Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and

business information Business intelligence (BI) comprises the strategies and technologies used by enterprises for the data analysis and management of business information. Common functions of business intelligence technologies include reporting, online analytical p ...

conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines,

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

s, and television stations, including the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'', the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' and '' Esquire''. It owns 50% of the

A&E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

cable network group and 20% of the sports cable network group

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

, both in partnership with

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

. The conglomerate also owns several business-information companies, including

Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency and is one of the " Big Three credit rating agencies", the other two being Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ( NRSRO ...

and

First Databank First Databank (FDB) is a major provider of drug and medical device databases that help inform healthcare professionals to make decisions. FDB partners with information system developers to deliver useful medication- and medical device-related info ...

. The company was founded by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

as an owner of newspapers, and the Hearst family remains involved in its ownership and management.

History

The formative years

In 1880,

George Hearst George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, miner, and politician. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations, and is known for developing and expanding the Hom ...

, mining entrepreneur and U.S. senator, bought the '' San Francisco Daily Examiner.'' In 1887, he turned the ''Examiner'' over to his son,

, 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. Hearst began to purchase and launched other newspapers, including the ''

New York Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'' in 1895 and the ''

Los Angeles Examiner The ''Los Angeles Examiner'' was a newspaper founded in 1903 by William Randolph Hearst in Los Angeles, California. The afternoon '' Los Angeles Herald-Express'' and the morning ''Los Angeles Examiner'', both of which had been publishing in the ...

'' in 1903. In 1903, Hearst created ''

Motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

'' magazine, the first title in his company's magazine division. He acquired ''

'' in 1905, and ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'' in 1911. The company entered the book publishing business in 1913 with the formation of Hearst's International Library. Hearst began producing film features in the mid-1910s, creating one of the earliest

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...

s: the

International Film Service International Film Service (IFS) was an American animation studio created to exploit the popularity of the comic strips controlled by William Randolph Hearst. History In 1914, William Randolph Hearst expanded his International News Service wir ...

, turning characters from Hearst newspaper strips into film characters. Hearst bought the '' Atlanta Georgian'' in 1912, the ''

San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin ...

'' and the ''San Francisco Post'' in 1913, the '' Boston Advertiser'' and the ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' (unrelated to the present-day paper) in 1917, and the '' Chicago Herald'' in 1918 (resulting in the ''Herald-Examiner''). In 1919, Hearst's book publishing division was renamed Cosmopolitan Book.

The peak era

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. Hearst saw financial challenges in the early 1920s, when he was using company funds to build

Hearst Castle Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada ( Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his arch ...

San Simeon San Simeon (Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is a village and Census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles ...

and support movie production at

Cosmopolitan Productions Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in New York City from 1918 to 1923 and Hollywood until 1938. History Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan in co ...

. This eventually led to the merger of the magazine ''Hearst International'' with ''

'' in 1925. Despite some financial troubles, Hearst began extending its reach in 1921, purchasing the ''

Detroit Times Six different newspapers called the ''Detroit Times'' have been published in the city of Detroit; the most recent existed for six decades, from 1900-60. Overview *The first iteration of the ''Detroit Times'' was an antislavery bulletin only print ...

'', ''

The Boston Record ''The Boston Record'' was founded on September 3, 1884, by ''The Boston Daily Advertiser'' as an evening campaign newspaper. ''The Record'' was so popular that it was made a permanent publication. It was the first tabloid-format newspaper in Ne ...

,'' and the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was f ...

.'' Hearst then added the '' Los Angeles Herald'' and ''

Washington Herald ''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. History The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of ''The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...

,'' as well as the ''Oakland Post-Enquirer'', the ''

Syracuse Telegram The ''Syracuse Telegram'' was established in 1922 in Syracuse, New York, by William Randolph Hearst. Between the years 1922–1925, the newspaper was published as both ''Syracuse Telegram'' and ''Syracuse Evening Telegram'' and the Sunday edition ...

'' and the '' Rochester Journal-American'' in 1922. He continued his buying spree into the mid-1920s, purchasing the ''

Baltimore News The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

'' (1923), the ''

San Antonio Light The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of ...

