powerful force that helped propel the United States into war with Spain. Led by newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, journalism of the 1890s usedmelodrama, romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspapers--a style that became known as yellow journalism.

A comic in Pulitzer's "New York World" is where the term "yellow journalism" was created. It featured a child who dressed in yellow and was referred to as the "yellow kid." Hearst, owner of the "New York Journal," wanted to capitalize on the publicity that his rival Pulitzer was enjoying. 

Yellow journalism used sensational stories that tugged at readers' heartstrings to sell papers. Eye-catching headlines were another prominent feature of yellow journalism. Of course, dramatic happenings in the world pushed sales even more, which Hearst and his contemporaries knew.

When the USS Maine sunk in Havana, Hearst jumped to publish a story that blamed the Spanish for the tragedy. He had no evidence that they were involved—but the story still influenced public opinion against the Spanish. According to PBS, "Soon US public opinion demanded intervention." The papers pushed images of Spain as inhuman, publishing false pictures and stories that depicted the Spanish as abusive and dangerous. 

Since public opinion had turned to favor war, the US. entered the conflict with Spain over Cuba. 

According to the United States Office of the Historian:

The rise of yellow journalism helped to create a climate conducive to the outbreak of international conflict and the expansion of U.S. influence overseas, but it did not by itself cause the war. In spite of Hearst’s often quoted statement—“You furnish the pictures, I’ll provide the war!”—other factors played a greater role in leading to the outbreak of war. The papers did not create anti-Spanish sentiments out of thin air, nor did the publishers fabricate the events to which the U.S. public and politicians reacted so strongly. Moreover, influential figures such as Theodore Roosevelt led a drive for U.S. overseas expansion that had been gaining strength since the 1880s. 

While yellow journalism wasn't the only reason for the Spanish-American war, it did play its part. The sensationalist stories published by Hearst, Pulitzer, and those like them drove public demand for war in order to sell more papers.

Believe it or not, both revisionist historians like Howard Zinn and traditional historians like Larry Schweikart point out that the influence of Yellow Journalism on the causes of the Spanish Civil War have been overhyped.  In the bumper sticker approach to US History, this makes for an easy cause, but the reality is that business interests had a much bigger role in starting the Spanish American War than supposed Yellow Journalism.

Yellow Journalism had a big impact on the Spanish-American War. Newspapers were competing for readers so they often exaggerated headlines to sell papers. The Spanish were ruling in Cuba, and they weren’t treating the Cubans well. The news stories that came out of Cuba exaggerated how poorly the Spanish government was treating the Cubans.

In the 1890s, newspapers were the main source of information about events happening in the United States and throughout the world. The United States was looking to become a world power and most likely would have to go to war to get the colonies it needed to become a world power. Thus, as the newspapers exaggerated events in Cuba, American public opinion turned against the Spanish. Americans, who believed in spreading manifest destiny worldwide, began to advocate for going to war against the Spanish in order to help the Cubans. Public opinion was in favor of going to war.

A few other events pushed us toward war. When the Spanish ambassador criticized the President, Americans became more incensed with Spain. When the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, Americans were quick to blame Spain. People, who were upset and angry by the exaggerated news stories about the Spanish treatment of the Cubans, now wanted President McKinley to declare war. This declaration of war came in 1898.

Enotes policy allows me to answer one question per post. I will answer the question you posted about yellow journalism.

Yellow journalism refers to when a media outlet exaggerates news stories. In the late 1890s, the United States was looking to expand overseas. The newspapers played a role in turning public opinion against Spain. The Spanish had been mistreating the people in Cuba. The newspapers over-exaggerated this mistreatment. While the mistreatment wasn’t good, the newspapers made it sound much worse than it really was. Since the newspaper was the main way people could get news in the 1890s, especially regarding foreign events, there was no way to check the validity of the news stories.

As public opinion turned against Spain, more people began to think we should intervene to help the Cubans. After the USS Maine sank in the waters off the Cuban coast, people jumped to the conclusion that the Spanish were responsible. The pressure to declare war on Spain increased. President McKinley did ask Congress to declare war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Yellow Journalism took its name from a comic strip entitled "The Yellow Kid." It was used to denominate newspapers who specialized in sensational headlines. In a time before radio and television, truth often took second place to spectacular headlines which drew readers.

Two champions of Yellow Journalism were Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York Journal and William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the New York World. Each was in bitter competition with the other, and often published questionable material as a means of increasing sales. During a purported revolt in Cuba, Hearst grossly overstated the details of the revolt, and published an editorial referring to the Spanish general as:

Weyler the brute, the devastator of haciendas, the destroyer of men.

A famous (although unverified) anecdote states that Hearst sent famed photographer Frederick Remington to Cuba to send back pictures of Spanish atrocities in the Cuban insurrection. Remington presumably wired Hearst that there was no war going on to which Hearst replied, "you furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." Whether true or not, the anecdote aptly illustrates the attitudes of both Hearst and Pulitzer.

The explosion aboard the USS Maine occurred when many of the ship's officers were at a dance sponsored by the Spanish governor. At the time of the explosion, many Cuban workers on the dock jumped into the waters and risked their own lives to save Americans. The Captain of the Maine urged calm; but the story (and opportunity) were too good for Hearst and Pulitzer to pass up. They published headlines reading "Remember the Maine," Called the explosion a "dastardly act of sabotage, and even offered huge rewards for information on the perpetrators who blew up the ship, even though there was overwhelming evidence that the explosion was accidental (which it was.)

The actions of the two publishers stirred up already troubled diplomatic waters, and Americans would settle for nothing less than War. As a result, Congress declared war on August 25, 1898. Interestingly, Spain had declared war on August 23; so Congress backdated its declaration to August 21. It is hardly likely that this unnecessary war would have happened were it not for the frenzy whipped up by Hearst and Pulitzer.

Yellow journalism mainly helped to influence the way that Americans responded to the events that led up to the war.  The yellow journalists dramatized events that happened so as to excite Americans and influence them in favor of war with Spain.  One example of this was the way in which the yellow journalists played up the atrocities that they claimed were committed by the Spanish against the Cubans.  Another example was the reaction to the explosion of the USS Maine.  Again, the yellow journalists whipped up anti-Spanish feelings in the American public, claiming, for example, that it was known that the Spanish had blown the ship up.

By doing these things, the yellow journalists helped to influence Americans to be more in favor of the war.  This was the main role that yellow journalism played in the approach to the war.

Journalism was a substantial factor leading to the Spanish American War. At the time of the war, when expansionary fever was rampant in the U.S., Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World, and William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal were locked in intense competition. Truth often was secondary to newspaper sales, as each sought sensational headlines. The end result was so called "yellow journalism" in which sensational stories dominated the news, regardless of accuracy. A purported civil war in Cuba was fertile ground for sensational headlines.

The sinking of the USS Maine provided a golden opportunity for both editors. Even though there was evidence at the time that the explosion which sank the Maine was accidental and the Captain of the ship urged caution, this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Both papers decried the "dastardly act of sabotage," and offered rewards for the capture and arrest of those responsible. Their headlines often screamed "Remember the Maine!"  The end result was a public frenzy which ultimately led to the U.S. making ridiculous claims from Spain and finally a declaration of war. Although Spain declared war first, Congress backdated its formal declaration so as to appear that it declared war first.