American University Professor w. Joseph campbell teaches a class on myths about William Randolph hearst, yellow journalism and the lead up to the spanish american war at the end of the 19th century. He debunked detail that William Randolph hearst telegrams one of his correspondents on assignment and cuba saying, quote, you finish the pictures and i will finish the war. Good morning, welcome. Today we will talk about one of the most tenacious immediate myths in american journalism. It has to do, it revolves around the supposed vow of William Randolph hearst to furnish the war with spain at the end of the 19th century. This has become over the years in all purpose media anecdote. Useful when describing any number of media sins and shortcomings, including the scourge of fake news, including the scourge of fake news. So what are we talking about here . What are medium its . These are prominent stories about and or by the news media that are widely known and often retold, but which, under scrutiny, under examination, dissolve as apocryphal or wildly exaggerated media myths. In a way, media myths are cousins to fake news. You can think about cases of fake news that have masqueraded as a record for many years. I can also be thought of as the junk food of journalism. The jumpsuit of journalism. Appealing, alluring, delicious perhaps, but not terribly wholesome. And not terribly healthy either. These junk food of journalism. Some of the features a media myths. These are invariably pity tales. Succinct, short and to the point. They are almost always simplistic. And of course, they are media centric. They revolve around media and media actors and journalists. They are easily remembered, easily retold and almost too good not to be true. These are some of the defining characteristics, some of the defining features, of the media myths. They almost always place journalists at the center of the actions. At the center of important events. They do so in a decisive way, for good or evil. For good or evil. This anecdote that we are discussing today, this media myth that we will be deconstructing. Is often cited as evidence that William Randolph hearst, a young newspaper publisher from new york city, fomented or brought about the spanish american war. It is as i say, a tenacious and often invoked medium it. What are some examples of other media myths . This furnished the war anecdote is hardly the only media myth of their. One of the most tenacious and popular is the notion that two young reporters from the washington post, through their dog reporting, brought down the corrupt presidency of Richard Nixon in 1974. Another wellknown media myth is the notion that walter cronkite, in and on air of assessment of the war in vietnam, declared the United States military to be mired instill mates in february, 1968. Mired in stalemates. An assessment that supposedly swan Public Opinion in the United States against the war. Another example of a medium it revolves around the famous photograph of in a palm girl, taken in vietnam, what was then south vietnam, by an Associated Press photographer in june of 1972. The image showed the effects of civilians, particularly young children, of an errant napalm bombing. The photographs supposedly was so powerful and so that it that it helped hasten and and the vietnam war. Of course, the immediate mid today, the media mid du jour surrounding william rand off hursts purported vow to furnish the war with spain. This is an important anecdote. This is an important medium it to address and debunk. If this tale is true, if this is accurate, its suggests and points too powerful effects by the news media. So powerful that they can bring about a war that the country otherwise would not have fought. That is the implication here of this tail, of this anecdote, of this claim, this purported vow to furnish the war. The war with spain did take place. Over about four months in 1898. It began in april and ended in august. It was a brief but decisive conflict that assured the United States on to the world stage. It confirmed the United States as an international power. The united defeated spanish forces in the philippines and in the caribbean. The effects of the war was to oust spain from cuba and its other caribbean possessions, and to leave the United States a colonial power, ruling far away lands such as the philippines, puerto rico, guam. The United States became a colonial power after the spanish american war. This was a decisive conflict for the country. This anecdote about furnish the war with spain, his purported bow, pops up often. It pops up often. Just earlier this month, fox news, in an article that fake news, declared the granddaddy of dishonest journalists, William Randolph hearst, once famously wrote an illustrator, you furnish the pictures, i will furnish the war. The History News Network a few months ago invoked this anecdote as if it were true. So too did the Pittsburgh Post Gazette as we read for today. Cnn recently invoked this tale. Over the years, we washington post, politico, forbes, are among the publications that have used and invoked this anecdote in a credulous fashion as if it were true. Famous authors, james follows, garrison killer, are among those who have also invoked this anecdote. So before we get into the deconstruction of this immediate, it is important to understand who is whom here. Who are the actors . Who are the principal players . Who are the individuals who really mattered in this making of immediate mid . We will start with William Randolph hearst. William Randolph Hearst at the time was a 32 year Old Newspaper publisher in new york city. He had come to new york in 1895 after a successful state in San Francisco where he ran the San Francisco examiner. Hearst was the son of a wealthy california minor. A guy who had struck it rich in the silver mines out west. Hearst was well to do, privileged we would say today, and it came to new