'' (1924), the ''

Albany Times Union The ''Times Union'' is an American daily newspaper, serving the Capital Region of New York. Although the newspaper focuses on Albany and its suburbs, it covers all parts of the four-county area, including the cities of Troy, Schenectady and Sa ...

'' (1924), and ''

The Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

'' (1924). In 1924, Hearst entered the tabloid market in

with ''

New York Daily Mirror The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...

'', meant to compete with the '' New York Daily News''. In addition to print and radio, Hearst established

Cosmopolitan Pictures Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in New York City from 1918 to 1923 and Hollywood until 1938. History Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan in c ...

in the early 1920s, distributing his films under the newly created

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. In 1929, Hearst and

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

created the Hearst Metrotone newsreels.

Retrenching after the Great Depression

The Great Depression hurt Hearst and his publications. Cosmopolitan Book was sold to

Farrar & Rinehart Farrar & Rinehart (1929–1946) was a United States book publishing company founded in New York. Farrar & Rinehart enjoyed success with both nonfiction and novels, notably, the landmark Rivers of America Series and the first ten books in the Ner ...

in 1931. After two years of leasing them to Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson (of the McCormick-Patterson family that owned the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''), Hearst sold her ''The Washington Times'' and ''Herald'' in 1939; she merged them to form the ''

Washington Times-Herald The ''Washington Times-Herald'' (1939–1954) was an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memor ...

''. That year he also bought the ''

Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currentl ...

'' from Paul Block (who bought it from the Pfisters in 1929), absorbing his afternoon ''Wisconsin News'' into the morning publication. Also in 1939, he sold the ''Atlanta Georgian'' to Cox Newspapers, which merged it with the ''

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

''. Hearst, with his chain now owned by his creditors after a 1937 liquidation, also had to merge some of his morning papers into his afternoon papers. In Chicago, he combined the morning ''Herald-Examiner'' and the afternoon ''American'' into the ''Herald-American'' in 1939. This followed the 1937 combination of the New York ''Evening Journal'' and the morning ''American'' into the '' New York Journal-American'', the sale of the ''

Omaha Daily Bee The ''Omaha Daily Bee'' was a leading Republican newspaper that was active in the late 19th and early 20th century. The paper's editorial slant frequently pitted it against the ''Omaha Herald'', the '' Omaha Republican'' and other local papers. A ...

'' to the '' World-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 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. 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. In 1947, Hearst produced an early television newscast for the DuMont Television Network: ''

I.N.S. Telenews ''I.N.S. Telenews'' was an American news program aired on the now defunct DuMont Television Network from 1948 to 1949. Broadcast history Each episode was 15 minutes long, made by International News Service, and aired weekly, each Tuesday at 7:45 p ...

'', and in 1948 he became the owner of one of the first television stations in the country,

WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole r ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. The earnings of Hearst's three morning papers, the '' San Francisco Examiner'', the ''

'', and ''The Milwaukee Sentinel'', supported the company's money-losing afternoon publications such as the ''Los Angeles Herald-Express'', the '' New York Journal-American'', and the ''

Chicago American The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974. History The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as '' Hearst's Chicago American''. It became the ''Morning ...

''. The company sold the latter paper in 1956 to the ''

''s owners, who changed it to the tabloid-size ''Chicago Today'' in 1969 and ceased publication in 1974. In 1960, Hearst also sold the ''

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph The ''Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1960. Part of the Hearst newspaper chain, it competed with ''The Pittsburgh Press'' and the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' until bein ...

'' to the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'' and the ''Detroit Times'' to ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

''. After a lengthy strike it sold the ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' to the afternoon ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' in 1962. The same year Hearst's Los Angeles papers – the morning ''Examiner'' and the afternoon ''Herald-Express'' – merged to become the evening '' Los Angeles Herald-Examiner''. The

1962-63 New York City newspaper strike Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita ...

left the city with no papers for over three months, with the ''Journal-American'' one of the earliest strike targets of the Typographical Union. The ''Boston Record'' and the ''Evening American'' merged in 1961 as the ''Record-American'' and in 1964, the ''Baltimore News-Post'' became the ''Baltimore News-American''. In 1953 Hearst Magazines bought ''

Sports Afield ''Sports Afield'' (SA) is an American outdoor magazine headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. Founded in 1887 by Claude King as a hunting and fishing magazine, it is the oldest published outdoor magazine in North America. The first issue, ...

