development, the largest conception of journalism? To the beginner the
vision is not clear. If he asks the busy reporter, the nervous special
writer on a metropolitan journal, he gets this reply: “If I could only
own a good country paper and be my own master!” Then, turning to the
country editor, he is told: “It is dull in the country town—if I could
get a place on a city journal where things are happening!” Each can give
reasons for his ambition, and each has from his experience and
observation formed an _ex parte_ opinion. Curiously, in view of the
glamour that surrounds the city worker, and the presumption that he has
attained the fullest possible equipment for the newspaper field, he is
less likely to succeed with satisfaction to himself on a country paper
than is the country editor who finds a place in the city.
The really provincial journalist, the worker whose scope and ideals are
most limited, is often he who has spent years as a part of a great
newspaper-making machine. Frequently, when transplanted to what he
considers a narrower field, which is actually one of wider demands, he
fails in complete efficiency. The province of the city paper is one of
news-selection. Out of the vast skein of the day’s happenings what shall
it select? More “copy” is thrown away than is used. The _New York Sun_
is written as definitely for a given constituency as is a technical
journal. Out of the day’s news it gives prominence to that which fits
into its scheme of treatment, and there is so much news that it can fill
its columns with interesting material, yet leave untouched a myriad of
events. The _New York Evening Post_ appeals to another constituency, and
is made accordingly. The _World_ and _Journal_ have a far different
plan, and “play up” stories that are mentioned briefly, or ignored, by
some of their contemporaries. So the writer on the metropolitan paper is
trained to sift news, to choose from his wealth of material that which
the paper’s traditions demand shall receive attention; and so abundant
is the supply that he can easily set a feast without exhausting the
market’s offering. Unconsciously he becomes an epicure, and knows no day
will dawn without bringing him his opportunity.
What happens when a city newspaper man goes to the country? Though he
may have all the graces of literary skill and know well the art of
featuring his material, he comes to a new journalistic world. Thus did
the manager of a flourishing evening daily in a city of fifty thousand
put it: “I went to a leading metropolitan daily to secure a city editor,
and took a man recommended as its most capable reporter, one with years
of experience in the city field. Brought to the new atmosphere, he was
speedily aware of the changed conditions. In the run of the day’s news
rarely was there a murder, with horrible details as sidelights; no
heiress eloped with a chauffeur; no fire destroyed tenements and lives;
no family was broken up by scandal. He was at a loss to find material
with which to make local pages attractive. He was compelled to give
attention to a wide range of minor occurrences, most of which he had
been taught to ignore. In the end he resigned. I found it more
satisfactory to put in his place a young man who had worked on a
small-town daily and was in sympathy with the things that come close to
the whole community, who realized that all classes of readers must be
interested in the paper, all kinds of happenings reported, and the paper
be made each evening a picture of the total sum of the day’s events,
rather than of a few selected happenings. The news-supply is limited,
and all must be used and arranged to interest readers—and we reach all
classes of readers, not a selected constituency.”
The small-town paper must do this, and because its writers are forced so
to look upon their field they obtain a broader comprehension of the
community life than do those who are restricted to special ideas and
special conceptions of the paper’s plans. The beginner who finds his
first occupation on a country paper, by which is meant a paper in one of
the smaller cities, is likely to obtain a better all-round knowledge of
everything that must be done in a newspaper office than the man who goes
directly to a position on a thoroughly organized metropolitan journal.
He does not secure, however, such helpful training in style or such
expert drill in newspaper methods. He is left to work out his own
salvation, sometimes becoming an adept, but frequently dragging along in
mediocrity. When he goes from the small paper to the larger one, he has
a chance to acquire efficiency rapidly. The editor of one of the
country’s greatest papers says that he prefers to take young men of such
training, and finds that they have a broader vision than when educated
in newspaper-making from the bottom in his own office.
