The company was founded byWilliam Randolph Hearst, a newspaper owner most well known for use ofyellow journalism. The Hearst family remains involved in its ownership and management.[7]
In 1880,George Hearst, mining entrepreneur and U.S. senator, bought theSan Francisco Daily Examiner.[8] In 1887, he turned theExaminer over to his son,William Randolph Hearst, who that year founded the Hearst Corporation. The younger Hearst eventually built readership for Hearst-owned newspapers and magazines from 15,000 to over 20 million.[9] Hearst began to purchase and launch other newspapers, including theNew York Journal in 1895[10] and theLos Angeles Examiner in 1903.[8]
In 1903, Hearst createdMotor magazine, the first title in his company's magazine division. He acquiredCosmopolitan in 1905, andGood Housekeeping in 1911.[11][12] The company entered the book publishing business in 1913 with the formation of Hearst's International Library.[13][14] Hearst began producing film features in the mid-1910s, creating one of the earliestanimation studios: theInternational Film Service, turning characters from Hearst newspaper strips into film characters.[15]
An ad asking automakers to place ads in Hearst chain, noting their circulation
In the 1920s and 1930s, Hearst owned the biggest media conglomerate in the world, which included a number of magazines and newspapers in major cities. Hearst also began acquiring radio stations to complement his papers.[18] Hearst saw financial challenges in the early 1920s, when he was using company funds to buildHearst Castle inSan Simeon and support movie production atCosmopolitan Productions. This eventually led to the merger of the magazineHearst International withCosmopolitan in 1925.[19]
In addition to print and radio, Hearst establishedCosmopolitan Pictures in the early 1920s, distributing his films under the newly createdMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[22] In 1929, Hearst andMGM created the Hearst Metrotone newsreels.[23]
TheGreat Depression hurt Hearst and his publications. Cosmopolitan Book was sold toFarrar & Rinehart in 1931.[13] After two years of leasing them to Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson (of the McCormick-Patterson family that owned theChicago Tribune), Hearst sold herThe Washington Times andHerald in 1939; she merged them to form theWashington Times-Herald. That year he also bought theMilwaukee Sentinel from Paul Block (who bought it from the Pfisters in 1929), absorbing his afternoonWisconsin News into the morning publication. Also in 1939, he sold theAtlanta Georgian to Cox Newspapers, which merged it with theAtlanta Journal.
FollowingAdolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany, William Randolph Hearst personally instructed his reporters in Germany to only give positive coverage to Hitler and the Nazis, and fired journalists who refused to write stories favourable of German fascism.[24] During this time, high ranking Nazis were given space to write articles in Hearst press newspapers, includingHermann Göring andAlfred Rosenberg.[24]
Hearst, with his chain now owned by his creditors after a 1937 liquidation,[25] also had to merge some of his morning papers into his afternoon papers. In Chicago, he combined the morningHerald-Examiner and the afternoonAmerican into theHerald-American in 1939. This followed the 1937 combination of the New YorkEvening Journal and the morningAmerican into theNew York Journal-American, the sale of theOmaha Daily Bee to theWorld-Herald.
Afternoon papers were a profitable business in pre-television days, often outselling their morning counterparts featuring stock market information in early editions, while later editions were heavy on sporting news with results of baseball games and horse races. Afternoon papers also benefited from continuous reports from the battlefront duringWorld War II. After the war, however, both television news and suburbs experienced explosive growth; thus, evening papers were more affected than those published in the morning, whose circulation remained stable while their afternoon counterparts' sales plummeted.
The earnings of Hearst's three morning papers, theSan Francisco Examiner, theLos Angeles Examiner, andThe Milwaukee Sentinel, supported the company's money-losing afternoon publications such as theLos Angeles Herald-Express, theNew York Journal-American, and theChicago American. The company sold the latter paper in 1956 to theChicago Tribune's owners, who changed it to the tabloid-sizeChicago Today in 1969 and ceased publication in 1974. In 1960, Hearst also sold thePittsburgh Sun-Telegraph to thePittsburgh Post-Gazette and theDetroit Times toThe Detroit News. After a lengthy strike it sold theMilwaukee Sentinel to the afternoonMilwaukee Journal in 1962. The same year Hearst's Los Angeles papers – the morningExaminer and the afternoonHerald-Express – merged to become the eveningLos Angeles Herald-Examiner. The1962–63 New York City newspaper strike left the city with no papers for over three months, with theJournal-American one of the earliest strike targets of the Typographical Union. TheBoston Record and theEvening American merged in 1961 as theRecord-American and in 1964, theBaltimore News-Post became theBaltimore News-American.