'' magazine, which it published until 1999 when it sold the journal to Robert E. Petersen. In 1958, Hearst's International News Service merged with E.W. Scripps'

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

, forming

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

as a response to the growth of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

. The following year Scripps-Howard's ''San Francisco News'' merged with Hearst's afternoon ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin''. Also in 1959, Hearst acquired the paperback book publisher

Avon Books Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles rea ...

. In 1965, the Hearst Corporation began pursuing

joint operating agreement The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Richard Nixon, authorizing the formation of joint operating agreements among competing newspaper operations within the same media market area. It ...

s (JOAs). It reached the first agreement with the DeYoung family, proprietors of the afternoon ''

'', which began to produce a joint Sunday edition with the ''Examiner''. In turn, the ''Examiner'' became an evening publication, absorbing the '' News-Call-Bulletin''. The following year, the ''Journal-American'' reached another JOA with another two landmark New York City papers: the '' New York Herald Tribune'' and

Scripps-Howard The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

's '' World-Telegram and Sun'' to form the ''New 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 the ''Herald-Express'' and ''Examiner'' 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 the ''Herald Examiner'' ceasing publication November 2, 1989.

Newspaper shifts

Hearst moved into hardcover publishing by acquiring Arbor House in 1978 and

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. ...

in 1981. In 1982, the company sold the ''

Boston Herald American The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' — the result of the 1972 merger of Hearst's ''Record-American & Advertiser'' with the ''Herald-Traveler'' — to

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...

, which renamed the paper as ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

'', competing to this day with ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. In 1986, Hearst bought the ''

'' and that same year closed the 213-year-old ''

Baltimore News-American The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

'' after a failed attempt to reach a JOA with A.S. Abell Company, the family who published ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' since its founding in 1837. Abell sold the paper several days later to the

Times-Mirror The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

syndicate of the Chandlers' ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', also competitor to the '' Los 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. In 1993, Hearst closed the ''San Antonio Light'' after it purchased the rival '' San Antonio Express-News'' from Murdoch. On November 8, 1990, Hearst Corporation acquired the remaining 20% stake of

ESPN, Inc. ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. For management and financial reporting purposes, the company is the main entity wit ...

from RJR Nabisco for a price estimated between $165 million and $175 million. The other 80% has been owned by

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. On July 31, 1996, Hearst and the Cisneros Group of Companies of Venezuela announced its plans to launch

Locomotion Locomotion means the act or ability of something to transport or move itself from place to place. Locomotion may refer to: Motion * Motion (physics) * Robot locomotion, of man-made devices By environment * Aquatic locomotion * Flight * Locomo ...

, a Latin American animation cable television channel. 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 form

Hearst-Argyle Television Hearst Television, Inc. (formerly Hearst-Argyle Television) is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications. From 1998 to mid-2009, the company traded its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbo ...

(later renamed as Hearst Television in 2009). In 1999, Hearst sold its Avon and Morrow book publishing activities to

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

. In 2000, the Hearst Corp. pulled another "switcheroo" by selling its flagship and "Monarch of the Dailies", the afternoon ''San Francisco Examiner'', and acquiring the long-time competing, but now larger morning paper, ''

'' from the Charles de Young family. The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is now published as a daily freesheet. In December 2003, Marvel Entertainment acquired ''Cover Concepts'' from Hearst, to extend Marvel's demographic reach among public school children. In 2009,

acquired

Lifetime Entertainment Services Lifetime Entertainment Services (LES) is an American entertainment industry company, whose media properties are focused on women. Lifetime Entertainment Services is a subsidiary of A&E Networks, a joint venture of Hearst Communications (50%) an ...

