William Randolph Hearst's media empire and political influence

¶ … expelled from Harvard, William Randolph Hearst persuaded his father to give him control of the San Francisco Examiner, where he increased circulation and profit with sensational stories and flashy style (Biography Channel Online). With his millions, he was able to build a publishing empire that included twenty newspapers, fourteen periodicals, five news services, eleven radio stations and a movie production company. He recruited the finest journalists from his competitors with financial inducement.

Hearst perceived himself as self-made and identified politically with the middle and working classes. Despite being born into wealth, he realized that most of his readers were not. His progressive political viewpoint was popular with these readers. Hearst was an advocate for the eight-hour day, women's suffrage, and anti-trust legislation, and he used his empire to espouse ideology. He undercut his competitors by a penny per issue to increase his influence, as well as corporate profits

During the 1930's over 20 million people read or listened to his newspapers and radio programs (Nasaw, 2000). With this huge captive audience, Hearst was able to gain international fame and ultimately, win a seat in the United States House of Representatives (1903 -- 07). However, his record was unremarkable as he seldom voted and only appeared on the floor to promote his own projects.