LOS ANGELES TIMES OWNER HELD LIABLE FOR DEATH OF EDITOR AFTER SHE PUBLISHED AN EDITORIAL CRITICIZING PRESIDENT’S CABINET NOMINEES
In a shocking turn of events, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, William Randolph Hearst, has been held liable for the murder of the paper’s editor, Daisy Sullivan. The killing occurred just days after Sullivan published an editorial criticizing the President’s cabinet picks, which were met with widespread disapproval by the newspaper’s readers.
According to eyewitnesses, Sullivan was seen leaving the newspaper’s office building on the night of January 11, 1911. She was last seen getting into a car outside the building, driven by a mysterious individual. Her body was discovered the next morning in a local park, with a bullet wound to the head.
An investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that the murder was linked to a sensationalized article published in the New York World, a rival newspaper owned by Joseph Pulitzer. The article accused Hearst of being overly critical of President Taft’s cabinet nominees, and suggested that his vocal opposition to the picks was a result of his own personal financial interests.
Hearst had long been a vocal critic of the President’s policies and had frequently used his newspaper to express his views. However, the murder of Sullivan marked a new level of retribution in the struggle for power in the nation’s media and politics.
The event has sent shockwaves through the newspaper industry, with many outlets announcing plans to increase security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The murder has also raised questions about the level of responsibility that newspaper owners and journalists have in reporting the news, and the impact that such reporting can have on those in power.