HEARST, WILLIAM RANDOLPH
William Randolph Hearst (April 29, 1863–August 14, 1951) was from the 1890s until his death the most powerful newspaper publisher in the United States. Born in San Francisco to millionaire miner George Hearst and philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst, William Randolph Hearst, known to his friends and employees as "the Chief," built a media empire that at its height in the late 1920s encompassed twenty-six daily newspapers in eighteen cities; a Sunday supplement; nine magazines, including Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan; newsreel, wire, and syndicated feature services; a film production company; and several radio stations.
When, in October and November of 1929, the stock market crashed, Hearst called for calm, arguing that the American economy was fundamentally sound. Although his personal fortunes were not immediately harmed—his primary investments were in real estate—his media empire, particularly his newspapers, suffered from a fall in advertising revenues. Hearst had borrowed heavily to support his extravagant lifestyle and purchase new media properties, and he could not afford the slightest loss of revenues. In May 1930, to raise funds to pay off outstanding debts, he incorporated Hearst Consolidated Publications, Inc., and offered preferred stock in the new corporation to the public. While the preferred stock offered a 7 percent dividend, which was paid regularly until mid 1938, it carried no voting rights.
By the late spring of 1931, when it had become apparent that no rapid economic recovery was in store, Hearst urged President Herbert Hoover to authorize the immediate expenditure of $5 billion to provide public works jobs for the unemployed at prevailing wages. When Hoover declined to follow his advice, Hearst became determined to oppose his bid for reelection. Instead, Hearst endorsed Texas congressman and Speaker of the House John Nance Garner for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1932, but Hearst switched his endorsement to Franklin Delano Roosevelt when it became clear that Garner could not win the nomination. Hearst became an enthusiastic supporter of Roosevelt and contributed advice and funds to his campaign. Though the publisher opposed the National Industrial Recovery Act and other New Deal economic measures, he did not turn against the Roosevelt presidency until 1935, when Roosevelt notified Hearst that he was going to raise income taxes in an effort to preserve democracy and capitalism from threats on the left and on the right. Hearst, still deeply in debt from overspending for business and personal purposes, responded that Roosevelt's graduated income tax was "communistic" because it redistributed wealth. Hearst promised to oppose the president and the tax increase with all his resources.
Hearst's anti-Communist tirades and his newspapers' attacks on Roosevelt and the New Deal were so vicious, especially during Roosevelt's campaign for a second term in 1936, that many of Hearst's readers were forced to choose between the president and the publisher. When large numbers chose Roosevelt and boycotted the Hearst publications, the resulting circulation and advertising decline pushed the Hearst corporations towards bankruptcy. In 1937, the Hearst corporations went into receivership and Hearst was forced to sell off many of his assets, including significant real estate holdings, portions of his art collections, and several publications.
As newspaper circulations increased during World War II and costs declined with the rationing of newsprint and the printing of smaller issues, the Hearst corporations were able to refinance their outstanding loans. By the middle of the 1940s, William Randolph Hearst had regained control of his publishing empire. He spent the last years of his life in Beverly Hills, and died in August 1951 at age eighty-eight.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coblentz, Edward D., ed. William Randolph Hearst: A Portrait in His Own Words. 1952.
Hearst, William Randolph. Correspondence and Papers. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
"Hearst." Fortune 13 (October 1935): 42–55, 123–161.
Los Angeles Examiner. Archives. Regional History Collection, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Nasaw, David. The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst. 2000.