york to run, to acquire and run the new york journal. It was then a more abound newspaper. Under hearsts control, the newspaper took off. It became one of the most popular daily newspapers in new york city. Hearsts plan was to begin or expand his emergent media empire. He realized that he had no chance of establishing himself as a immediate baron unless he was able to be successful in new york city. Success in new york signaled success elsewhere for hearst. By the 1930s, William Randolph hearst is a big time newspaper baron, a big time immediate baron, with newspapers across the country as well as radio stations and interests in the production companies. Hearsts start into the big time came in new york at the end of the 19th century. While in new york, he developed what came to be called yellow journalism. Often, yellow journalism is characterized, especially these days, as synonymous with sensational treatment of the news. As it was practiced in the late 19th century, yellow journalism was far more than the sensational treatment of the news. It was a distinct genre, characterized by a number of distinctive features. That includes large headlines. Sometimes they would stretch across the page, the front page. Imaginative use of graphics was another characteristic feature of yellow journalism as it was practiced in new york, and elsewhere, in the late 19th century. Imaginative use of illustrations was another feature of this genre. The at the time, most newspapers were very tall, very boring. Their layouts were very gray. They did not make use of big headlines. They did not make use of graphic images or photographs later on. Yellow journalism was also characterized by a tireless self promotion, indicated by the use of the newspapers name prominently in the newspaper. Particularly on the front page. This is a copy of the new york journal from october, 1897. The newspaper is announcing the successful jailbreak in savannah of a 19 year old political prisoner. The story has been largely lost, but it was a big deal event back then. Hearst and his journal helped to organize the jailbreak of the prisoner. Helped to break this political prisoner out of jail in havana and smuggle her aboard a passenger streamer dressed as a boy. The steam arrived in new york city where she was received in a tumultuous reception organized by hearst and his newspaper. Her case was a bigtime example of the activism of William Randolph hearst and his newspapers. And again, this front page characterizes some of the features, some of the defining features of yellow journalism. Big bold display, photographs, self promotion, a tendency toward activism. In fact, hearst called his journalism the journalism of action. Thinking it had more of a responsibility than just reporting and commenting on the news. No, he said that journalism had a role, had an important function in stepping in and taking a role, an active role, to right the wrongs of society. The journalism of action. Also in the lineup of who was whom was frederick riminton. He was a wellknown artist of the american west, a painter and sculptor and sketch artist. He sometimes did newspaper work, newspaper illustrations, but he did not think the reproduction quality in the newspapers at that time was all that good. Also in the lineup of who was whom around this immediate myth is Richard Harding davis. Richard Harding Davis. He is a conceded but well known writer and playwright who becomes the most famous correspondent in the spanish american war in 1898. A year or so after this myth to cold. He was a writer and one of his first book was entitled soldiers of fortune. It is still in print. You can still get it through amazon. It is a sort of romance novel in which he sort of depicted himself as a central character. Just he was the son of a newspaper editor and his mother was a editor. Rebecca Harding Davis was her name. Ramming tin and davis were assigned by hearst to go to cuba in early 1897. They were there to cover the rebellion on cuba against Spanish Colonial rule. That was their assignment. Hearst paid generously for the talent. He paid Richard Harding davis 3000 dollars for one months work. In 1897 money, that was a lot. Today, its worth about 90,000 dollars. 90,000 dollars for a months work. Hearst pace generously for top line talent. Also in the lineup of the whos whom around this myth is james creole men. Hes a canadian born cigar chomping admire of William Randolph hearst. He was the first to mention this anecdote. The first to mention the purported exchange of telegrams between hearst and remington. The first to mention you furnish the pictures and i will finish the war. He did so in a book of reminisces. A bulky brought out in 1901. Here is a passage from the book. It is titled on the great highway. It is an anecdote that he does not make a big deal about. He mentions it in passing is a way to pay tribute to, as a way to praise, to sing the praises of hearsts activist journalism. Of his yellow journalism. This is the passage. Creelman rights that remington was instructed to remain in cuba until the war began. But after a short while, he sent hearst a cable saying everything is quite, there is no trouble here, there will be no war, i wish to return. In reply according to creelman, hearst cables and telegraphs remington, please remain. You furnish the pictures, i will finish the war. Creelman goes on to write that the proprietor of the journal was as good as his word and brought about the war. Interestingly, creelman offers no documentation for this anecdote. His book has no footnotes, it has no citations. He does not explain then or ever after that how he learned about this anecdote. How he learned about this purported exchange between hearst and remington. This is important because he creelman had a reputation at the time for being in an reliable journalist. He claimed in 1894 that he witnessed a massacre of chinese civilians by japanese