In 1953, Hearst Magazines boughtSports Afield magazine, which it published until 1999 when it sold the journal toRobert E. Petersen. In 1958, Hearst's International News Service merged with E.W. Scripps'United Press, formingUnited Press International as a response to the growth of theAssociated Press andReuters. The following year Scripps-Howard'sSan Francisco News merged with Hearst's afternoonSan Francisco Call-Bulletin. Also in 1959, Hearst acquired the paperback book publisherAvon Books.[26]
In 1965, the Hearst Corporation began pursuingjoint operating agreements (JOAs). It reached the first agreement with the DeYoung family, proprietors of the afternoonSan Francisco Chronicle, which began to produce a joint Sunday edition with theExaminer. In turn, theExaminer became an evening publication, absorbing theNews-Call-Bulletin. The following year, theJournal-American reached another JOA with another two landmark New York City papers: theNew York Herald Tribune andScripps-Howard'sWorld-Telegram and Sun to form theNew York World Journal Tribune (recalling the names of the city's mid-market dailies), which collapsed after only a few months.
The 1962 merger of theHerald-Express andExaminer in Los Angeles led to the termination of many journalists who began to stage a 10-year strike in 1967. The effects of the strike accelerated the pace of the company's demise, with theHerald Examiner ceasing publication November 2, 1989.[27]
In 1986, Hearst bought theHouston Chronicle and that same year closed the 213-year-oldBaltimore News-American after a failed attempt to reach a JOA withA.S. Abell Company, the family who publishedThe Baltimore Sun since its founding in 1837. Abell sold the paper several days later to theTimes-Mirror syndicate of the Chandlers'Los Angeles Times, also competitor to theLos Angeles Herald-Examiner, which folded in 1989. In 1990, both King Features Entertainment and King Phoenix Entertainment were rebranded under the collective Hearst Entertainment umbrella. King Features Entertainment was renamed to Hearst Entertainment Distribution, while King Phoenix Entertainment was renamed to Hearst Entertainment Productions.[32]
In 1993, Hearst closed theSan Antonio Light after it purchased the rivalSan Antonio Express-News from Murdoch.[33]
On November 8, 1990, Hearst Corporation acquired 20% stake ofESPN, Inc. fromRJR Nabisco (now a subsidiary ofMondelez International) for a price estimated between $165 million and $175 million.[34] The other 80% has been owned byThe Walt Disney Company since 1996. Over the last 25 years, the ESPN investment is said to have accounted for at least 50% of total Hearst Corp profits and is worth at least $13 billion.[35]
In April 1995, Netscape Communications Corporation announced Hearst was part of a group of private investors who purchased stake in the company.[36][37]
On March 27, 1997, Hearst Broadcasting announced that it would merge with Argyle Television Holdings II for $525 million, the merger was completed in August to formHearst-Argyle Television (later renamed as Hearst Television in 2009).[41]
In 1999, Hearst sold its Avon and Morrow book publishing activities toHarperCollins.[42]
In 2000, the Hearst Corp. sold its flagship and "Monarch of the Dailies", the afternoonSan Francisco Examiner, and acquiring the long-time competing, but now larger morning paper,San Francisco Chronicle from theCharles de Young family. TheSan Francisco Examiner is now published as a daily freesheet.
In December 2003,Marvel Entertainment acquiredCover Concepts from Hearst, to extend Marvel's demographic reach among public school children.[43]
In 2006, Hearst acquired an interest in Fitch Group, a global financial services company. Hearst increased its ownership of Fitch Group to 80% in 2015, and to 100% in 2018.[44]
In 2011, Hearst absorbed more than 100 magazine titles from theLagardère Group for more than $700 million and became a challenger ofTime Inc ahead ofCondé Nast. In December 2012, Hearst Corporation partnered again withNBCUniversal to launchEsquire Network.
On February 20, 2014, Hearst Magazines International appointed Gary Ellis to the new position, Chief Digital Officer.[48] That December,DreamWorks Animation sold a 25% stake inAwesomenessTV for $81.25 million to Hearst.[49]
In January 2017, Hearst announced that it had acquired a majority stake inLitton Entertainment; Litton entertainment was rebranded as Hearst Media Production Group in 2022.[50] Its CEO, Dave Morgan, was a former employee of Hearst.[51][52]
On January 23, 2017, Hearst announced that it had acquired the business operations of The Pioneer Group from fourth-generation family owners Jack and John Batdorff. The Pioneer Group was a Michigan-based communications network that circulates print and digital news to local communities across the state. In addition to daily newspapers,The Pioneer andManistee News Advocate, Pioneer published three weekly papers and four local shopper publications, and operated adigital marketing services business.[53] The acquisition brought Hearst Newspapers to publishing 19 daily and 61 weekly papers.
