The Metropolitan Press is the model after which the journals of the
entire country are shaped, and, taken as a whole, it is the best
institution of its kind in existence. The leading New York journals have
but one superior in the whole world--the London _Times_--and they
frequently equal, though they do not surpass the "Thunderer" itself in
the extent and importance of their news, and the ability and value of
their editorials. They are the best managed, employ the greatest talent,
and are the most influential upon the country at large of any American
newspapers.
The leading journals are the morning papers. Five of these, the
_Herald_, _Tribune_, _Times_, _World_, and _Staats Zeitung_, are huge
eight-page sheets, and frequently issue supplements of from four to eight
pages additional. The others consist of four large, old-fashioned pages.
The expense and labor of issuing a first-class morning journal are very
great. The cost of publication ranges from $800,000 to $1,000,000 per
annum; and the force employed, including editors, reporters,
proof-readers, newsmen, pressmen, feeders, clerks and compositors, is
over four hundred persons. The profits vary according to the paper and
the times.
The _Herald_ is private property, as are some of the others. The
_Tribune_, _Times_, and _Sun_, are owned by stock companies. Under Mr.
Raymond the _Times_ was subject to his sole direction, but the _Tribune_
has always suffered from the interference of the stockholders.
Each newspaper has its editor in chief, who controls the general tone and
policy of the paper. He decides all matters relating to its editorial
conduct, and is known to the public as the responsible editor. His
principal assistant is the managing editor. In the absence of the chief
editor he is the controlling power of the journal. His legitimate duties
are to oversee the details of the paper, to see that its publication is
not delayed, to engage and dismiss sub-editors and correspondents, to
prescribe the character of the service required of these gentlemen, and
to regulate the salaries paid to them. All the writers on the paper are
directly responsible to him, and he, in his turn, to the chief editor.
There is also a night editor, whose duties are heavy and responsible. He
is charged with the duty of "making up" the paper, and decides what shall
and what shall not go in--a delicate duty sometimes. He is at his post
at 7 o'clock in the evening, and remains there until the paper goes to
press in the morning, which is generally between 2 and 3 o'clock, though
sometimes it is held back by important news until daylight. The foreign
editor is usually a foreigner, and one well acquainted with the leading
languages of Europe. He controls the foreign correspondence, and writes
editorials upon European topics. The financial editor writes the money
article, and is quite an important personage. He is obliged to be well
informed concerning all the financial transactions of the day; he is
courted by bankers and capitalists, as he to a certain extent controls
public opinion in money matters, and he has ample facilities for making
money outside of his position. The post is considered one of the most
lucrative on the paper, and the salary is regarded as a minor
consideration. The city editor has charge of the city news, and is the
chief of the reporters. The leading dailies have from twelve to thirty
reporters. These are assigned to duty each day by the city editor, who
enters his directions to them in a large book. They are sometimes
required to go to certain places to obtain news, and are expected to
furnish so much matter concerning it. Some of the reporters have special
lines of duty, and report nothing but law cases, police matters, etc.,
and some limit their operations to Brooklyn, Jersey City, and the other
suburban towns. Some of the reporters are stenographers also. At times
there will be scarcely any work to be done, and again the powers of the
whole staff of reporters will be severely taxed. There are also a
literary editor, whose duties are to review and notice books and other
publications; and art, dramatic and musical critics. Some of these are,
as they should be, gentlemen of the highest culture, and impartial in
their opinions. Others are quite the reverse. The best of them,
however, are but men, though they too often assume to be something
superior, and their judgments are not infallible. The leading journals
also employ translators, who put into English such extracts as it may be
necessary to use from the foreign papers.
[Picture: PRINTING HOUSE SQUARE.]
The amount of labor thus expended upon a morning newspaper is immense.
It is followed by an almost equal outlay of mechanical work in putting
the paper in type and printing it. The principal papers are stereotyped,
and are printed from plates. Formerly the Eight and Ten Cylinder Hoe
Presses were used, but of late years the Bullock Press has become very
popular. It works quite as rapidly as the Hoe press, prints on both
sides at once, and is said to spoil fewer sheets. The paper is put in in
a large roll, and is cut by the machine into the proper sizes and
printed. Only one feeder is necessary.
Nearly all the city newspapers are located in or around Printing House
Square, immediately opposite and east of the City Hall. One of the
greatest curiosities of this square is a huge engine, which runs a large
number of presses. It is situated in Spruce street, between William and
Nassau streets, and occupies the basement of the building in which it is
located. There are two engines here--one of 150 horse power, which is
used during the day, and a smaller one of 75 horse power, which relieves
it at night. Shafting and belting carry the power in every direction
from the engine. One hundred and twenty-five presses are worked by these
engines--each being estimated at so much horse power, and charged
accordingly. They turn three-quarters of a mile of main shafting,
besides a mile or more of connecting shafts, and as much belting. One of
these belts, an India rubber one, 120 feet long, connects a fifth story
press on Nassau street with the main shafting on Spruce street, across
the intervening yards, and another of leather, on Beekman street, 140
feet, perfectly perpendicular, connects the sub-cellar and the attic.
