Oh- you want to hear it?
Okay then... It appears that, when the statue of liberty was
sent over to New York to be erected, there was no money for
a base on which to put her. So Pulitzer, he goes to the folks
who could do this, and offered them a deal. "Grant me exclusive
and permanent rights to use the image of the Statue of Liberty on
my newspapers cover, and I'll build your base." Having made this
deal Pulitzer proceeds to write a firey editorial. "It's a shame"
he cries, noting that this gift from France will not be built
unless money to build the base can be found. "If everyone
who reads this paper will send me a nickle, there will be
enough money to build the base, and furthermore, I'll print
the names of everyone who sends money on the front page
of my paper.
Money pours in. Soon Pulitzer has the money he needs, plus more.
He writes another editorial: "Thanks for the money. Now, as you
will recall, I promised to print the names of all of you
who sent money in on the cover of my paper - and I will. But
I didn't say on what day I would print your name." So
people who wanted to see their names in print had to buy many papers
in the hope that that day their name would be on that front
page.
And so, the base was built, and the statue of liberty erected.
And with the extra money Pulitzer had, he established the
Pulitzer prize for journalism.
I haven't confirmed this story, and I don't intend to try. It's
too good a yarn to risk having it blow up in my
face just because of some piddly facts.
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Any suggestions/comments welcome:
Brad Wallace (brad@ras.ucalgary.ca)