forces, an episode that was later investigated by the u. S. State department and found to be a gross exaggeration. A gross exaggeration. During the spanish american war in 1898, toward the end of the war, creelman claimed that he led a climactic charge of u. S. Forces. That he was at the head of a charge of u. S. Forces against the spanish position near santiago dig cuba, the second largest city in cuba. This was a climactic decisive charge and he claimed he was the guy leading the way. And account that nobody really embraced. Nonetheless, it is emblematic of his tendency to exaggerate. His embrace of hyperbole. He was pompous this guy, james creelman. One of his specialties was interviewing prominent people. The pope, heads of state, european royalty, and in these interviews, these writeups were not q and a. It was a long and lengthy account of the interview in which creelman will talk more about himself than the subjects of his interview. In 1897, january of 1897, when this exchange between remington and hearst would have taken place, creelman is not with remington. He is not with hearst in new york city. Creelman is in spain. He is in madrid on assignment for the new york journal. That tells us that he could not have learned about this purported exchange of telegrams firsthand. That he only knew about it second hand or that he made it up. That he exaggerated this account. It really is ironic that one of american journalisms best known anecdotes, one of american journalisms most repeated details is based on, and owes exists its existence to the unsubstantiated rumor nations of an unrolled journalist. James creelman. If this exchange between remington and hearst took place, it would have taken place in january of 1897. That was the only time that remington was in cuba before the spanish american war which began in april, 1898. At the time that remington and Richard Harding davis went to cuba, there was an island wide rebellion going on against Spanish Colonial rule. This was an Armed Struggle that had begun in 1895. By the time they got there it was two years old. This rebellion was the precursor to the spanish american war of 1898. It was the precursor to the United States entry into the conflict in cuba. A conflict that had been raging since 1895. That rebellion, the one that began in 1895, was the latest in a succession of uprisings by cubans against Spanish Colonial rule. Cuba was an important possession of spain. It had been for centuries. Spanish response was vigorous and expensive. Spain sent 200,000 troops to the island to try and quell this rebellion. Spain also imposed rigorous censorship of all telegraphic traffic to and from cuba. It also instituted what turned out to be a very cruel policy called three concentration. We concentration led to a humanitarian disaster on cuba by 1897 and early 1898. It was an attempt by the spanish authorities to deprive the cubans rebels of support from the countryside. Of support from the cuban population. Under reconcentration, old men, women and children were herded by the spanish into garrison towns, into fortified centers, to deprive them of support. To keep them from supporting the cuban rebels. In these garrison towns, these cuban non combatants suffered immensely. They suffered immensely. They suffered starvation, disease ran rampant, thousands of cuban non combatants died because of this policy. By 1898, early 1898, cuba was the scene of a full humanitarian disaster. It was against this backdrop, the war in cuba, that davis and remington together arrive in havana. They proceed immediately to try and get the lay of the land. One of their first meetings was with the butcher. Who was the butcher you may ask . He was a general. He was the spanish commander, military commander, in cuba at the time. He was the one who instituted and enforced the policy of reconcentration. Of removing cuban non combatants to garrison towns where they suffered immensely. The general was known in u. S. Newspapers as the butcher. The original plan of davis and ramming tin was to cross spanish lines and to hook up with the cuban insurgents, the rebels. That was the objective, the prime objective of their assignment to cuba. To cross spanish lines and meet up with the cuban insurgents. It is a plan that fell through. A plan that had no hope of going anywhere. They traveled a bit and after six days, they split ways. They part ways. Remington is a big guy. He suffers in the tropics. He didnt have a good time there. Davis is a hard guy to work with any white. He does not like working in paris as he says. They parted ways after six days on the island. Davis remains. Remington makes arrangements to return home, to go back to the states, to go back to new york, aboard a passenger steamer. Upon his return home, the journal begins prominent publication of remington sketches. His sketches of the cuban conflict. They praise the sketches and headlines saying they are the work of a gifted artist. So before the dunking, before getting into the details of the debunking of this anecdote, of this media mid, lets recap quickly. There is a rebellion going on in cuba. Remington is there just six days. The first account of the exchange between hearst and remington comes more than four years later in 1901. In creelman book which contains no documentation about how he learned about it, the source of this purported exchange. Creelman is the lone person to come up with this originally. This tale, you furnish the pictures, ill finish the war, lives on despite a nearly complete absence of supporting documentation. That is mentioned in our court text this semester. A nearly complete absence of supporting documentation. So to the debunking. Hearst denied that there was ever such an exchange. That he sent such a message to remington. Remington apparently never spoke about it himself, spoke publicly about this. The telegrams themselves, the artifacts that are central t