In the late 1800s, newsboys--or "newsies"--were a critical part of the
newspaper industry. They bought stacks of papers from newspaper
publishers and then sold them on city streets for a small profit. But in
1898, William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's
New York World raised the cost of 100 papers by 10 cents. The price
increase cut into the newsboys' profits, and by the summer of 1899 their
frustration boiled over. They banded together and showed the world how
activists of any age can use a strike to win against even the most rich
and powerful.