William Randolph Hearst

Newspaper Baron

April 29, 1863 San Francisco, California, United States

August 14, 1951 Beverly Hills, California, United States

Millicent Veronica Willson

William Randolph Hearst was one of the most successful newspaper barons in the history of American journalism. Born into a wealthy family, Hearst used his family wealth to build a massive media empire, which went on to become the nation’s largest newspaper chain. His methods of publishing made a considerable impact in American journalism and led to the formation of what came to be known as ‘yellow journalism’- a method of sensationalising news stories. He began his career as a publisher with the 'The San Francisco Examiner', which his father had acquired previously. He later acquired 'The New York Journal'. He eventually owned a chain of more than 30 newspapers across cities in the U.S. He also had a brief stint in politics and served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representative from New York's 11th district. However, he ran unsuccessfully for the mayor of New York City and the governor of New York. Through his media empire, he exercised enormous political influence and created public opinion. The main character in the film, ‘Citizen Cane’ was based on his life.