Joseph Pulitzer

Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher who founded the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World. He is best known for establishing the Pulitzer Prizes, which recognize excellence in journalism, literature, and the arts. Pulitzer’s newspapers were at the forefront of the yellow journalism era, which used sensationalism to attract readers and increase circulation.

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Family Info

Siblings

Albert Pulitzer

Spouses

Kate Davis

Children

Ralph Pulitzer

Herbert Pulitzer

Edith Pulitzer

About the Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzerwas a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World. He became a leading national figure in the Democratic Party and was elected congressman from New York.

In the 1890s the fierce competition between his World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal caused both to develop the techniques of yellow journalism, which won over readers with sensationalism, sex, crime and graphic horrors. The wide appeal reached a million copies a day and opened the way to mass-circulation newspapers that depended on advertising revenueand appealed to readers with multiple forms of news, gossip, entertainment and advertising.

Pulitzer’s name is best known for the Pulitzer Prizes established in 1917 as a result of the specified endowment in his will to Columbia University. The prizes are given annually to recognize and reward excellence in American journalism, photography, literature, history, poetry, music, and drama. Pulitzer also funded the Columbia School of Journalism with his philanthropic bequest; it opened in 1912.

Frequently Asked Questions

Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher who founded the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World in the late 19th century.

The Pulitzer Prizes were established in 1917 as a result of the specified endowment in Joseph Pulitzer’s will to Columbia University. The prizes are given annually to recognize and reward excellence in American journalism, photography, literature, history, poetry, music, and drama.

In the 1890s, the fierce competition between Pulitzer’s World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal caused both to develop the techniques of yellow journalism, which won over readers with sensationalism, sex, crime, and graphic horrors.

Pulitzer’s newspapers helped open the way to mass-circulation newspapers that depended on advertising revenue and appealed to readers with multiple forms of news, gossip, entertainment, and advertising, rather than relying on cover price or political party subsidies.

Joseph Pulitzer was born Pulitzer József in Hungary and later immigrated to the United States, where he became a leading national figure in the Democratic Party and was elected a congressman from New York.

9 Quotes by Joseph Pulitzer

  1. 1.

    Publicity, publicity, publicity is the greatest moral factor and force in our public life.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  2. 2.

    I would rather have one article a day of this sort; and these ten or twenty lines might readily represent a whole day’s hard work in the way of concentrated, intense thinking and revision, polish of style, weighing of words.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  3. 3.

    Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  4. 4.

    A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will in time produce a people as base as itself.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  5. 5.

    The power to mould the future of the Republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  6. 6.

    An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  7. 7.

    I desire to assist in attracting to this profession young men of character and ability, also to help those already engaged in the profession to acquire the highest moral and intellectual training.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  8. 8.

    I am deeply interested in the progress and elevation of journalism, having spent my life in that profession, regarding it as a noble profession and one of unequaled importance for its influence upon the minds and morals of the people.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)

  9. 9.

    Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.

    Joseph Pulitzer

    Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and politician (1847-1911)