Yellow journalism

The term originated during the late nineteenth century with the circulation battles between Pulitzer’s New York World and William Heart’s New York Journal. Both papers were accused by critics of sensationalizing the news in order to drive up circulation, although the newspapers did serious reporting as well.
The term was coined by Erwin Wardman,  then editor of New York Press. Wardman never defined the term exactly. Possibly it was a mutation from earlier slander where Wardman twisted “new journalism” into "nude journalism". It’s a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers.
Pulitzer's paper the New York World and Hearst's New York Journal changed the content of newspapers adding more sensationalized stories and increasing the use of drawings and cartoons.
As more cartoons were being published in newspapers, Pulitzer began to publish a cartoon of his own that he titled "The Yellow Kid" in 1896. The cartoon was created by R.F. Outcault and became one of many objects fought over between Hearst and Pulitzer during their rivalry. Hearst later took Outcault and his cartoon from Pulitzer by offering him an outrageous salary. Pulitzer published another version of the cartoon very similar to "The Yellow Kid" to continue competing with Hearst.
With so much competition between the newspapers, the news was over-dramatized and altered to fit story ideas that publishers and editors thought would sell the most papers and stir the most interest for the public so that news boys could sell more papers on street corners.
They often used the "Yellow Kid" to sensationalize stories and discredit the stories of other newspapers. The "Yellow Kid" was also used to sway public opinion on important issues such as the Spanish-American war. Newspapers of the era did not practice the objectivity that newspapers today strive for.
Exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism were the basic features or techniques. Joseph W. Campbell in his 2001 book entitled “Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies,” defined following features of yellow press: multi-column front-page headlines covering a variety of topics, such as sports and scandal, using bold layouts (with large illustrations and perhaps color), heavy reliance on unnamed sources, and unabashed self-promotion. T
five characteristics

1. scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news
2. lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings
3. use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudo-science, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts
4. emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips (which is now normal in the U.S.)
5. dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.

Pulitzer vs. Hearst

Pulitzer purchased the New York World in 1883 after making St. Louis Post the dominant daily in that city. NYW was filled with pictures, games and contests that drew in new readers. Crime stories filled many of the pages, with headlines like "Was He a Suicide?" and "Screaming for Mercy." In addition, Pulitzer only charged readers two cents per issue but gave readers 8 and sometimes 12 pages of information.
Just two years after Pulitzer took it over, the World became the highest circulation newspaper in New York.
Pulitzer's approach made an impression on Hearst, a mining heir who acquired San Francisco Examiner from his father in 1887. The Examiner devoted 24 percent of its space to crime, adultery and "nudity" on the front page.
With the Examiner's success, Hearst acquired NYJ in 1895, a penny paper which Pulitzer's brother Albert had sold to a Cincinnati publisher the year before. Hearst; followed Pulitzer's earlier strategy, he kept the Journal's price at one cent (compared to The World's two cent price) while providing as much information as rival newspapers. Journal's circulation jumped to 150,000, Pulitzer cut his price to a penny, hoping to drive his young competitor into bankruptcy. In a counterattack, Hearst raided the staff of the World in 1896. While most sources say that Hearst simply offered more money, Pulitzer — who had grown increasingly abusive to his employees — had become an extremely difficult man to work for, and many World employees were willing to jump for the sake of getting away from him.

Although the competition between the World and the Journal was fierce, the papers were temperamentally alike. Both were Democratic, both were sympathetic to labor and immigrants, and both invested enormous resources in their Sunday publications.