Citizen Hearst

William Randolph Hearst remains a legendary figure in American history. Shrouded in myth, with popular understanding of his life distorted by a classic Hollywood film, the actual human named William Randolph Hearst continues to be elusive. Thus, any documentary purporting to accurately profile Hearst, and the world he influenced, faces daunting obstacles. Not only must it debunk self-serving myths that Hearst himself cultivated but it also must critically assess the legacy his media innovations and practices bequeathed to the future. For Hearst's media empire, while introducing several lasting formats and features, also increased the proliferation of sensationalism, xenophobia, and inaccuracy in American public discourse. This two-part, four-hour documentary—a special edition of the Pbs series American Experience—must wrestle with Hearst's legacy in the context of the United States in the twenty-first century. Airing less than one year after a narcissistic scion of enormous wealth finished a singular presidential term, issues of privilege and power implicitly (and occasionally explicitly) structure the program. Yet the specter of Donald J. Trump remains largely absent and unmentioned, as are other media moguls later emulating Hearst's quest for political power (such as Michael Bloomberg). Perhaps this is because such recent tycoon-turned-politicians as Bloomberg and Trump proved more successful than Hearst, who lost several elections. Or it also might be that the producers, and the network commissioning this documentary, retained some ambivalence about making discomforting comparisons

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