1900-1911 Mevina O.

The Spanish-American war is often referred to as the first “media war”. During the 1890s, journalism that sensationalized and sometimes even manufactured-dramatic events was a powerful force that helped propel the United State into war with Spain. Led by newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, journalism of the 1890s used melodrama, romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspaper-a style that became known as “Yellow Journalism”

            The term Yellow Journalism came from a popular New York World comic called “Hogan’s Alley” which featured a yellow-dressed character named the “the yellow kid”. Determined to compete with Pulitzer’s World in every way, rival New York Journal owner William Randolph Hearst copied Pulitzer’s sensationalist style and even hired “Hogan’s Alley” artist R.F. Outcault away from the world. In response, Pulitzer commissioned another cartoonist to create a second Yellow kid. Soon, the sensationalist press of the 1890s became a competition between the “Yellow Kids” and the journalistic style was coined “Yellow Journalism”
            Yellow journals like the New York Journal and the New York World relied on sensationalist headlines to sell newspapers. William Randolph Heart understood that a war with Cuba would not only sell his papers, but also move him into a position of national prominence. From Cuba, Hearst’s star reporters wrote stories designed to tug at the heart strings of Americans. Horrific tales described the situation in Cuba-female prisoners, executions, women and children fighting, and many of the stories that filled the newspaper. But it was the sinking of battleship Maine in Havana Harbor that gave Hearst his big story-war. After the sinking of the Maine, the Hearst newspaper, with no evidence unequivocally blamed the Spanish and soon U.S. public opinion demanded intervention.
            Today, historians point to the Spanish-American war as the first press-driven war. Although it may be an exaggeration to claim that Hearst and the other Yellow journalists stared the war, it is fair to say that the press fueled the public’s passion for war. Without sensational headlines and stories about Cuban affairs, the mood for Cuban intervention may have been different. At the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States emerged as a world power, and the U.S press proved its influence.
            Dramatic newspaper headlines symbolize Yellow Journalism during the Spanish-American war. For newspaper like the New York World and New York Journal, the headlines was the most important aspect of the story the bigger and more sensational, the better. Newspaper owner William Randolph Hearst understood the importance of headlines and used large, dramatic, and sometimes misleading phrases, to sell millions of newspapers. Below are examples of some of the Newspapers

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