William Randolph Hearst

Hearst, William Randolph (1863–1951), U.S. newspaper and magazine publisher. Hearst's business acumen emerged early in his career, and he quickly built a huge, powerful newspaper empire. Spending big sums to attract readers, he competed with other publishers by employing sensationalistic journalism, printing splashy headlines, and pioneering color comics. By 1937, Hearst owned 25 daily newspapers and such magazines as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, and Harper's Bazaar.

Politically ambitious, he represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives (1903–07). He ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York and mayor of New York City and failed in his attempt to become the Democrats' nominee for president (1904). His lavish castle residence, San Simeon, near San Francisco, is now a state museum. In 1974, the kidnapping of one of his granddaughters, Patricia Hearst, initiated one of the biggest, most-publicized searches in U.S. history.