The Generals
Joseph Pulitzer
Pulitzer ran the New York World.
Adolph Ochs
Ochs ran the New York TImes.
Alfred Ochs was a mystery to the men he commanded. Under hisleadership, the Times went from a failing and demoralized three-penny paper toone of the premier newspapers in the world. And yet Ochs was seen as a crudeman, meager intellectually, prone to poor grammar, a “congenital conformist,”dripping with sentimentality, and filled with the love for money (115-116).
Garet Garret, the editorial page editor at the Times,attributed Ochs’ success to a particular elasticity of mind, to an ability toconform to the mood of a crowd. “As the orator and the crowd react on eachother, so Mr. O. and the Times readers react on each other … Mr. Ochs is a crowd (116).”
Ochs’ ambition, Garret wrote, was to produce a highbrownewspaper for intellectuals. This was an appeal to the upper class, and in atime when New York was becoming increasingly diverse.
This was the audience that Joseph Pulitzer of the New YorkWorld sought. New York in the 1890s was in the midst of an immigration boom. In1890, more than 40% of New York’s population was immigrants - many of whom could not read, butwanted to learn (99).
The World’s extensive use of cartoons and drawings, large headlines,and an emphasis on simple words, content and sentences appealed toinexperienced English speakers (100). Editors laid out entertainment, lifestyletips and self-advertising in an effort to reach a wide and general audience.
Populism would prove Pulitzer’s weak knee. The New YorkTimes, while never able to match the World’s massive circulation numbers,emerged as the standard to which newspapers should ascribe – even to observersat the time (106). The Times sought wealthy, and the wealthy sought the Timesfor its conservatism, decency and accuracy – and for its extensive financialreporting. As an editorial in an a 1902 issue of The Journalist said, “It haslived up to its motto of “All the news that’s fit to Print,” and the greatcultivated, well-to-do class do not want anything beyond that (107).” This appeal to class would lead to victory.
Works Cited:
Schudson, Michael. Discovering the News: A Social History ofAmerican Newspapers. New York: Basic, 1978. Print.