It is easy to say, as did the merchant concerning his son, that there
are few chances for financial success in journalism. Yet it is probable
that for the man of distinction in journalism the rewards are not less
than they are in other professions. The salaries on the metropolitan
papers are liberal, and are becoming greater each year as the business
of news-purveying becomes better systematized and more profitable. The
newspaper man earns vastly more than the minister. The editor in the
city gets as much out of life as do the attorneys. The country editor,
with his plant worth five thousand dollars or ten thousand dollars,
frequently earns for his labors as satisfactory an income as the banker;
while the number of editors of country weeklies who have a profit of
three thousand dollars or more from their papers is astonishing.
It is, of course, not always so, any more than it is true that the
lawyer, preacher, or physician always possesses a liberal income. When
the city editor makes sport of the ill-printed country paper, he forgets
under what conditions the country editor at times works. A prosperous
publisher with sympathy in his heart put it this way:—
“The other day we picked up a dinky weekly paper that comes to our desk
every week. As usual we found something in it that made us somewhat
tired, and we threw it down in disgust. For some reason we picked it up
again and looked at it more closely. Our feelings, somehow or other,
began to change. We noted the advertisements. They were few in number,
and we knew that the wolf was standing outside the door of that little
print-shop and howling. The ads were poorly gotten up, but we knew why.
The poor fellow didn’t have enough material in his shop to get up a good
ad. It was poorly printed—almost unreadable in spots. We knew again what
was the matter. He needed new rollers and some decent ink, but probably
he didn’t have the money to buy them. One of the few locals spoke about
‘the editor and family.’ So he had other mouths to feed. He was burning
midnight oil in order to save hiring a printer. He couldn’t afford it.
True, he isn’t getting out a very good paper, but at that, he is giving
a whole lot more than he is receiving. It is easy to poke fun at the
dinky papers when the waves of prosperity are breaking in over your own
doorstep. Likely, if we were in that fellow’s place we couldn’t do as
well as he does.”
The profession of the publicist naturally leads to politics, and the
editor is directly in the path to political preferment. The growth of
the primary system adds greatly to the chance in this direction. One of
the essentials of success at a primary is that the candidate have a wide
acquaintance with the public, that his name shall have been before the
voters sufficiently often for them to become familiar with it. The
editor who has made his paper known acquires this acquaintance. He goes
into the campaign with a positive asset. One western state, for
instance, has newspaper men for one third of its state officers and
forty per cent of its delegation in Congress. This is not exceptional.
It is merely the result of the special conditions, both of fitness and
prominence, in the editor’s relation to the public.
This very facility for entering politics is perhaps an objection rather
than a benefit. The editor who is a seeker after office finds himself
hampered by his ambitions and he is robbed of much of the independence
that goes to make his columns of worth. The ideal position is when the
editor owns, clear of debt, a profit-making plant and is not a candidate
for any office. Just so far as he departs from this condition does he
find himself restricted in the free play of his activities. If debt
hovers, there is temptation to seek business at the expense of editorial
utterance; if he desires votes, he must temporize often in order to win
friendships or to avoid enmities. Freedom from entangling alliances,
absolutely an open way, should be the ambition of the successful
newspaper worker. Fortunate is the subordinate who has an employer so
situated, for in such an office can be done the best thinking and the
clearest writing. Though he may succeed in other paths, financially,
socially, and politically, he will lack in his career some of the finer
enjoyments that can come only with unobstructed vision.
III
It is not agreed that everyday newspaper work gives especial fitness for
progress in literature. The habit of rapid writing, of getting a story
to press to catch the first edition, has the effect for many of creating
a style unfitted for more serious effort. Yet when temperament and taste
are present, there is no position in which the aspirant for a place in
the literary field has greater opportunity. To be in touch with the
thought and the happenings of the world gives opportunity for
interpretation of life to the broader public of the magazine and the
published volume. Newspaper work does not make writers of books, but
experience therein obtained does open the way; and the successes, both
in fiction and economics, that have come in the past decade from the
pens of newspaper workers is ample evidence of the truth of this
statement.
