Why Were the Prices Raised?
There was a war with the Spanish before they decided to up the prices. The circulation of the newspapers was rapidly increasing (It was a new record, 1,011,068 in May, 1898), so the papers were making more money. But after the war, nobody really cared about the newspapers anymore because there wasn't a major event going on, so they stopped buying them. Once the circulation went down, the papers became upset, because they weren't making as much money as they were used to, so they raised the prices of the newspapers by 20 cents, which used to be a lot. Now, because the newsies weren't making enough money as it was, they were upset at this change.
People Involved:
Kid Blink was the organizer for the newsboy rallies. Louis Ballot was his real name. He was nicknamed "Kid Blink" because he was blind in one eye and wore an eyepatch. Of course, there were William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, publishers and journalists of competing papers.
The Real Event vs. the Musical
It depends on if you watched the movie or play, although they are both named "Newsies". The movie was more accurate. However, the famous "Jack Kelly" was not the leader of the strike. Yes, Jack Kelly was a major participant in the actions, but the character is really based off of Kid Blink. Kid Blink does make an appearance in the movie, too, just not as the major part in the strike that he actually was. There also isn't a big chance that they were dancing in the square. The play excludes many key factors in the real strike. Such as the beloved "Katherine" does not exist. "Katherine" is the name of Joseph Pulitzer's wife, who he has 3 kids with.
Above, there are examples of newspapers from the time around the Newsboys' Strike of 1899. They are sourced by the Newseum in Washington D.C.
What's a Newsboy?
Newsboys are people who sell newspaper
"Newsies" is another word for "newsboys"
"Newsies" is another word for "newsboys"