Joseph Pulitzer Quotes

Powerful Joseph Pulitzer for Daily Growth

About Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) was an influential Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and philanthropist, renowned for establishing the Pulitzer Prize. Born on April 10, 1847, in Mako, Hungary, Pulitzer immigrated to the United States at age six, settling with his family in St. Louis, Missouri. After a brief stint as a cadet at West Point, Pulitzer dropped out and worked as a typesetter and reporter for the New York World newspaper. In 1867, he purchased the St. Louis Westliche Post, which later merged with other papers to form the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, now one of America's leading newspapers. Pulitzer's journalism career flourished when he bought the New York World in 1883. He revolutionized newspaper publishing by using sensational headlines, investigative reporting, and human-interest stories to drive sales. His paper's coverage of the Spanish–American War, particularly the sinking of the battleship USS Maine, brought Pulitzer national attention. Inspired by the bequest of his French contemporary, Émile Zola, Pulitzer established the Pulitzer Prizes in 1917, shortly before his death on October 29, 1911. The awards recognize achievements in newspaper, magazine, and online journalism, literature, and musical composition. Pulitzer's legacy continues to impact media today. His relentless pursuit of truth and innovation has served as a guiding principle for journalists worldwide. Some of his most memorable quotes include: - "Our republic and its press will endure only so long as the press remains truly free... The only hope of peace is the continuous agitation of the people." - "I pay my writers high wages, but I never pay too much for good writing." - "The best way to eliminate a dissenting opinion is to give it exposure." Through his pioneering journalism and philanthropy, Pulitzer solidified his place as a titan of American media.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Our duty to our country calls us to be faithful to our conscience. To look away is to become a party to wrong."

This quote emphasizes that every individual has a moral obligation to uphold the truth and do what is right, even when it's difficult or unpopular. Joseph Pulitzer suggests that by turning a blind eye to injustice, one is indirectly supporting it and becoming complicit. In essence, he encourages citizens to be active participants in shaping their society by standing up for their convictions and speaking out against wrongdoings.


"I would be greatly disappointed if I woke up some day and didn't have a problem of the world on my hands."

This quote by Joseph Pulitzer reflects his belief in the role and responsibility of journalists or media figures. He suggests that having a challenge or issue to address is essential for their purpose, as it keeps them engaged, relevant, and contributing to society's discourse. In other words, a problem of the world on one's hands signifies an active role in addressing important matters and making a positive impact on society.


"News is such a powerfully important tool that it must be wielded with great responsibility."

This quote by Joseph Pulitzer emphasizes the significant influence and impact that news media has in society. He underscores the idea that this powerful tool should be used responsibly, as its potential to shape public opinion and decisions is immense. The implication is that journalists must exercise caution, fairness, and accuracy when reporting, considering their role in informing and shaping the collective consciousness of a community or nation.


"Every blank space on your paper is a golden opportunity to make a few dollars."

This quote by Joseph Pulitzer emphasizes the potential value in filling any empty or underutilized spaces, symbolically representing opportunities for profit or success. It encourages individuals to actively seek and capitalize on opportunities that might seem insignificant or overlooked at first glance, implying the possibility of turning small chances into substantial benefits or earnings.


"Accuracy, fairness and objectivity are the holy trinity of journalism."

The quote by Joseph Pulitzer emphasizes three fundamental principles that form the backbone of ethical journalism: accuracy, fairness, and objectivity. * Accuracy refers to the duty of journalists to report facts truthfully, without bias or distortion. This means double-checking sources, verifying information, and correcting errors promptly. * Fairness involves presenting all relevant sides of a story with balance and impartiality. It requires journalists to treat subjects with respect and consider their perspectives, giving an equal voice to those who may disagree with the prevailing viewpoint. * Objectivity means striving for a detached, unbiased approach in reporting news stories. This does not mean being emotionless or devoid of personal values; instead, it implies setting aside one's opinions and focusing on the facts at hand. These three elements together create an environment where journalism can thrive as a trusted source of information for the public, contributing to informed decision-making and a more transparent society.