It is one of the criticisms of the press that it corrupts beginners and
not only gives them a false view of life, but compels them to do things
abhorrent to those possessed of the finer feelings of good taste and
courtesy. The fact is that journalism is, to a larger degree than almost
all other businesses or professions, individualistic. It is to each
worker what he makes it. The minister has his way well defined; he must
keep in it or leave the profession. The teacher is restrained within
limits; the lawyer and physician, if they would retain standing, must
follow certain codes. The newspaper worker is a free lance compared with
any of these.
The instances in which a reporter is asked to do things in opposition to
the best standards of ethics and courtesy are rare—and becoming rarer.
The paper of to-day, though a business enterprise as well as a medium of
publicity and comment, has a higher ideal than that of two decades ago.
The rivalry is greater, the light of competition is stronger, the
relation to the public is closer. Little mystery surrounds the press.
Seldom does the visitor stand open-eyed in wonder before the “sanctum.”
The average man and woman know how “copy” is prepared, how type is set,
how the presses operate. The newspaper office is an “open shop” compared
with the early printing-offices, of which the readers of papers stood
somewhat in awe. Because of this, there is less temptation and less
opportunity for obscure methods. The profession offers to the young man
and young woman an opportunity for intelligent and untainted occupation.
Should there be a demand that seems unreasonable or in bad taste, plenty
of places are open on papers that have a higher standard of morals and
are conducted with a decent respect for the opinions and rights of the
public.
Nor is it necessary that the worker indulge in any pyrotechnics in
maintaining his self-respect. The editor of one of the leading papers of
western New York quietly resigned his position because he could not with
a clear conscience support the nominee favored by the owner of the
paper. He did nothing more than many men have done in other positions.
His action was not proof that his employer was dishonest, but that there
were two points of view and he could not accept the one favored by the
publisher. Such a course is always open, and so wide is the publishing
world that there is no need for any one to suffer. Nor can a paper or an
editor fence in the earth. With enough capital to buy a press and paper,
and to hire a staff, any one can have his say—and frequently the most
unpromising field proves a bonanza for the man with courage and
initiative.
In a long and varied experience as editor, I have rarely found an
advertiser who was concerned regarding the editorial policy of the
paper. The advertiser wants publicity; he is interested in
circulation—when he obtains that, he is satisfied. Instances there are
where the advertiser has a personal interest in some local enterprise
and naturally resents criticism of its management, but such situations
can be dealt with directly and without loss of self-respect to the
publisher. Not from the advertiser comes the most interference with the
press. If there were as little from men with political schemes, men with
pet projects to promote, men (and women) desiring to use the newspaper’s
columns to boost themselves into higher positions or to acquire some
coveted honor, an independent and self-respecting editorial policy could
be maintained without material hindrance. With the right sort of good
sense and adherence to conviction on the part of the publisher it can be
maintained under present conditions—and the problem becomes simpler
every year. More papers that cannot be cajoled, bought, or bulldozed are
published to-day than ever before in the world’s history. The “organ” is
becoming extinct as the promotion of newspaper publicity becomes more a
business and less a means of gratifying ambition.
Publishers have learned that fairness is the best policy, that it does
not pay to betray the trust of the public, and journalism becomes a more
attractive profession exactly in proportion as it offers a field where
self-respect is at a premium and bosses are unconsidered. The new
journalism demands men of high character and good habits. The old story
of the special writer who, when asked what he needed to turn out a good
story for the next day’s paper, replied, “a desk, some paper, and a
quart of whiskey,” does not apply. One of the specifications of every
request for writers is that the applicant shall not drink. Cleanliness
of life, a well-groomed appearance, a pleasing personality, are
essentials for the journalist of to-day. The pace is swift, and he must
keep his physical and mental health in perfect condition.
That there is a new journalism, with principles and methods in harmony
with new political and social conditions and new developments in
news-transmission and the printing art, is evident. The modern newspaper
is far more a business enterprise than was the one of three decades ago.
