S8 Ep698: 5. Media mogul William Randolph Hearst, once an uneasy ally, became a formidable foe for Roosevelt leading into the campaign. Boasting a massive empire of newspapers and radio stations, Hearst exercised immense influence through front-page editorials and
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 6 April 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
5. Media mogul William Randolph Hearst, once an uneasy ally, became a formidable foe for Roosevelt leading into the campaign. Boasting a massive empire of newspapers and radio stations, Hearst exercised immense influence through front-page editorials and aggressive "soak the rich" rhetoric. His relationship with FDR soured as the New Deal moved further left, specifically over tax policies targeting multi-millionaires. Hearst's public image was also tarnished by a controversial meeting with Adolf Hitler in 1934. Ultimately, Hearst sought to neutralize Roosevelt by throwing his media weight behind the Republicanopposition. (6)
1936 MAYOR BANQUET DC
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor. |
| 0:11.2 | Roosevelt Sweeps Nation, the new book from David Petrucia, FDR's 1936 landslide, and the |
| 0:17.6 | triumph of the liberal ideal. From the point of view of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, |
| 0:23.0 | there are figures on his left, there are figures on his right, there are figures who represent |
| 0:28.1 | the Communist Party, there are figures who represent outright celebration of the dictators |
| 0:34.3 | in Europe at this time, Mussolini and Hitler. But there is one figure that represents all of the above or none of the dictators in europe at this time musselini and hitler |
| 0:37.8 | but there is one figure that represents all of the above or none of the above |
| 0:41.9 | depending on the day of the week |
| 0:43.6 | william randolph hurst |
| 0:46.6 | born eighteen sixty three |
| 0:49.0 | he is seventy two years old seventy three years old at this point and yet he can pick up the phone and reach anybody in America, |
| 0:58.3 | including the President of the United States. David, it is a complication to summarize Hearst. |
| 1:05.7 | With Roosevelt in particular, he was for him before he was against him, before he was for and before he was against him. |
| 1:12.7 | Let's keep ourselves right now to 32 to 36. What was Hearst's opinion of Roosevelt in the campaign of 32 facing Herbert Hoover? |
| 1:24.2 | Didn't like him. Didn't like Hoover. Didn't like al smith didn't like anyone except john nance gardner |
| 1:30.2 | and the roosevelt has a problem in 1932 and that has a bunch problems but um the two-thirds |
| 1:39.0 | rule so he can get to the convention and have oh the majority of the, but he can't get the nomination until that log jam is broken. |
| 1:48.1 | And he gets two-thirds of the delegates. |
| 1:51.0 | But Hearst, who had supported Garner, is controlling California and Texas delegations. |
| 1:59.7 | And even when FDR switches on the League of Nations to Curry favor with Hearst, |
| 2:06.0 | Hearst still doesn't like him. |
| 2:08.5 | But Joe Kennedy goes to Hearst, some other people go to Hurst and say, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.