VOA慢速英语 2007 0624

ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA.  Today, 
William Randolph Hearst
Steve Ember and Rich Kleinfeldt tell about American publisher . Mister Hearst created what was once the nation's largest newspaper organization. He bought newspapers in many areas of the United States.  He spent millions of dollars to gain readers in sometimes shocking ways.  He forever changed the American newspaper business.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

William Randolph Hearst was born in San Francisco in eighteen sixty-three.  He was the only child of George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson Hearst.  His father became rich by developing mines.   His mother was a philanthropist who gave her time and money to help others.  

William Randolph Hearst had everything he wanted as a child.  But, he was a rebel.  In eighteen eighty-five, he was expelled¹ from Harvard, one of the best universities in America, for playing a joke on a professor.

George Hearst wanted his son to take control of developing the mines or the land he owned.  But William had other desires.  He became interested in newspapers while at Harvard.  He started working as a reporter for the New York World newspaper owned by Joseph Pulitzer.

VOICE TWO:

George Hearst owned the San Francisco Examiner newspaper.  But he was more interested in politics than in newspaper publishing.  In eighteen eighty-seven, George Hearst became a United States senator².  He gave control of the newspaper to his son William who was twenty-three.

William Randolph Hearst wanted to create a newspaper that people would talk about.  He worked long hours and put high energy into his newspaper.  He employed some of the best reporters and writers he could find.  And, he paid them the highest wages.  Mister Hearst improved the appearance of his newspaper and bought modern equipment.  He also improved relations with advertisers.  Advertisers pay to have their products shown in newspapers to increase sales.  Newspapers profit from the money paid by advertisers.

News stories in the San Francisco Examiner were written with force, energy and excitement.  Some stories were written to shock readers and affect them emotionally.  However, the stories were simple and easy to read.  

Mister Hearst believed in doing whatever it took to get readers.  His newspaper policy was:  make the news complete; print all the news; shorten³ it if necessary, but get it in.  That became the policy in newsrooms across America.

VOICE ONE:

By eighteen ninety-one, the San Francisco Examiner had three times more readers and advertisers than when Mister Hearst took control of the newspaper.  In less than five years, William Randolph Hearst made the new San Francisco Examiner a huge success.

Mister Hearst repeated his success in New York City. He borrowed five million dollars from his mother to purchase a second newspaper, the New York Journal.  In his first two months, he increased the number of copies sold from thirty thousand to one hundred thousand.

Joseph Pulitzer was a very successful publisher in New York.  Mister Hearst shared Mister Pulitzer's excitement and energy about the newspaper business.

During the eighteen nineties, Mister Hearst and Mister Pulitzer began a fierce newspaper war.  Mister Hearst hired many reporters from Mister Pulitzer's New York World newspaper.  He paid them more than two times as much as they had been earning.  He also reduced the price of his newspaper below Mister Pulitzer's.  

VOICE TWO:

Mister Hearst won readers by making the news more exciting and entertaining.  He created a kind of newspaper reporting known today as "yellow journalism⁴."  News events were made to seem greater than they really were.  His methods went beyond what would be accepted today in major newspapers.  Critics said his newspapers were only for entertainment.  Yet many other newspapers tried to copy his methods.

Mister Hearst attacked big businesses and dishonest politicians in his newspapers.  There were also reports about sex, murder and other crimes.  His newspapers became a voice for working people and the poor.  His influence grew across the nation through his newspapers and the magazines he bought or began.

VOICE ONE:

Many experts say Mister Hearst's reporting methods and his battle with Mister Pulitzer for readers led to the Spanish-American War.  In eighteen ninety-eight, the United States fought Spain to help the people of Cuba gain independence from Spain.

 
A Hearst newpaper blames Spain for the sinking of the battleship Maine
Mister Hearst's newspapers had accused Spain of sinking the American battleship Maine and killing⁵ two hundred fifty sailors.  This increased public support for the war.  However, it still is not known how the ship sank.  

The war greatly increased readers for the Hearst publications.  Mister Hearst's battle with competitors widened after the war.  Some newspapers blamed him when President William McKinley was murdered in nineteen-oh-one.  The assassination⁶ happened after one of the Hearst newspapers seemed to suggest killing Mister McKinley.

 (MUSIC)

 VOICE TWO:

In the early nineteen hundreds, William Randolph Hearst became deeply involved in politics.  He represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from nineteen-oh-three to nineteen-oh-seven.  In nineteen-oh-four, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination⁸ for president.  He also failed in his campaigns to become governor of New York or mayor of New York City.

Mister Hearst had hoped to change the way things were being done in New York City.  He hoped to defeat dishonest New York City politicians who controlled the city at the time.

Mister Hearst also campaigned against big business.  He supported labor⁹ unions and government ownership of public utilities, railroads, and other big companies.  And, he sought political reform and the return of economic competition in the country.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Hearst's opponents accused him of being disloyal to his country because of his support for Germany during the first years of World War One.  He was opposed to American involvement in the war.

Mister Hearst was sharply¹⁰ criticized for his political ideas.  Many people refused to deal with him.  Some hated him.   His newspapers were banned in many communities.

Mister Hearst strongly supported Democrat⁷ Franklin Roosevelt for president in nineteen thirty-two.  Then he became increasingly conservative¹¹ and turned against President Roosevelt.  He opposed American involvement in World War Two.  He also led a fierce campaign against communism during the nineteen thirties.

Through the years, Mister Hearst continued to buy newspapers and magazines across the country and around the world.  He also controlled a number of radio and television stations and a movie company.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

William Randolph Hearst and his wife Millicent were married in nineteen-oh-three.  They had five sons.  She remained married to him until her death.  However, Mister Hearst spent almost thirty years of his life with Hollywood actress Marion Davies in San Simeon, California.  They met in nineteen seventeen and later lived together at San Simeon.  He started a movie company to produce movies for her.  Their relationship shocked the nation.   
San Simeon

Mister Hearst spent thirty years and thirty million dollars to build a huge home at San Simeon.  It has one hundred sixty-five rooms.  Mister Hearst and Marion Davies entertained many famous people there.  He continually bought costly¹² art objects to fill it.

By nineteen thirty-seven, Mister Hearst's heavy spending threatened to ruin his publishing organization.  He was forced to sell much of his property and many art objects.  The economic recovery after World War Two saved what was left of his media organization.

VOICE ONE:

When William Randolph Hearst died in nineteen fifty-one, he still owned what was then the largest newspaper company in America.  Today, the Hearst Corporation includes more than one hundred thirty separate businesses.  They include newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations and business media companies.  The communications business William Randolph Hearst began continues to influence and inform people around the world.

 (MUSIC)

 ANNOUNCER:

This Special English program was written by Cynthia Kirk. It was produced by Paul Thompson.   Your narrators were Steve Ember and Rich Kleinfeldt.  I’m Faith Lapidus.  Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

1 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

2 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

3 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。

4 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

11 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。