 after the final issue was printed on February 27, 1931. Howard added the World name to his afternoon paper, the Evening Telegram, and called it the New York World-Telegram
New York World-Telegram
The New York World-Telegram, later known as the New York World-Telegram and Sun, was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966.-History:...
.
Legacy
Janet E. Steele argues that Pulitzer put a stamp on his age when he brought his brand of journalism from St. Louis to New York in 1883. In his New York World, Pulitzer emphasized illustrations, advertising, and a culture of consumption for working men who, Pulitzer believed, saved money to enjoy life with their families when they could, at Coney IslandConey Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
for example. By contrast, long-established editor Charles A. Dana, of The Sun, held to a traditional view of the working man as one engaged in a struggle to better his working conditions and to improve himself. Dana thought the 20th century would see even fewer faddish illustrations and wished newspapers did not need advertising. Dana resisted buying a Linotype. These two editors, and their newspapers, reflected two worlds—one old, one new—and Pulitzer won.
Revival
On May 16, 2011, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism announced that it was launching an online publication named The New York World, in honor of the original New York World published by Pulitzer, the founder of the school. In the announcement, the school proclaimed that the mission of the newspaper would be "to provide New York City citizens with accountability journalism about government operations that affect their lives." It is to be staffed mainly by those who have completed master's or doctoral degres and other affiliates of the school.Notable journalists
- Howard C. Hillegas (1872–1918)Howard C. HillegasHoward Clemens Hillegas was an American author, newspaper correspondent, and newspaper editor. Hillegas traveled to South Africa as a correspondent for the New York World to cover the Second Boer War.-Family and education:...
- William Brown Meloney (1878–1925)William Brown Meloney (1878–1925)William Brown Meloney was a journalist, writer, executive secretary to Mayor William Jay Gaynor of New York City and a historian of shipping....
- Charles Edward Russell (1886-1894)Charles Edward RussellCharles Edward Russell was an American journalist, politician, and a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People...
See also
- Joseph PulitzerJoseph PulitzerJoseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
- History of American newspapersHistory of American newspapersThe history of American newspapers goes back to the 17th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.-Colonial period:-The New England Courant:...
- New York World BuildingNew York World BuildingThe New York World Building was a skyscraper in New York City designed by early skyscraper specialist George Browne Post and built in 1890 to house the now-defunct newspaper, The New York World. It was razed in 1955.-History:...
- Yellow JournalismYellow journalismYellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
External links
- Original New York World articles at Nellie Bly Online