Sensationalized, exaggerated reporting designed to boost circulation rather than inform, named for the Yellow Kid comic strip that both Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal used as a weapon in their 1895 to 1898 circulation war. The style favored scare headlines, crime stories and jingoistic coverage of the run up to the Spanish American War over verified fact.
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated Year1895 marks the Yellow Kid strip and the start of the Pulitzer-Hearst circulation war; the practice is usually dated to the whole 1895 to 1898 period rather than one exact year. Domain
Domain (category) FAQs
Were Pulitzer's and Hearst's New York papers political rivals as well as circulation rivals?
No; both papers were Democratic and sympathetic to labor and immigrants, so the rivalry was over circulation, not party politics.
No. Despite the fierce circulation war between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, the two papers stood on the same side of the political aisle: both were Democratic and sympathetic to labor and immigrant readers, a contrast to upscale rivals such as the New York Tribune. Their contest was fought through sensational presentation and circulation numbers, not opposing party lines.
Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationDefinitions section
Scare headlines in huge print, often sensationalizing minor news
Competition in New York section
Both were Democratic, both were sympathetic to labor and immigrants
Hearst in San Francisco section
The American people want something terse, forcible, picturesque, striking
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