Transferring to Dartmouth College, Goddard completed his undergraduate studies without drawing much attention to himself, though he did take an avid interest in school publications. Goddard graduated at the very young age of nineteen.
Transferring to Dartmouth College, Goddard completed his undergraduate studies without drawing much attention to himself, though he did take an avid interest in school publications. Goddard graduated at the very young age of nineteen.
https://www.amazon.com/What-Interests-People-Morrill-Goddard/dp/125826448X/?tag=2022091-20
Goddard was born on October 7, 1865 in Auburn, Maine, United States; his family hailed from Portland. His father, Charles William Goddard, was an attorney who had served as United Slates consul in Constantinople during the Civil War and eventually became a state judge. Goddard’s mother, Rowena Caroline Morrill Goddard, was the daughter of a governor of Maine.
A graduate of the Portland public school system, Goddard followed his father and enrolled in Bowdoin College. During his sophomore year, he was expelled for taking part in freshman hazing activities. Transferring to Dartmouth College, he completed his undergraduate studies without drawing much attention to himself, though he did take an avid interest in school publications. Goddard graduated at the very young age of nineteen.
In 1885 Morrill Goddard moved to New York. He did not even wait to receive his diploma. Goddard set his sights on a full-time position at Pulitzer’s New York World, and worked diligently to attain one. Like most young reporters, Goddard had to produce his own news stories, receiving remuneration only for material that appeared in the paper. Goddard remedied this situation by befriending the city morgue’s manager, “a peglegged Civil War veteran” as James Boylan stated in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, with gifts. Prowling about the morgue enabled Goddard to write intriguing copy; he was made a full staff member of the World in a matter of weeks.
Goddard didn’t stop his aggressive efforts until after he became the paper’s city editor at the age of twenty-one. He mounted a funeral carriage to observe the family of Ulysses S. Grant during his funeral procession. He learned Latin phrases to interview a delegate from the Vatican. He used his connections in Maine to interview James G. Blaine, a candidate for the presidency from that state. When President Grover Cleveland honeymooned in 1886, Goddard was among the many reporters who hounded the newlyweds. His work ethic so astounded Ballard Smith, managing editor of the World, that Goddard advanced after only two years on the job. Goddard preferred “hard news,” Boylan explained, but Pulitzer wanted him for Sunday editor. Goddard was convinced when Pulitzer uncharacteristically offered him the freedom to assemble his own staff. Goddard took his position so seriously that he stirred unrest in other departments of the World, and in 1892, Pulitzer terminated his editorship.
After some time off in Paris, Goddard traveled back to New York City and resumed his work. Goddard then proceeded to amend the Sunday edition. In 1893, Goddard assembled a 100-page edition in honor of Pulitzer’s tenth anniversary with the World. In November of 1894, Goddard produced (with the help of artist Richard F. Outcault) the first color comics section in an American newspaper. One of Goddard’s more risque articles, titled “The Girl in Lhe Pie,” piqued the interest of William Randolph Hearst. Having just bought the Morning Journal of New York, he was on a secret staff hunt.
Goddard received an offer from Hearst in January of 1896, but was hesitant. As Boylan detailed, Goddard had two misgivings: “Hearst might not last in New York and ... he did not want to leave the staff he had built at the WorldA usually frugal man, Hearst promised Goddard an annual salary of $35,000. Hearst then proceeded to net virtually the entire World Sunday edition staff. What followed was a seesaw battle: Pulitzer took the staff back with a higher offer, but within a day Hearst reclaimed the staff for good.
He spent his later career as a secure member of Hearst's high command, continuing to apply for forty years the formulas he had developed before the turn of the century. In 1937 Goddard died of a heart attack while vacationing in Maine with his family.
Morrill Goddard’s contribution to the field of journalism was an injection of sensationalism and color. One of the pioneers of so-called “yellow journalism,” his talents induced a bidding war between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. His peculiar contribution to the sensational genre embraced bizarre pseudoscience, mildly risqué human interest features, and flamboyant, colorful graphics - the characteristics that came to be associated with the term Sunday supplement. Goddard’s influence is still evident in many newspapers, particularly in their Sunday editions. His most famous work - What Interests People - and Why.
Goddard’s journalistic philosophy rested in his love of “true life stories.” Addressing his critics by noting that, “The great events of history have been sensational,” Goddard believed that actual events are far more fascinating than fictional tales.
Quotations:
Boylan noted, “His feats of aggression and intrusion as a reporter, strangely contrasting with his quiet personality, became legend.”
Boylan quotes a reviewer at Tide magazine, “He knew, possibly, with greater surety than any editor of his time, what interested people and why.”
In spite of his high-profile position, Goddard kept a surprisingly low profile. A private man, he spurned celebrity and avoided “professional journalism activities.”
He was generally regarded as a brilliant and tenacious man.
Morrill Goddard married Jessamine Rugg in 1889. They had five children.