To some observers this means the subordination of the writer to the
power of the publisher. If this be so in some instances, the correction
lies with the public. The abuse of control should bring its own
punishment in loss of patronage, or of influence, or of both. The
newspaper, be it published in a country village or in the largest city,
seeks first the confidence of its readers. Without this it cannot secure
either business for its advertising pages or influence for its
ambitions. Publicity alone may once have sufficed, but rivalry is too
keen to-day. Competition brings a realizing sense of fairness. Hence it
is that there is a demand for well-equipped young men and clever young
women who can instill into the pages of the press frankness, virility,
and a touch of what newspaper men call “human interest.”
The field is broad; it has place for writers of varied accomplishments;
it promises a profession filled with interesting experiences and close
contact with the world’s pulse. It is not for the sloth or for the
sloven, not for the conscienceless or for the unprepared. Without real
qualifications for it, the ambitious young person would better seek some
other life-work.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Books on Principles of Journalism
Adams, Samuel Hopkins. The Clarion. A novel. 1914.
Bleyer, W. G. Newspaper Writing and Editing. The Function of the
Newspaper, pp. 331–389. 1913.
Hapgood, Norman. Everyday Ethics. Ethics of Journalism, pp. 1–15.
1910.
Holt, Hamilton. Commercialism and Journalism. 1909.
Proceedings of the First National Newspaper Conference. University of
Wisconsin. 1913.
Reid, Whitelaw. American and English Studies. Journalistic Duties and
Opportunities, v. 2, pp. 313–344. 1913.
Rogers, Jason. Newspaper Building. 1918.
Rogers, J. E. The American Newspaper. 1909.
Scott-James, R. A. The Influence of the Press. 1913.
Thorpe, Merle, _editor_. The Coming Newspaper. 1915.
2. What Typical Newspapers Contain
Wilcox, Delos F. The American Newspaper: A Study in Social Psychology.
Annals of the American Academy, v. 16, p. 56. (July, 1900.)
Garth, T. R. Statistical Study of the Contents of Newspapers. School
and Society, v. 3, p. 140. (Jan. 22, 1916.)
Tenney, A. A. Scientific Analysis of the Press. Independent, v. 73, p.
895. (Oct. 17, 1912.)
Mathews, B. C. Study of a New York Daily. Independent, v. 68, p. 82.
(Jan. 13, 1910.)
3. What the Public Wants
Thorpe, Merle, _editor_. The Coming Newspaper, pp. 223–247; Symposium:
Giving the Public What It Wants, by newspaper and magazine
editors. 1915.
Independent Chicago Journalist, An. Is an Honest and Sane Newspaper
Possible? American Journal of Sociology, v. 15, p. 321. (Nov.
1909.)
What the Public Wants. Dial, v. 47, p. 499. (Dec. 16, 1909.)
Haskell, H. J. The Public, the Newspaper’s Problem. Outlook, v. 91, p.
791. (April 3, 1909.)
Stansell, C. V. People’s Wants. Nation, v. 98, p. 236. (March 6,
1914.)
Newspapers as Commodities. Nation, v. 94, p. 236. (May 9, 1912.)
Scott, Walter Dill. The Psychology of Advertising, pp. 226–248. 1908.
Bennett, Arnold. What the Public Wants. A play. 1910.
4. What Is News?
What Is News? A Symposium from the Managing Editors of the Great
American Newspapers. Collier’s Weekly, v. 46, p. 22 (March 18,
1911); v. 47, p. 44 (April 15, 1911); v. 47, p. 35 (May 6, 1911);
v. 47, p. 42 (May 13, 1911); v. 47, p. 26 (May 20, 1911).
Irwin, Will. What Is News? Collier’s Weekly, v. 46, p. 16. (March 11,
1911.)
What Is News? Outlook, v. 89, p. 137. (May 23, 1908.)
