American Cultural Identities

An article by Joseph Pulitzer

Melinda Ambrus
3 rd year, English-Romanian

Joseph Pulitzer and his famous article

10 April 1847 (Mak, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire) 29 October 1911 (Charleston, South Carolina, US)

Put it to 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.
(The essence of good and powerful writing in a 34-word article)

 He was born as Pulitzer Jzsef in Mak. The Pulitzers were among several Jewish families living in
the area, and had established a reputation as merchants and shopkeepers. Joseph's father, Flp
Pulitzer, was a respected businessman of Mak. Their ancestors were emigrated from Moravia to
Hungary at the end of the 18th century.
Joseph attempted to enlist in various European armies for work before emigrating to the United
States. He arrived in Boston in 1864 at the age of 17, his passage having been paid by
Massachusetts military recruiters who were seeking soldiers for the long American Civil War.
"The lights of St. Louis looked like a promised land to me". In this city his German was very useful
because of the large ethnic German population, due to strong immigration since the revolutions of
1848.

He worked as a waiter at Tony Faust, a famous restaurant on Fifth Street. It was frequented by
members of the St. Louis Philosophical Society, including Thomas Davidson, the German Henry C.
Brockmeyer (famous for translating Hegel), a nephew of Otto von Bismarck; and William Torrey
Harris. Pulitizer spent his free time at the St. Louis Mercantile Library, studying English and
reading voraciously.
On 6 March 1867, Pulitzer renounced his allegiance to the Austo-Hungarian Empire and became a
naturalized American citizen.

He struggled with the execution of minor papers and the collecting of debts. That year, when the
Westliche Post needed a reporter, he was offered the job. He became soon the Westliche Post's
managing editor, and obtained a proprietary interest. In 1879, he bought both the St. Louis
Dispatch, and the St. Louis Post, merging the two papers as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It
continues as St. Louis' daily newspaper. With his own paper, Pulitzer developed his role as a
champion of the common man, featuring exposes and a hard-hitting populist approach.
In 1883, Pulitzer, by now a wealthy man, purchased the New York World from Jay Gould for
$346,000. The newspaper had been losing $40,000 a year. To raise circulation, Pulitzer
emphasized human-interest stories, scandal, and sensationalism.
In 1884, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, but after a year he
resigned due to the pressure of journalistic duties.
In 1895 the World introduced the immensely popular The Yellow Kid comic by Richard F. Outcault,
the first newspaper comic printed in color. Under Pulitzer's leadership, circulation grew from
15,000 to 600,000, making it the largest newspaper in the country. The competition with Hearst,
particularly the coverage before and during the SpanishAmerican War, linked Pulitzer's name with
yellow journalism.
In 1892, Pulitzer offered Columbia University's president, Seth Low, money to set up the world's
first school of journalism. The university initially turned down the money. In 1902, Columbia's new
president Nicholas Murray Butler was more receptive to the plan for a school and journalism
prizes, but it would not be until after Pulitzer's death that this dream would be fulfilled. Pulitzer left
the university $2,000,000 in his will. [26] In 1912 the school founded the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism. This followed the Missouri School of Journalism, founded at
the University of Missouri with Pulitzer's urging. Both schools remain among the most prestigious
in the world.
In 1917, Columbia organized the awards of the first Pulitzer Prizes in journalism. The awards have
been expanded to recognize achievements in literature, poetry, history, music, and drama.