Some of the shafting passes under and across the streets. Over fifty
newspapers and literary papers, besides magazines and books innumerable,
are printed by this monster engine.
The salaries paid by the newspapers are not large. Those who receive
what is seemingly high pay do an amount of work out of proportion to
their compensation. Mr. Greeley receives $10,000 per annum. Mr. Reid,
the managing editor of the _Tribune_, receives $5000. Mr. Sinclair, the
publisher, receives $10,000. These are considered good salaries. Any
one familiar with the cost of living in New York will not think them very
much in excess of the wants of their recipients, who are men with
families.
As a newspaper, the _New York Herald_ stands at the head of the city
dailies. It aims to be a vehicle for imparting the latest news of the
day, and as such it is a great success. Nobody cares for its opinions
editorially expressed, for it is the general belief that the _Herald_ has
no fixed opinions. It is valued here simply as a newspaper. It is
beyond a doubt the most energetic, and the best managed _newspaper_ in
the city. Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the elder, has no rival in the art
of conducting a popular journal, but his son, Mr. J. G. Bennett, jr.,
does not seem to inherit his father's ability. Young Mr. Bennett is now
the managing editor, and since his accession to that post there has been
a marked decline in the ability of the paper, which, under the rule of
Mr. Hudson, was unquestioned. Nobody expects consistency in the
_Herald_, and its course to-day is no guarantee that it will hold the
same tone to-morrow. Mr. Bennett aims to float with the popular current,
to be always on the winning side, and he succeeds. The advertising
patronage of the paper is immense.
The _Herald_ office is one of the most conspicuous buildings in the city.
It is located at the corner of Broadway and Ann street, and is built of
white marble, in the modern French style. Below the sidewalk are two
immense cellars or vaults, one below the other, in which are two steam
engines of thirty-five horse power each. Three immense Hoe presses are
kept running constantly from midnight until seven in the morning,
printing the daily edition. The rooms and machinery are kept in the most
perfect order. Nothing is allowed to be out of place, and the slightest
speck of dirt visible in any part, calls forth a sharp rebuke from Mr.
Bennett, who makes frequent visits to every department of the paper. On
the street floor, the main room is the public office of the journal. Its
entrances are on Broadway and Ann street. It is paved with marble tiles,
and the desks, counters, racks, etc., are of solid black walnut,
ornamented with plate glass. Every thing is scrupulously clean, and the
room presents the appearance of some wealthy banking office.
[Picture: THE HERALD OFFICE.]
On the third floor are the editorial rooms. The principal apartment is
the "Council Room," which overlooks Broadway. Every other branch of the
editorial department has its separate room, and all are furnished with
every convenience necessary for doing their work with the utmost
precision and dispatch. Each day, at noon, the editors of the _Herald_,
twelve in number, assemble in the "Council Room." Mr. Bennett, if he is
in the city, takes his seat at the head of the table, and the others
assume the places assigned. If Mr. Bennett is not present, his son,
James Gordon Bennett, jr., presides at the council, and in the absence of
both father and son, the managing editor takes the head of the table.
The council is opened by Mr. Bennett, or his representative, who presents
a list of subjects. These are taken up, _seriatim_, and discussed by all
present. The topics to be presented in the editorial columns of the
_Herald_ the next day are determined upon, and each editor is assigned
the subject he is to "write up." All this is determined in a short
while. Then Mr. Bennett asks the gentlemen present for suggestions. He
listens attentively to each one, and decides quickly whether they shall
be presented in the _Herald_, and at what time; and if he desires any
subject to be written upon, he states his wish, and "sketches," in his
peculiar and decisive manner, the various headings and the style of
treatment. There are twelve editors and thirty-five reporters employed
on the _Herald_. They are liberally paid for their services. Any one
bringing in news is well rewarded for his trouble. The composing rooms
are located on the top floor, and are spacious, airy, and excellently
lighted. A "dumb waiter," or vertical railway, communicates with the
press room; and speaking tubes, and a smaller "railway," afford the means
of conversation and transmitting small parcels between this room and the
various parts of the building. Five hundred men are employed in the
various departments of the paper.
The circulation of the daily edition of the _Herald_ is estimated by
competent judges at from 65,000 to 70,000 copies. In times of great
public excitement, all the dailies overrun their usual number by many
thousands.
