Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)

Studies - András Csillag: Joseph Pulitzer, Master Journalist and Benefactor

The robber-baron era was at its height. The United States was expanding and industrializing fast with millions of new immigrants pouring in. Practically nobody took the trouble or time to indulge in the luxury of social concern. New York's handsome facade concealed a sink-hole of selfishness, corruption and despair. Recognizing this, Pulitzer continued the crusade of a social reformer he had started in St. Louis. He listed a number of demands he thought the country needed to bring about social justice: "Tax luxuries, tax inheritances, tax large incomes, tax monopolies, tax the privileged corporations, a tariff for revenue (i.e. not for protection

—A. Cs.), reform the civil service, punish corrupt officers, punish vote buying, punish employers who coerce their employees in elections." (The World, May 17, 1883) It may be noted that nine out of ten of these propositions became laws in due course. Pulitzer brought a quality exclusively his own in journalism, one that the country badly needed. It was the most earnest, powerful and efficient social conscience yet seen in journalism. In 1887 The Evening World was launched, the evening edition of Pulitzer's paper. The combined circulation of Pulitzer's newspapers far outpaced any other New York paper. He was a political reformer and a successful business manager of his publishing company at the same time. The qualities which helped him win over the public were those which appeared every day in his newspapers: easy-flowing style; interesting, sensational stories within the limits of good taste; crusades arousing public opinion; the exposure of social problems; educating the general public to be critically demanding. He rendered a great service by educating the ignorant masses including immigrants. He taught them democracy, the importance of their votes, and maintained that America could be true to its promise. He adjusted his journalistic methods to the needs of the masses (often called "massappeal journalism"). His chief weapon was the editorial page. However, he was not to be content carrying out his struggle only through the press. He entered Congress as a representative for New York's ninth congressional district in 1885. For a brief period of time he served there as the first United States congressman of Hungarian origin. At the time of the Spanish-American War over Cuba (1898) Pulitzer was also waging a fierce competitive war on the newspaper 11