Information about New York World

The New York World was a newspaper published in New York from 1860 until 1931. It played a major role in the history of American newspapers.

The newspaper was unsuccessful until it was purchased by Joseph Pulitzer in 1883. Nellie Bly, a reporter on the paper, 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 travelled around the planet in 72 days.

In 1890 Pulitzer built the New York World Building, the tallest office building in the world at the time. It was razed in 1955 to make way for a new approach to the Brooklyn Bridge.

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 rags. 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.

Steele (1990) 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 Island for example. By contrast, long-established editor Charles A. Dana, of the New York 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.

Frank Irving Cobb (1869-1923) 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. [Starr (1968)]

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 Swope, who hired writers such as Frank Sullivan and Deems Taylor. Among the World's noted journalists were columnists Franklin Pierce Adams (F.P.A.) who wrote "The Conning Tower" and Heywood Broun who penned "It Seems To Me" on the editorial page.

The paper published the first crossword puzzle in December 1913. The annual reference book called The World Almanac was founded by the newspaper and retains its name. The belief that the World Series of baseball is also named after the newspaper, however, is unfounded.[1]

In 1931 the heirs of Pulitzer went to court to sell the World. A surrogate court judge decided in the Pulitzer sons' favor; it was purchased by Roy 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 February 27, 1931. Howard added the World name to his afternoon paper, the Evening Telegram and called it the New York World-Telegram.

See also

• Joseph Pulitzer
• History of American newspapers
• Yellow Journalism

References

• Brian, Denis. Pulitzer: A Life. Wiley, 2001. 438 pp.
• Steele, Janet E. "The 19th Century World Versus the Sun: Promoting Consumption (Rather than the Working Man)." Journalism Quarterly 1990 67(3): 592-600. Issn: 0196-3031
• Starr, Louis M. "Joseph Pulitzer and His Most "Indegoddampendent" Editor." American Heritage 1968 19(4): 18-21, 82-85. ISSN 0002-8738 on Cobb

External links

• Slate article about the World Magazine's graphic design
• Spartacus on the New York World