Harold Harmsworth: Success Worth Emulating

Harold Harmsworth was a British newspaper publisher and owner of the Associated Newspapers Ltd. His success in the newspaper business began with his partnership with his brother Alfred, after the duo founded the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. Harmsworth is known in the publishing industry as the one who pioneered popular journalism.

Aside from Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, Harmsworth also acquired Glasgow Record and Mail in 1910. In 1915, he also acquired Sunday Pictorial. Among the other newspaper companies that Harmsworth consequently bought included Evening News and Sunday Mail. The Harmsworth brothers shared the ownership of Associated Newspapers later.

In 1922, Alfred Harmsworth suddenly died without an heir. Harmsworth acquired his brother’s interest in the Associated Newspapers and paid £1.6 million to gain the controlling interest in the company. In 1923, Harmsworth also acquired the Hulton newspaper chain. That year, Harmsworth gained control of three of the nation’s morning newspapers and three Sunday newspapers, two of London’s evening newspapers, four of the provincial daily newspapers, and three of the provincial Sunday newspapers.

To maintain his focus on publishing provincial newspapers, Harmsworth decided to sell his interests in his magazine company Amalgamated Newspapers in 1926. He launched evening newspapers in the provincial cities in 1926 by establishing the Northcliffe Newspapers Ltd. This ushered what the industry called “newspaper war” in 1928, which was punctuated with Harmsworth’s founding of new evening newspapers in Derby and Bristol. Harmsworth ended the year 1929 by owning fourteen daily and Sunday newspapers aside from significant interests in three other newspapers.

In 1910, Harmsworth became a baronet of Horsey. He was elevated to Baron Rothermere of Hempstead in 1914. Later, he was granted the rank of Viscount Rothermere of Hempstead in 1919 following his stint as President of the Air Council during the World War I.