The _Tribune_ has a daily circulation of about 43,000 copies. It is, in
point of ability, the best of the city dailies. It long ago surmounted
its early difficulties, and has been for many years one of the most
profitable enterprises in the city. It is owned by a joint stock
company. It was begun by Mr. Greeley on $1000 of borrowed money. At the
formation of the company the stock was divided into 100 shares at $1000
each. The number is still the same, but the shares could not now be
bought for many times their original value. In 1870 the dividend
declared amounted to $163,000; or, $1630 on each share. At present the
shares are owned as follows:
Shares.
Samuel Sinclair, publisher 21
Horace Greeley, chief editor 12
Estate of Stephen Clark, 14
(formerly money editor)
Dr. J. C. Ayer (of Lowell) 16
Estate of A. D. Richardson 5
Bayard Taylor 5
T. N. Rooker, foreman in 5
composing room
Mr. Runkle (husband of Mrs. L. G. 2
Calhoun)
Oliver Johnson (of the 1
Independent)
Mr. Cleveland (brother-in-law of 1
Horace Greeley)
G. W. Smalley (London 2
correspondent)
Solon Robinson (agricultural 2
editor)
Two printers in the office 2
Solomon A. Cheeney 3
John Hooper 2
B. F. Camp 2
The _Tribune_ property is valued at over $1,000,000, which includes
nearly $300,000 in real estate. The stockholders, it is said,
contemplate, at no distant day, erecting a large and handsome printing
office on the site of the present unpretending building now occupied.
The profits of the paper do not depend upon the daily edition. The
semi-weekly circulates about 35,000 or 40,000 copies, and the weekly
about 130,000 copies. The last is sent all over the United States, and
has beyond a doubt the largest number of readers of any paper in the
world.
The _Tribune_ is the leading organ of the Republican party in the United
States, and its influence is tremendous. It is a well written, well
conducted paper, and is every year becoming more independent of party
control. The chief editor is Horace Greeley, who imparts his strong
personality to the whole journal. Many of the country people believe
that the Philosopher writes every line on the editorial page. The
managing editor is Whitelaw Reid, and the publisher Samuel Sinclair. Mr.
Reid succeeded Mr. John Russell Young, and the paper has profited by the
change. Mr. Sinclair is one of the most efficient publishers in the
land, and the _Tribune_ owes not a little of its success to his
genius--for that is the only name to give it. The editorial staff
comprises more ability than that of any other city journal, though some
of the others make a better use of the talent at their disposal. Its
correspondence, both domestic and foreign, is the best of all the city
papers--perhaps the best in the Union--and the list of its correspondents
contains some of the brightest names in literature.
The _Times_ is also a Republican journal, and aims to represent the
Administration of General Grant. Under the management of the late Henry
J. Raymond, a born journalist, it was a power in the land. Since Mr.
Raymond's death there has been a falling off in the ability, the
manliness, and the influence of the paper. It is owned by a stock
company, and is a profitable enterprise. The chief editor is Mr. Louis
Jennings, an Englishman, and formerly the New York correspondent of the
London _Times_. Mr. Jennings is a gentleman of ability and culture, and
a journalist of considerable experience. His chief needs are a decided
infusion of American ideas and sentiment, and a recognition of the
dissimilarity between the London and New York mode of viewing matters.
The publisher is Mr. George Jones.
The _Times_, under Mr. Raymond, was one of the freshest and most
thoroughly up to the times journals on the continent. Its
correspondence, especially that from Europe, was exceptionally good.
There has been a falling off in this respect of late. The circulation of
the paper is not known with certainty, but is believed to be about 30,000
or 35,000 copies.
The _World_ is the principal Democratic journal of the city, and aspires
to be the organ of the party throughout the country. It was begun about
the year 1859 as a religious paper, and is said to have sunk about
$300,000 for its projectors. It then became the organ of the Democracy
of the city, and has for some time paid well. It is the property of its
editor, Mr. Manton G. Marble. It is unquestionably one of the ablest
journals in the country. Its editorials are well written, indicative of
deep thought on the subjects treated of, and gentlemanly in tone. In
literary excellence, it is not surpassed by any city journal. It aims to
be in the front rank of the march of ideas, and makes a feature of
discussions of the leading scientific and social questions of the day.
It is lightened by a brilliant display of wit, and the "Funny Man of the
World" is well known in the city. The chief editor is Manton G. Marble.
He is the author of the majority of the leaders. In this he is ably
seconded by Mr. Chamberlain, one of the most forcible and successful
writers on the city press. Mr. Marble is not seen much in the office.