I can do much, I can do everything for a man who will be my friend. I can give him power; I can give him wealth. I can give him reputation - the power, the wealth, the reputation which come to a man who speaks to a million people a day in the columns of a great paper.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Reputation, Him, I Can, Columns

It only serves to show what sort of person a man must be who can't even get testimonials. No, no; if a man brings references, it proves nothing; but if he can't, it proves a great deal.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Nothing, Deal, References, Testimonial

The American people want something terse, forcible, picturesque, striking - something that will arrest their attention, enlist their sympathy, arouse their indignation, stimulate their imagination, convince their reason, awaken their conscience.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Reason, Will, Conscience, Arrest

I am deeply interested in the progress and elevation of journalism, having spent my life in that profession, regarding it as a noble profession and one of unequaled importance for its influence upon the minds and morals of the people.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Profession, Elevation, Regarding

An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Right, Which, Trained, Sham

Publicity, publicity, publicity is the greatest moral factor and force in our public life.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Publicity, Force, Public, Public Life

We all want prosperity, but not at the expense of liberty. Poverty is not as great a danger to liberty as is wealth, with its corrupting, demoralizing influences. Let us never have a Government at Washington owing its retention to the power of the millionaires rather than to the will of millions.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Danger, Let Us, Rather, Owing

I breakfast when I get up, lunch when I get the chance. If I never get it, I forget it. Sometimes I dine at seven, sometimes at midnight, sometimes not at all; and I never get to bed until four or five in the morning. Everything depends on the news; the hours make no difference to me.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Lunch, Sometimes, Bed, Dine

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Will, Before, Read, Guided

A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will in time produce a people as base as itself.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Will, Mercenary, Itself, Cynical

I desire to assist in attracting to this profession young men of character and ability, also to help those already engaged in the profession to acquire the highest moral and intellectual training.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Desire, Profession, Engaged, Young Men

Principles, convictions and motives are neither sold nor bargained for!

- Joseph Pulitzer

Nor, Sold, Neither, Convictions

I would rather have one article a day of this sort; and these ten or twenty lines might readily represent a whole day's hard work in the way of concentrated, intense thinking and revision, polish of style, weighing of words.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Rather, Readily, Whole, Article

It is to such men as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson and Jackson and Franklin, all most lowly born, that we owe most of our greatness as a nation.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Greatness, Nation, Lowly, None

If a newspaper is to be of real service to the public, it must have a big circulation: first, because its news and its comments must reach the largest possible number of people; second, because circulation means advertising, and advertising means money, and money means independence.

- Joseph Pulitzer

News, Newspaper, Big, Circulation

Don't be sensitive if I should, in future, seem brusque, harsh, or even unjust in my criticism. I sincerely hope I never shall be; but if I should, remember that fault-finding is perhaps both my privilege and my weakness, that correction is the only road to improvement, and that my quick temper and illness are entitled to some consideration.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Some, Sincerely, Entitled, Consideration

If you will give the matter a moment's thought, you'll see that memory is the highest faculty of the human mind.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Memory, Mind, Give, Human Mind

Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Fall, Will, Republic, Together

What a newspaper needs in its news, in its headlines, and on its editorial page is terseness, humor, descriptive power, satire, originality, good literary style, clever condensation, and accuracy, accuracy, accuracy!

- Joseph Pulitzer

News, Newspaper, Needs, Headlines

I really think one of the most extraordinary things in the world is the amount of noise a child can make.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Think, Amount, Really, Extraordinary Things

Whatever my trouble had been at first, it developed into separation of the retina in both eyes. From the day on which I first consulted the oculist up to the present time, about twenty-four years, I have only been three times in 'The World' building. Most people think I'm dead or living in Europe in complete retirement.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Been, About, Had, Europe

We are a democracy, and there is only one way to get a democracy on its feet in the matter of its individual, its social, its municipal, its State, its national conduct, and that is by keeping the public informed about what is going on.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Feet, Informed, Individual, Conduct

What I say is that there are not half a dozen papers in the United States which tamper with the news, which publish what they know to be false. But if I thought I had done no better than that, I would be ashamed to own a paper. You have to make everyone connected with the paper believe that accuracy is to a newspaper what virtue is to a woman.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Woman, Newspaper, Half, Dozen

Performance is better than promise. Exuberant assurances are cheap.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Performance, Better, Than, Exuberant

The power to mould the future of the Republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations.

- Joseph Pulitzer

Hands, Will, Republic, Journalists

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