What Is News? Scribner, v. 44, p. 507. (Oct. 1908.)
Brougham, H. B. News—What Is It? Harper’s Weekly, v. 56, p. 21. (Feb.
17, 1912.)
5. The Reporter and the News
Irwin, Will. “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” Collier’s Weekly, v.
47, p. 17. (May 6, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. The Reporter and the News. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p.
21. (April 22, 1911.)
Münsterberg, Hugo. The Case of the Reporter. McClure’s Magazine, v.
36, p. 435. (Feb. 1911.)
Strunsky, Simeon. Two Kinds of Reporters. Century, v. 85, p. 955.
(April 1913.)
Gentlemanly Reporter, The. Century, v. 79, p. 149. (Nov. 1909.)
Dealing in Scandal. Outlook, v. 97, p. 811. (April 15, 1911.)
Seldes, G. H. and G. V. The Press and the Reporter. Forum, v. 52, p.
722. (Nov. 1914.)
6. Effects of News of Crime and Scandal
Fenton, Francis. Influence of Newspaper Presentation upon the Growth
of Crime and Other Anti-social Activity. 1911. Also in American
Journal of Sociology, v. 16, pp. 342 and 538. (Nov. 1910, and Jan.
1911.)
Phelps, E. B. Neurotic Books and Newspapers as Factors in the
Mortality of Suicides and Crime. Bulletin of the American Academy
of Medicine, v. 12, No. 5. (Oct. 1911.)
Newspapers’ Sensations and Suggestion. Independent, v. 62, p. 449.
(Feb. 21, 1907.)
Tragic Sense. Nation, v. 87, p. 90. (July 30, 1908.)
Danger of the Sensational Press. Craftsman, v. 19, p. 211. (Nov.
1910.)
Howells, W. D. Shocking News. Harper’s Magazine, v. 127, p. 796. (Oct.
1913.)
Irwin, Will. “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” Collier’s Weekly, v.
47, p. 17. (May 6, 1911.)
Responsibility of the Press. Independent, v. 53, p. 2248. (Sept. 19,
1901.)
Our Chamber of Horrors. Outlook, v. 99, p. 261. (Sept. 30, 1911.)
The Newspaper as Childhood’s Enemy. Survey, v. 27, p. 1794. (Feb. 24,
1912.)
Lessons in Crime at Fifty Cents per Month. Outlook, v. 85, p. 276.
(Feb. 2, 1907.)
The Man Who Ate Babies. Harper’s Weekly, v. 51, p. 296. (March 2,
1907.)
Lawlessness and the Press. Century, v. 82, p. 146. (May 1911.)
Newspaper Responsibility for Lawlessness. Nation, v. 77, p. 151. (Aug.
20, 1903.)
Newspaper Invasion of Privacy. Century, v. 86, p. 310. (June 1913.)
Newspaper Cruelty. Century, v. 84, p. 150. (May 1912.)
Newspapers and Crime. Journal of Criminal Law, v. 2, p. 340. (Sept.
1912.)
7. Yellow and Sensational Journalism
Irwin, Will. The Fourth Current. Collier’s Weekly, v. 46, p. 14. (Feb.
18, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. The Spread and Decline of Yellow Journalism. Collier’s
Weekly, v. 46, p. 18. (March 4, 1911.)
Thomas, W. I. The Psychology of the Yellow Journal. American Magazine,
v. 65, p. 491. (March 1908.)
Brooks, Sydney. The Yellow Press: An English View. Harper’s Weekly, v.
55, p. 11. (Dec. 23, 1911.)
Whibley, Charles. The American Yellow Press. Blackwood’s, v. 181, p.
531 (April 1907); also in Bookman, v. 25, p. 239. (May 1907.)
Brisbane, Arthur. Yellow Journalism. Bookman, v. 19, p. 400. (June
1904.)
Brisbane, Arthur. William Randolph Hearst. North American Review, v.
