In the late 1800s, newsboys--or "newsies"--were a critical part of the newspaper industry. They bought stacks of papers from newspaper publishers and then sold them on city streets for a small profit. But in 1898, William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World raised the cost of 100 papers by 10 cents. The price increase cut into the newsboys' profits, and by the summer of 1899 their frustration boiled over. They banded together and showed the world how activists of any age can use a strike to win against even the most rich and powerful.
The story of the newsboys (and girls) who took on the world's most powerful press barons--and won--in the summer of 1899 is told in this fascinating picture book. Full color.
"In the late 1800s, newsboys-or "newsies"-were a critical part of the newspaper industry. They bought stacks of papers from newspaper publishers and then sold them on city streets for a small profit. But in 1898, William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World raised the cost of 100 papers by 10 cents. The price increase cut into the newsboys' profits, and by the summer of 1899 their frustration boiled over. They banded together and showed the world how activists of any age can use a strike to win against even the most rich and powerful"--
From Strike to Show The newsies' strike of 1899 was the last successful child labor riot of the 19th century, but by the time the history books were scripted and printed, it was little more than a footnote. Newsies vs. The World takes a microscope to the events of the strike and its ongoing legacy in contemporary film and musical theatre. It explores the intense rivalry between publishing tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, from their vicious circulation battle and the invention of "yellow journalism" to their involvement in the Spanish-American War and the ripple effects of that war on New York City's young newspaper hawkers. It also dives headfirst into the skirmishes of the 1899 strike, chronicling the events that inspired the newsboys and newsgirls to band together against Pulitzer and Hearst and detailing the stories of their various riots and rallies. Not only do readers get the full story of the children's boycott, but they also get the inside scoop on Disney's treatment of the movement. Despite a heartfelt performance from a teenage Christian Bale, the musical talents of Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, and director Kenny Ortega's ability to transform unknown child actors into a polished anthem-belting, tap-dancing company, Newsies (1992) was panned by critics and audiences alike. Driven by a massive cult following in the 1990s and early 2000s, however, its surprising resurgence as a breakout Broadway musical in 2012 took Disney-and the story of the 1899 newsies-to unprecedented heights, not only spawning a successful national tour but netting two Tony Awards as well. While Newsies (1992) and Newsies the Musical were imperfect and inadequate vehicles to capture such a complex historical moment, their indomitable spirit accomplished exactly what newsboy Kid Blink and the newsies of New York City set out to do: It turned their story into a headline, and in doing so, made the world know the newsies by name.
From Benjamin Franklin to Ragged Dick to Jack Kelly, hero of the Disney musical Newsies, newsboys have long intrigued Americans as symbols of struggle and achievement. But what do we really know about the children who hawked and delivered newspapers in American cities and towns? Who were they? What was their life like? And how important was their work to the development of a free press, the survival of poor families, and the shaping of their own attitudes, values and beliefs? Crying the News: A History of America's Newsboys offers an epic retelling of the American experience from the perspective of its most unshushable creation. It is the first book to place newsboys at the center of American history, analyzing their inseparable role as economic actors and cultural symbols in the creation of print capitalism, popular democracy, and national character. DiGirolamo's sweeping narrative traces the shifting fortunes of these "little merchants" over a century of war and peace, prosperity and depression, exploitation and reform, chronicling their exploits in every region of the country, as well as on the railroads that linked them. While the book focuses mainly on boys in the trade, it also examines the experience of girls and grown-ups, the elderly and disabled, blacks and whites, immigrants and natives. Based on a wealth of primary sources, Crying the News uncovers the existence of scores of newsboy strikes and protests. The book reveals the central role of newsboys in the development of corporate welfare schemes, scientific management practices, and employee liability laws. It argues that the newspaper industry exerted a formative yet overlooked influence on working-class youth that is essential to our understanding of American childhood, labor, journalism, and capitalism.
Describes the conditions and treatment that drove workers, including many children, to various strikes, from the mill workers strikes in 1828 and 1836 and the coal strikes at the turn of the century to the work of Mother Jones on behalf of child workers.
Starring Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret, the Disney musical film Newsies is scheduled for March 1992 release. The moving story of two newsboys who r ally their colleagues against greedy price increases of publishing giants Hearst and Pulitzer will capture the hearts of young moviegoers. This novelized version is illustrated with color stills from the film.
When in 1992 Disney released a live-action film based on a band of newsboys who stood up to the most powerful newspaper publishers in New York, a cult classic was born. Based on real life events, the story resonated with millions, and countless musical theatre performers and fans ultimately demanded that the story be brought to stage.
