dodgers. People loved this new, crusading style of journalism, and circulation soared.
Joseph Pulitzer kept working hard even after he had become very ill and his eyesight was
nearly gone. He believed that it was important for newspapers to serve a social purpose
and help protect people from dishonesty and corruption. After a few years, he was able to
buy another newspaper, this time in New York, and bring his populist approach to an
even larger audience.
In 1909, his New York paper broke the story of one of the biggest political scandals in
American history - $40 million in illegal payments in the Panama Canal deal. The U.S.
government tried to sue him, but Pulitzer stood firm and won an important victory for
freedom of the press.
Joseph Pulitzer willed part of his fortune to establish the world’s first school of
journalism at New York’s Columbia University. He also set aside money for annual
prizes for journalists and writers; today, winning one of the famous Pulitzer Prizes makes
you a superstar among writers.
Although he fell into journalism by accident, Joseph Pulitzer set standards that
newspapers still strive to attain today.
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