183, p. 511 (Sept. 21, 1906); editorial comment on this article,
by George Harvey, on p. 569.
Commander, Lydia K. The Significance of Yellow Journalism. Arena, v.
34, p. 150. (Aug. 1905.)
Brunner, F. J. Home Newspapers and Others. Harper’s Weekly, v. 58, p.
24. (Jan. 10, 1914.)
Pennypacker, S. W. Sensational Journalism and the Remedy. North
American Review, v. 190, p. 587. (Nov. 1909.)
Curb for the Sensational Press. Century, v. 83, p. 631. (Feb. 1912.)
8. Inaccuracy
Smith, Munroe. The Dogma of Journalistic Inerrancy. North American
Review, v. 187, p. 240. (Feb. 1908.)
Collins, James H. The Newspaper—An Independent Business. Saturday
Evening Post, v. 185, p. 25. (April 12, 1913.)
Kelley, Fred C. Accuracy Pays in Any Business: New York World’s Bureau
of Accuracy and Fair Play. American Magazine, v. 82, p. 50. (Nov.
1916.)
New Credulity. Nation, v. 80, p. 241. (March 30, 1905.)
Fakes and the Press. Science, v. 25, p. 391. (March 8, 1907.)
Newspaper Science. Science, v. 25, p. 630. (April 19, 1907.)
Gladden, Washington. Experiences with Newspapers. Outlook, v. 99, p.
387. (Oct. 14, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. The New Era. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 15. (July 8,
1911.)
Print the News. Outlook, v. 96, p. 563. (Nov. 12, 1910.)
Falsification of the News. Independent, v. 84, p. 420. (Dec. 13,
1915.)
9. Faking
Faking as a Fine Art. American Magazine, v. 75, p. 24. (Nov. 1912.)
Bok, Edward. Why People Disbelieve the Newspapers. World’s Work, v. 7,
p. 4567. (March 1904.)
Offenses Against Good Journalism. Outlook, v. 88, p. 479. (Feb. 29,
1908.)
Lying for the Sake of War. Nation, v. 98, p. 561. (May 14, 1914.)
Wheeler, H. D. At the Front with Willie Hearst. Harper’s Weekly, v.
61, p. 340. (Oct. 9, 1915.)
Russell, Isaac. Hearst-made War News. Harper’s Weekly, v. 59, p. 76.
(July 25, 1914.)
Hearst-made War News. Harper’s Weekly, v. 59, p. 186. (Aug. 22, 1914.)
Dream Book. Outlook, v. 111, p. 535. (Nov. 3, 1915.)
Hall, Howard. Hearst: War-maker. Harper’s Weekly, v. 61, p. 436. (Nov.
6, 1915.)
Pulitzer, Ralph. Profession of Journalism: Accuracy in the News.
Pamphlet published by the New York World. 1912.
10. Coloring the News
Irwin, Will. The Editor and the News. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 18.
(April 1, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. Our Kind of People. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 17. (June
17, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. The New Era. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 15. (July 8,
1911.)
Irwin, Will. The Press Agent. Collier’s Weekly, v. 48, p. 24. (Dec. 2,
1911.)
Confessions of a Managing Editor. Collier’s Weekly, v. 48, p. 18.
(Oct. 28, 1911.)
Tainted News as Seen in the Making. Bookman, v. 24, p. 396. (Dec.
1906.)
Baker, Ray Stannard. How Railroads Make Public Opinion. McClure’s
Magazine, v. 26, p. 535. (March 1906.)
How the Reactionary Press Poisons the Public Mind. Arena, v. 38, p.
318. (Sept. 1907.)
11. Suppression of News
Irwin, Will. The Power of the Press. Collier’s Weekly, v. 46, p. 15.
(Jan. 21, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. Advertising Influence. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 15.
(May 27, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. Our Kind of People. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 17. (June
17, 1911.)
Irwin, Will. The Foe Within. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 17. (July 1,
1911.)