The _World_ rooms are connected with his residence in the upper part of
the city, by a private telegraph, by means of which he exercises a
constant supervision over the paper. The managing editor is Mr. David G.
Croly (the husband of "Jennie June"). He is a genius in his way. He
does not write much, but gives the greater part of the time to
superintending the work of the office. He is said to be extremely
fertile in suggesting themes for treatment to his brother editors. The
great faults of the _World_ are its devotion to sensation journalism, its
thick and thin Roman Catholic partizanism, and, strange to say, a little
too much looseness in the tone of its Sunday edition. Its circulation is
variously estimated at from 15,000 to 30,000. The exact number is known
only to the publisher.
The _Sun_ assumes to be the organ of the working classes, and claims a
circulation of 85,000 copies. It is a bright, sparkling journal, issued
at a cost of two cents. It is four pages in size, and has a fine list of
advertisements. It is owned by a stock company, who bought it from the
late Moses Y. Beach, its founder. The chief editor is Mr. Charles A.
Dana, a journalist of long experience, and one of the most thoroughly
cultivated men in the profession. He has made it a great success. It is
piquant, forcible, and good-natured. Mr. Dana is assisted by a corps of
able editorial writers and reporters, who are thoroughly impressed with
the wisdom of his policy. He is very sanguine of making a still greater
success of the Sun, and claims that he will yet run its circulation up to
200,000 copies.
The _Standard_ is the property of Mr. John Russell Young, formerly the
managing editor of the _Tribune_. It is a Republican organ, and is
struggling to reach an established and prosperous position. It is well
managed, and is conducted with considerable editorial ability.
The _Journal of Commerce_ is one of the few old-style papers left in New
York. It is a ponderous four-page sheet, depending more upon its
advertising than upon its circulation for its profits. It is edited with
ability, and as it employs but few editors and reporters, and cares but
little for general news, its publication is inexpensive. It is supplied
by a regular carrier, and is not sold on the news-stands. It is taken by
the leading hotels and by the down-town merchants, to whom it is valuable
because of its commercial reports. The general reader would find it dull
reading. It is one of the best paying papers in the city.
The _Star_ is a two cent paper, and was started at the time of the sale
of the _Sun_ to Mr. Dana and his associates, with the hope of securing
the patronage of the working classes. Its managing editor is Mr. Joseph
Howard. It is a sprightly paper, intensely Democratic in tone, and is
said to be prosperous.
The evening papers are much less influential than the morning journals,
but the best of them are very successful.
The _Evening Post_ heads the list. It is owned by William Cullen Bryant
& Co., and Mr. Bryant is the principal editor. It is the ablest and the
most influential of all the evening papers, and is one of the purest in
its tone of any of the American journals. It is taken chiefly in the
families of cultivated and professional men. Its book notices are
considered the most reliable. Its circulation and advertising patronage
are large, and it is a very profitable investment.
The _Commercial Advertiser_ is now under the control of the venerable
Thurlow Weed, and is a good paper.
The _Evening Express_ is the property of the brothers James and Erastus
Brooks. It is well managed, and well edited, and is regarded as ranking
next to the _Post_ in ability and general excellence. It is said to be
worth $40,000 per annum above expenses to its proprietors.
The _Evening Mail_ is younger than either of the others, but not far
behind the best of them in ability and interest. It has a decided
literary tone, and is one of the most enterprising news purveyors in the
city. It is now a thoroughly successful enterprise, and it deserves its
good fortune.
The _Telegram_ is little more than an evening edition of the Herald. It
is owned by James Gordon Bennett, jr., and is a lively sheet, full of
news and gossip. It sells for two cents, and has a large circulation.
Its first page always contains a rough, but sometimes spirited cartoon,
caricaturing some notable event of the day. It is a paying paper.
The _Evening News_ is a penny paper. It claims to have the largest
circulation in the city, and is said to be very profitable. It is
devoted almost exclusively to police news, and descriptions of crime, and
finds its readers chiefly among the lower and rougher portion of the
community. It is owned and conducted by Mr. Benjamin Wood.
The evening papers are generally issued in four editions, at one, two,
four and five o'clock in the afternoon. On occasions of unusual
interest, they often issue extras every hour until late in the night.
The evening papers contain the latest news and gossip, and a variety of
light and entertaining reading matter, and are bought chiefly by persons
who wish to read them at home after the cares and fatigues of the day are
over, or to kill time in the cars on their way home.
There are three daily morning papers published in the German language,
the _State Gazette_, the _Democrat_, and the _Journal_, and one evening
paper, the _Times_. The _Courier of the United States_, and
_Franco-American Messenger_, are issued in the French language. They are
also daily morning papers. All are well supported by the citizens
speaking the language they use.