, with Hearst ownership increasing to 42%. In 2010, Hearst acquired

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development d ...

agency iCrossing. In 2011, Hearst absorbed more than 100 magazine titles from the

Lagardère Group Lagardère S.A. () is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. It is headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The group was created in 1992 as Matra, Hachette & Lagardère. Headed by Arnaud Lagardère, it is focused ...

for more than $700 million and became a challenger of

Time Inc Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Il ...

ahead of

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...

. In December 2012, Hearst Corporation partnered again with

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

to launch

Esquire Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion ...

. On February 20, 2014, Hearst Magazines International appointed Gary Ellis to the new position, Chief Digital Officer. That December, DreamWorks Animation sold a 25% stake in

AwesomenessTV Awesomeness (abbreviation of AwesomenessTV) is an American-based film and television studio as well as a multi-channel based multilingual television network owned by Paramount Digital Studios, a division of Paramount Global. Established in June ...

for $81.25 million to Hearst. In January 2017, Hearst announced that it had acquired a majority stake in

Litton Entertainment The Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Syndications and Litton Entertainment) is an American media and production company based in New York City, New York as a division of the Hearst Television subsidiary of Hearst Communications, with ...

. Its CEO, Dave Morgan, was a former employee of Hearst. 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'' and ''Manistee News Advocate'', Pioneer published three weekly papers and four local shopper publications, and operated a

services business. The acquisition brought Hearst Newspapers to publishing 19 daily and 61 weekly papers. Other 2017 acquisitions include the ''

New Haven Register The ''New Haven Register'' is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The ''Register'' was established about 1812 and ...

'' and associated papers from

Digital First Media MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns over 100 newsp ...

, and the

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is a p ...

, ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

'' and Jacksonville, Illinois, '' Journal-Courier'' from

Civitas Media Civitas Media, LLC was a Davidson, North Carolina-based publisher of community newspapers covering 11 Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern states. The company was formed in 2012 via the merger of Heartland Publications, Impressions Media, O ...

. In October 2017, Hearst announced it would acquire the magazine and book businesses of Rodale in Emmaus, Pennsylvania with some sources reporting the purchase price as about $225 million. The transaction was expected to close in January following government approvals.

Chief executive officers

* In 1880,

entered the newspaper business, acquiring the '' San Francisco Daily Examiner.'' * On March 4, 1887, he turned the ''Examiner'' over to his son, 23-year-old

, 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.

William Randolph Hearst Jr. William Randolph Hearst Jr. (January 27, 1908 – May 14, 1993) was an American businessman and newspaper publisher. He was the second son of the publisher William Randolph Hearst. He became editor-in-chief of Hearst Newspapers after the death of ...

claimed in 1991 that Berlin had suffered from Alzheimer's disease starting in the mid-1960s and that caused him to shut down several Hearst newspapers without just cause. * 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. * From 1975 to 1979, John R. Miller was Hearst president and chief executive officer. * 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. * Victor F. Ganzi served as president and CEO from 2002 to 2008. * Steven Swartz has been president since 2012 and CEO since 2013.

Operating group heads

* David Carey previously served as chairman and group head of the magazines. Debi Chirichella is that unit's president. * Jeffrey M. Johnson 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.

Assets

A non-exhaustive list of its current properties and investments includes:

Magazines

* ''

Bicycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

'' * '' Billboard'' * ''

Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011. It was f ...

'' * ''

Country Living ''Country Living'' is an American lifestyle and home magazine published by the Hearst Corporation since 1978. The monthly magazine focuses on food, home renovation, home decor, DIY and lifestyle. The magazine hosts four Country Living Fairs a y ...

'' * '' Dr. Oz THE GOOD LIFE'' * ''

ELLE ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' (US and UK) * ''

Elle Decor ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the wo ...

'' * '' Esquire'' * ''

Food Network Magazine ''Food Network Magazine'' is a monthly food entertainment magazine founded by Hearst Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive based on the latter's popular television network Food Network. The magazine debuted in 2008, originally as two new ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Harper's Bazaar'' * '' HGTV Magazine'' * ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' * ''

House Beautiful ''House Beautiful'' is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who began publishing it in 1934. It is the oldest still-publi ...

'' * ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

'' * ''

Nat Mags National Magazine Company (or Nat Mags) is a British magazine publisher based in London. It was established in 1910 by William Randolph Hearst and was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation. Arnaud de Puyfontaine became chief execut ...

'' * ''

O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...

'' * ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'' * ''

Prevention Prevention may refer to: Health and medicine * Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms General safety * Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crim ...

'' * ''Red'' * '' Redbook'' * '' Road & Track'' * ''Rodale's Organic Life'' * ''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in Em ...

'' * '' Seventeen'' (digital) * '' Town & Country'' * ''

Veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

'' * ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was f ...

'' * ''

Women's Health Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mer ...

'' * Hearst Books (in partnership with Sterling Publishing)

Newspapers

(alphabetical by state, then title) * ''

'' (San Francisco, California) * ''

The News-Times ''The News-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation. The paper covers Danbury, a city in Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut, as well as the towns o ...

'' (Danbury, Connecticut) * '' Greenwich Time'' (Greenwich, Connecticut) * '' The Advocate'' (Stamford, Connecticut) * '' Connecticut Post'' (Bridgeport, Connecticut) * ''

The Middletown Press The Middletown Press is a newspaper based in Middletown, Connecticut that is the main daily newspaper of Middletown and its surrounding area in Middlesex County, Connecticut. It was founded in 1878 as the Middlesex Monitor, a daily flyer, by Ern ...

'' (Middletown, Connecticut) * ''

'' (New Haven, Connecticut) * '' The Hour'' (Norwalk, Connecticut) * ''The Register Citizen'' (Torrington, Connecticut) * ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' (Alton, Illinois) * ''

Edwardsville Intelligencer The ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' is an American daily newspaper in Illinois based in Edwardsville. The paper is circulated in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and nearby rural areas. The newspaper was founded in 1862. In 1960, longtime owner and ...

'' (Edwardsville, Illinois) * ''

Jacksonville Journal-Courier The Jacksonville Journal-Courier is an American daily newspaper published in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is owned by Hearst Newspapers since being sold in August 2017 by Civitas Media, a subsidiary of Versa Capital Management. With a history da ...

'' (Jacksonville, Illinois) * ''

Huron Daily Tribune The ''Huron Daily Tribune'' is a daily newspaper in Bad Axe, Michigan. The newspaper serves Huron County, in the upper part of "The Thumb". Its parent company, Huron Publishing Company, is owned by Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc. ...

'' (Bad Axe, Michigan) * ''Pioneer'' (Big Rapids, Michigan) * ''Manistee News Advocate'' (Manistee, Michigan) * ''

Midland Daily News The ''Midland Daily News'' is a daily newspaper which serves Midland County, Michigan. The offices for the paper are located at 219 East Main Street in downtown Midland; the paper is widely circulated around Midland County. The newspaper also p ...

'' (Midland, Michigan) * '' Times Union'' (Albany, New York) * ''

Beaumont Enterprise ''The Beaumont Enterprise'' is a newspaper of Hearst Communications, headquartered in Beaumont, Texas. It has been in operation since 1880. In addition to BeaumontEnterprise.com and the daily newspaper, ''The Enterprise'' produces several weeklie ...

'' (Beaumont, Texas) * ''

'' (Houston, Texas) * ''

Laredo Morning Times The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and busi ...

'' (Laredo, Texas) * ''

Midland Reporter-Telegram The ''Midland Reporter-Telegram'' is a daily newspaper in Midland, Texas. It is located in the heart of the vast 54-county Permian Basin of West Texas, a geological region which produces 70 percent of the oil in Texas. The newspaper's special c ...

'' (Midland, Texas) * ''

Plainview Daily Herald The ''Plainview Herald'', originally published as the ''Plainview Daily Herald'' is a daily newspaper in Plainview, Texas. The offices for the paper are located at 820 Broadway, Plainview, TX 79072. The newspaper is published in the nation's larg ...

