What is Joseph Pulitzer?
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}} [[File:Pulitzer.jpg|thumb|Joseph Pulitzer]] '''Joseph Pulitzer''' (April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was an American publisher of [[Jewish]] descent.<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/biography www.pulitzer.org]</ref> He is best known for the [[Pulitzer Prizes]], which were started after his death by his will. He is also known, long with [[William Randolph Hearst]], for starting [[yellow journalism]] as a way to sell more papers by printing sensationalism in articles. == Early days: ''The Post-Dispatch'' == Joseph Pulitzer was born in [[Makó]], in present-day [[Hungary]]. Originally, he wanted to do a military career, but was turned down by the Austrian army. They said his health was bad and that he did not see very well. He went to live in the United States in 1864 to serve the Union in the [[American Civil War]]. After the war he settled in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. In 1868 he began working there for a German-language daily newspaper, the ''Westliche Post''. He joined the [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] and was elected to the [[Missouri]] State Assembly in 1869. In 1872, Pulitzer bought the ''Post'' for $3,000. Then, in 1878, he bought the ''St. Louis Dispatch'' for $2,700 and merged the two papers, which became the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'', which remains St. Louis' daily newspaper. It was at the Post-Dispatch that Pulitzer developed his role as a champion of the common man with exposés and a hard-hitting [[populism|populist]] approach. == ''The New York World'' == By 1883, Pulitzer had made a lot of money. In that year, he bought the ''[[New York World]]''. That newspaper had been losing $40,000 a year. He paid $346,000 to [[Jay Gould]], the owner. Pulitzer changed its focus to human-interest stories, scandal, and sensationalism. In 1885, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but resigned after a few months' service. He did not like politics. In 1887, he recruited the famous [[investigative journalism|investigative journalist]] [[Nellie B