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Newsies vs. The World
FROM STRIKE TO SHOW
The newsies’ strike of 1899 was the last successful child labor riot of the 19th century, but by the time the history books were scripted and printed, it was little more than a footnote. Newsies vs. The World takes a microscope to the events of the strike and its ongoing legacy in contemporary film and musical theatre. It explores the intense rivalry between publishing tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, from their vicious circulation battle and the invention of “yellow journalism” to their involvement in the Spanish-American War and the ripple effects of that war on New York City’s young newspaper hawkers. It also dives headfirst into the skirmishes of the 1899 strike, chronicling the events that inspired the newsboys and newsgirls to band together against Pulitzer and Hearst and detailing the stories of their various riots and rallies.
Not only do readers get the full story of the children’s boycott, but they also get the inside scoop on Disney’s treatment of the movement. Despite a heartfelt performance from a teenage Christian Bale, the musical talents of Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, and director Kenny Ortega’s ability to transform unknown child actors into a polished anthem-belting, tap-dancing company, Newsies (1992) was panned by critics and audiences alike. Driven by a massive cult following in the 1990s and early 2000s, however, its surprising resurgence as a breakout Broadway musical in 2012 took Disney—and the story of the 1899 newsies—to unprecedented heights, not only spawning a successful national tour but netting two Tony Awards as well.
While Newsies (1992) and Newsies the Musical were imperfect and inadequate vehicles to capture such a complex historical moment, their indomitable spirit accomplished exactly what newsboy Kid Blink and the newsies of New York City set out to do: It turned their story into a headline, and in doing so, made the world know the newsies by name.
The newsies’ strike of 1899 was the last successful child labor riot of the 19th century, but by the time the history books were scripted and printed, it was little more than a footnote. Newsies vs. The World takes a microscope to the events of the strike and its ongoing legacy in contemporary film and musical theatre. It explores the intense rivalry between publishing tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, from their vicious circulation battle and the invention of “yellow journalism” to their involvement in the Spanish-American War and the ripple effects of that war on New York City’s young newspaper hawkers. It also dives headfirst into the skirmishes of the 1899 strike, chronicling the events that inspired the newsboys and newsgirls to band together against Pulitzer and Hearst and detailing the stories of their various riots and rallies.
Not only do readers get the full story of the children’s boycott, but they also get the inside scoop on Disney’s treatment of the movement. Despite a heartfelt performance from a teenage Christian Bale, the musical talents of Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, and director Kenny Ortega’s ability to transform unknown child actors into a polished anthem-belting, tap-dancing company, Newsies (1992) was panned by critics and audiences alike. Driven by a massive cult following in the 1990s and early 2000s, however, its surprising resurgence as a breakout Broadway musical in 2012 took Disney—and the story of the 1899 newsies—to unprecedented heights, not only spawning a successful national tour but netting two Tony Awards as well.
While Newsies (1992) and Newsies the Musical were imperfect and inadequate vehicles to capture such a complex historical moment, their indomitable spirit accomplished exactly what newsboy Kid Blink and the newsies of New York City set out to do: It turned their story into a headline, and in doing so, made the world know the newsies by name.
410 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
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1157 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Varela
7 books23 followersAshley Varela is a freelance writer and author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her latest work, Newsies vs. The World, was published by Theme Park Press in 2019.
Guided by a profound passion for history, she has conducted original research and put forth multi-part analyses on many topics, including the development of Major and Minor League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest; the creation of the four main theme parks of the Walt Disney World Resort; and the contributions of prominent women artists, designers, and costumers at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Guided by a profound passion for history, she has conducted original research and put forth multi-part analyses on many topics, including the development of Major and Minor League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest; the creation of the four main theme parks of the Walt Disney World Resort; and the contributions of prominent women artists, designers, and costumers at Walt Disney Imagineering.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2022
I’m going to be honest, this was my first thick nonfiction. It’s nothing against the book, but I don’t think this genre is for me. The book itself though had many fun references to the musical hidden in chapter titles. But, it was also filled with typos and misspellings and the code that appears when you italicized something. But I mean, 4⭐️?
May 28, 2025
This was an interesting read for me despite the occasional spelling and/or grammar error. Some spots I also thought were disorganized, but I personally don't really care about those things, and still enjoyed the book. Some words or phrases were pretty big for me so this definitely took me more time to read, but I liked the information of the book. The only thing that really got on my nerves was that there were some areas that got a bit repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed learning about what really happened during the Newsboy Strike of 1899, and how this history was transformed into Disney's Newsies, and then, Disney's Newsies the Broadway Musical.
January 13, 2020
Content-wise, this book is very impressive--it's the only (to my knowledge) comprehensive overview of everything related to Newsies, from the historical strike itself (and everything that led up to it) to the movie to the stage musical and beyond. In that respect, I would consider it a must-read for any Newsie fan.
Unfortunately, the book was extremely poorly proofread, if at all--there are many typos, misspelled names, incorrect words used, and even a few instances where the same anecdotes and/or direct quotes are used multiple times verbatim--which was often pretty distracting.
Unfortunately, the book was extremely poorly proofread, if at all--there are many typos, misspelled names, incorrect words used, and even a few instances where the same anecdotes and/or direct quotes are used multiple times verbatim--which was often pretty distracting.
January 3, 2026
I skimmed it. i started it because I love the Newsies musical and Ive always been interested in the background history of musicals, and while Im sure this book is very informative on the history, I just ended up skimming in it looking for the behind the scenes fun facts of the movie + musical (which the tricia section was a really fun read).
If you are looking for more specifically Newsies history then this would be the book for you, with the added sprinkle of musical facts at the end.
If you are looking for more specifically Newsies history then this would be the book for you, with the added sprinkle of musical facts at the end.
February 4, 2023
As a HUGE Newsies fan since original release, I must say I was horribly disappointed. For a book about publishing, they seemed to have skipped the editing phase of publishing this book. There was some info I didn't know prior to reading it, but not enough to make the book enjoyable.
June 24, 2021
2.5 stars -- The research here is impressive. It's a project I've long thought about taking up but Ashley Varela actually did it. She does not just cover the history of the newsies' strike, but the history of both Pulitzer and Hearst's rise in the newspaper industry. Additionally, she lays out the history of the making of the movie and the play before closing with a chapter about why it matters to her.
However, the scope is too broad. The chapters stand alone, leaving me to question the relevance of much of the early content. Varela is honest about her affinity for the production. However, sometimes lines and phrases from the show appeared in the book describing the same event, so it was difficult to discern whether the research or the fiction was driving the writing. While I understood going in that it was essentially self published, (as others have mentioned) there are typos, random punctuation, and multiple anecdotes repeated verbatim, sometimes within the same chapter. A decent editor could have helped focus this gem to a polished shine.
Still, if you're a fansie, you're going to want to get your hands on this one. (Mine's already lent.)
However, the scope is too broad. The chapters stand alone, leaving me to question the relevance of much of the early content. Varela is honest about her affinity for the production. However, sometimes lines and phrases from the show appeared in the book describing the same event, so it was difficult to discern whether the research or the fiction was driving the writing. While I understood going in that it was essentially self published, (as others have mentioned) there are typos, random punctuation, and multiple anecdotes repeated verbatim, sometimes within the same chapter. A decent editor could have helped focus this gem to a polished shine.
Still, if you're a fansie, you're going to want to get your hands on this one. (Mine's already lent.)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews