George Hearst, mining tycoon and Senator from California, tried to dissuade his son by offering him the chance to manage a ranch in Mexico or a gold mine in South Dakota. But William Randolph Hearst, then 23, would have none of it. He wanted to run a newspaper, specifically a tawdry sheet in San Francisco called the Examiner. Father relented; in 1887 young Hearst assumed control of the Examiner and proceeded to build the largest newspaper empire of his day.
The Hearst Corp. celebrates its centennial this year, and while the founder would obviously have difficulty recognizing the company 36 years...
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