In October 2017, Hearst announced it would acquire the magazine and book businesses ofRodale inEmmaus, Pennsylvania with some sources reporting the purchase price as about $225 million. The transaction was expected to close in January following government approvals.[58][59]
In 2018, Hearst acquired the global health and wellness magazine brands owned byRodale, Inc.[60]
In June 2020, Hearst Autos announced the acquisition ofBring a Trailer, a digital auction platform and auto enthusiast community.[61]
In April 2023, Hearst boughtWBBH-TV, an NBC-affiliated television station in Fort Myers, Florida, from Waterman Broadcasting Corporation.[62] In June 2023, Hearst acquired theJournal Inquirer[63] and later in October 2023 boughtSan Antonio Magazine. The company paid $150,000 in cash plus an amount equal to 90% of the magazine's accounts receivable[64]
In November 2023, Hearst acquired all print and digital operations owned by RJ Media Group, including theRecord-Journal, seven weekly newspapers and a digital advertising agency.[65] In December 2023, Hearst boughtPuzzmo, a puzzle games website.[66]
In April 2024, Hearst acquired the Texas magazinesAustin Monthly andAustin Home from Open Sky Media. A new organization called was created Hearst Texas Austin Media to manage the titles along with theAustin Daily newsletter which was created early that year.[67] Hearst bought a majority of theMotor Trend Group, includingMotor Trend and itsTV network counterpart,Hot Rod, Roadkill, and Automobile, in December 2024.
In August 2024, Hearst announced it would acquire QGenda, a provider of healthcare workforce management software solutions, from investment firms Francisco Partners and ICONIQ Growth.[68] QGenda became the sixth business in the Hearst Health division[69] following the acquisition of MCG (formerly Milliman Care Guidelines) in 2012,[70] majority stakes in Homecare Homebase in 2013[71] and MHK (formerly MedHOK) in 2016.[72]
On March 4, 1887, he turned theExaminer over to his son, 23-year-oldWilliam Randolph Hearst, who was named editor and publisher. William Hearst died in 1951, at age 88.
In 1951,Richard E. Berlin, who had served as president of the company since 1943, succeeded William Hearst as chief executive officer. Berlin retired in 1973.[74]William Randolph Hearst Jr. claimed in 1991 that Berlin had suffered fromAlzheimer's disease starting in the mid-1960s and that caused him to shut down several Hearst newspapers without just cause.[75]
From 1973 to 1975, Frank Massi, a longtime Hearst financial officer, served as president, during which time he carried out a financial reorganization followed by an expansion program in the late 1970s.[76]
From 1975 to 1979, John R. Miller was Hearst president and chief executive officer.[77]
Frank Bennack served as CEO and president from 1979 to 2002, when he became vice chairman, returning as CEO from 2008 to 2013, and remains executive vice chairman.[78]
Victor F. Ganzi served as president and CEO from 2002 to 2008.[79]
Steven Swartz has been president since 2012 and CEO since 2013.[80]
Debi Chirichella became president of Hearst Magazines in 2020.[81] David Carey previously served as group head of Hearst Magazines.[82] Since 2019, Carey has served as senior vice president of public affairs and communications for Hearst.
Jeffrey M. Johnson[83] became president of Hearst Newspapers in 2018 upon the promotion of Mark Aldam to executive vice president and chief operating officer of the parent company.[84]
Michael J. Hayes became president of Hearst Television in 2023 in succession to Jordan Wertlieb on Wertlieb's promotion to succeed Aldam as Hearst COO.[85]
Greg Dorn, MD, is president and group head of Hearst Health, overseeing Hearst’s healthcare businesses since 2014.[86]
Tom Cross became president of Hearst Transportation in 2021.[87]
Paul Taylor is chief executive officer and group head of Fitch Group.[88]
Under William Randolph Hearst's will, a common board of thirteen trustees (its composition fixed at five family members and eight outsiders) administers the Hearst Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, and the trust that owns (and selects the 26-member[103] board of) the Hearst Corporation (parent of Hearst Communications which shares the same officers). The foundations shared ownership untiltax law changed to prevent this.[104][105]
In 2009, it was estimated to be the largest private company managed by trustees in this way.[106] As of 2017, the trustees are:[107]
^SEC filing on Hearst Communications' ownership of shares of BuzzFeed[permanent dead link] (footnote 2 explains the ownership structure: "Hearst Communications, Inc. ("HCI")... is a subsidiary of Hearst Holdings, Inc. ("HHI"). HHI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation ("THC"). THC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hearst Family Trust".)
^abParenti, Michael (1997).Blackshirts & Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism.San Francisco: City Lights Books. p. 11.ISBN978-0-87286-329-3.
^"About SFGATE".SFGATE. August 31, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2025.In addition to the Chronicle, SFGATE also published content from KRON-TV and the San Francisco Examiner up until the early 2000s, when Hearst Corp. acquired The Chronicle and SFGATE, divested the Examiner and ended the association with KRON-TV, which was sold separately.
Carlisle, Rodney. "The Foreign Policy Views of an Isolationist Press Lord: WR Hearst and the International Crisis, 1936–41."Journal of Contemporary History 9.3 (1974): 217–227.
Nasaw, David.The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst.(2000). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN0-395-82759-0., a prominent scholarly biography.
Pizzitola, Louis.Hearst over Hollywood: power, passion, and propaganda in the movies (Columbia UP, 2002).
Procter, Ben H.William Randolph Hearst: Final Edition, 1911–1951. (Oxford UP 2007).
Whyte, Kenneth.The uncrowned king: The sensational rise of William Randolph Hearst (2009).
US$13 billion (2024)
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