'' (Plainview, Texas) * '' San Antonio Express-News'' (San Antonio, Texas) * ''

'' (Seattle, Washington)

Broadcasting

A+E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

(owns 50%; shared joint venture with

) *

(owns 20%; also shared with Disney, which owns the other 80%) ** CTV Specialty Television (owns 4% through its co-ownership of ESPN; shared joint venture with

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

, which owns 80%) *

Hearst Television Hearst Television, Inc. (formerly Hearst-Argyle Television) is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications. From 1998 to mid-2009, the company traded its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ...

(owns 100%; owner of 29 local television stations and two local radio stations/one translator) * Hearst Media Production Group (owns 100%; provider of syndicated programming, mainly educational and informational programming, and contracted with four of the five major broadcast networks to provide their weekly educational output)

Internet

* BestProducts.com * Clevver * Delish.com * Digital Spy * NetDoctor * Hearst Interactive Media

Other

Black Book (National Auto Research) The Black Book family of vehicle appraisal guides in the United States, providing vehicle pricing data, is published by National Auto Research, a division of Hearst Communications. New and used car dealers, lenders, manufacturers, fleet remarke ...

* CDS Global *

* Homecare Homebase * iCrossing * Jumpstart Automotive Group * King Features Syndicate * KUBRA * LocalEdge (Buffalo, New York) * Map of Medicine * MCG Health * ODG by Workloss Data Institute * Zynx Health

Trustees of William Randolph Hearst's will

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 board of) the Hearst Corporation (immediate parent of Hearst Communications which shares the same officers). The foundations shared ownership until

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

changed to prevent this. In 2009, it was estimated to be the largest private company managed by trustees in this way. As of 2017, the trustees are:

Family members

* Anissa Bouadjakdji Balson, granddaughter of fifth son, David Whitmire Hearst Sr. * Lisa Hearst Hagerman, granddaughter of third son, John Randolph Hearst Sr. *

George Randolph Hearst III George Randolph Hearst III (born 1955) is the publisher and CEO of the '' Times Union'' newspaper in Albany, New York, and a director of the Hearst Corporation. He is the second child of George Randolph Hearst Jr. and Mary Astrid Thompson and g ...

, grandson of Hearst's eldest son, George Randolph Hearst Sr., and publisher of the ''

'' *

William Randolph Hearst III William Randolph Hearst III (born June 18, 1949) is an American heir, businessman, and philanthropist. Biography Early life William Randolph Hearst III was born on June 18, 1949. His father was William Randolph Hearst Jr., and his paternal gra ...

, son of second son,

, and chairman of the board of the corporation * Virginia Hearst Randt, daughter of late former chairman and fourth son,

Randolph Apperson Hearst Randolph Apperson Hearst (December 2, 1915 – December 18, 2000) was the fourth son of the five sons of William Randolph Hearst and Millicent Hearst. His twin brother, David, died in 1986. Randolph is the father of Patty Hearst. Ear ...

Non-family members

* James M. Asher, chief legal and development officer of the corporation * David J. Barrett, former chief executive officer of Hearst Television, Inc. * Frank A. Bennack Jr., former chief executive officer and executive vice chairman of the corporation * John G. Conomikes, former executive of the corporation * Gilbert C. Maurer, former chief operating officer of the corporation and former president of Hearst Magazines * Mark F. Miller, former executive vice president of Hearst Magazines * Mitchell Scherzer, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the corporation * Steven R. Swartz, president and chief executive officer of the corporation The trust dissolves when all family members alive at the time of Hearst's death in August 1951 have died.

References

External links

*
The Hearst Foundation, Inc.

Hearst Global Solutions
{{Authority control Hearst family Mass media companies established in 1887 Mass media companies based in New York City Magazine publishing companies of the United States Newspaper companies of the United States Publishing companies based in New York City Companies based in Manhattan American companies established in 1887 Publishing companies established in 1887 1887 establishments in California Privately held companies based in New York City William Randolph Hearst Family-owned companies of the United States

History

The formative years

The peak era

Retrenching after the Great Depression

Newspaper shifts

Chief executive officers

Operating group heads

Assets

Magazines

Newspapers

Broadcasting

Internet

Other

Trustees of William Randolph Hearst's will

Family members

Non-family members

See also

References

Further reading

External links