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THE HOME UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE
A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF NEW
AND SPECIALLY WRITTEN BOOKS
EDITORS:
Prof. GILBERT MURRAY, D.Litt., LL.D., F.B.A.
The Rt. Hon. H. A. L. FISHER, M.A., F.B.A., LL.D.
Prof. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, M.A., LL.D.
Prof. WILLIAM T. BREWSTER, M.A.
256 pages. In cloth binding.
_HISTORY_
3. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By HILAIRE BELLOC, M.A. (Maps.)
4. A SHORT HISTORY OF WAR AND PEACE. By G. H. PERRIS.
13. MEDIÆVAL EUROPE. By H. W. C. DAVIS, M.A. (With Maps.)
14. THE PAPACY AND MODERN TIMES (1303-1870). By WILLIAM
BARRY, D.D.
23. HISTORY OF OUR TIME (1885-1913). By G. P. GOOCH, M.A.
25. THE CIVILISATION OF CHINA. By H. A. GILES, LL.D., Professor
of Chinese at Cambridge.
29. THE DAWN OF HISTORY. By J. L. MYRES, M.A., F.S.A.
33. THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By Prof. A. F. POLLARD.
34. CANADA. By A. G. BRADLEY.
37. PEOPLES AND PROBLEMS OF INDIA. By Sir T. W. HOLDERNESS,
G.C.B.
42. ROME. By W. WARDE FOWLER, M.A.
48. THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. By F. L. PAXSON.
51. WARFARE IN ENGLAND. By HILAIRE BELLOC, M.A.
55. MASTER MARINERS. By J. R. SPEARS.
61. NAPOLEON. By the Rt. Hon. H. A. L. FISHER, M.A.
66. THE NAVY AND SEA POWER. By DAVID HANNAY.
71. GERMANY OF TO-DAY. By CHARLES TOWER.
82. PREHISTORIC BRITAIN. By ROBERT MUNRO, M.A., M.D., LL.D.,
F.R.S.E. (Illustrated.)
97. THE ANCIENT EAST. By D. G. HOGARTH, M.A. (Maps.)
98. WARS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA. By Prof. T. C. SMITH, M.A.
100. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. By Prof. R. S. RAIT.
101. BELGIUM. By R. C. K. ENSOR. (Maps.)
105. POLAND. By Prof. W. ALISON PHILLIPS. (With Maps.)
107. SERBIA. By L. F. WARING.
108. OUR FORERUNNERS. By M. C. BURKITT, M.A., F.S.A.
(Illustrated.)
113. WALES. By W. WATKIN DAVIES, M.A., F.R.Hist.S.
114. EGYPT. By Sir E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A., Litt.D., F.S.A.
118. THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. By NORMAN H. BAYNES.
125. ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS AND STUARTS. By KEITH FEILING, M.A.
_RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY_
15. MOHAMMEDANISM. By Prof. D. S. MARGOLIOUTH, M.A., D.Litt.
40. THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY. By the Hon. BERTRAND
RUSSELL, F.R.S.
47. BUDDHISM. By Mrs RHYS DAVIDS, M.A.
50. NONCONFORMITY: ITS ORIGIN AND PROGRESS. By Principal W.
B. SELBIE, M.A.
54. ETHICS. By G. E. MOORE, M.A.
56. THE MAKING OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. By Prof. B. W. BACON,
LL.D., D.D.
60. MISSIONS: THEIR RISE AND DEVELOPMENT. By Mrs CREIGHTON.
68. COMPARATIVE RELIGION. By Prof. J. ESTLIN CARPENTER,
D.Litt.
74. A HISTORY OF FREEDOM OF THOUGHT. By J. B. BURY, Litt.D.,
LL.D.
84. LITERATURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. By Prof. GEORGE MOORE,
D.D., LL.D.
90. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. By Canon E. W. WATSON.
94. RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENTS. By Canon R. H. CHARLES, D.D., D.Litt.
102. HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. By CLEMENT C. J. WEBB.
_POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE_
1. PARLIAMENT. Its History, Constitution, and Practice. By
Sir COURTENAY P. ILBERT, G.C.B., K.C.S.I.
6. IRISH NATIONALITY. By Mrs J. R. GREEN.
10. THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT. By J. RAMSAY MACDONALD, M.P.
11. CONSERVATISM. By LORD HUGH CECIL, M.A., M.P.
21. LIBERALISM. By L. T. HOBHOUSE, M.A.
30. ELEMENTS OF ENGLISH LAW. By W. M. GELDART, M.A., B.C.L.
38. THE SCHOOL: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF EDUCATION.
By J. J. FINDLAY, M.A., Ph.D.
81. PROBLEMS OF VILLAGE LIFE. By E. N. BENNETT, M.A.
83. COMMON-SENSE IN LAW. By Prof. Sir P. VINOGRADOFF, D.C.L.
96. POLITICAL THOUGHT IN ENGLAND: FROM BACON TO HALIFAX. By
G. P. GOOCH, M.A.
104. POLITICAL THOUGHT IN ENGLAND: FROM SPENCER TO THE
PRESENT DAY. By ERNEST BARKER, M.A.
106. POLITICAL THOUGHT IN ENGLAND: THE UTILITARIANS FROM
BENTHAM TO J. S. MILL. By W. L. DAVIDSON, M.A., LL.D.
121. POLITICAL THOUGHT IN ENGLAND: FROM LOCKE TO BENTHAM. By
HAROLD J. LASKI.
_ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS_
5. THE STOCK EXCHANGE. By F. W. HIRST, Editor of _The
Economist_.
16. THE SCIENCE OF WEALTH. By J. A. HOBSON, M.A.
24. THE EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRY. By D. H. MACGREGOR, M.A.
26. AGRICULTURE. By Prof. W. SOMERVILLE, F.L.S.
59. POLITICAL ECONOMY. By Sir S. J. CHAPMAN, K.C.B.
69. THE NEWSPAPER. By G. BINNEY DIBBLEE, M.A. (Illustrated.)
The best account extant of the organisation of the
newspaper press, at home and abroad.
80. CO-PARTNERSHIP AND PROFIT-SHARING. By ANEURIN WILLIAMS.
85. UNEMPLOYMENT. By Prof. A. C. PIGOU, M.A.
109. COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY. By MARION I. NEWBIGIN, D.Sc.
117. ADVERTISING. By Sir CHARLES HIGHAM.
121. BANKING. By WALTER LEAF, D.Litt.
_GEOGRAPHY_
7. MODERN GEOGRAPHY. By MARION I. NEWBIGIN, D.Sc.
8. POLAR EXPLORATION. By Dr W. S. BRUCE, F.R.S.E., Leader
of the _Scotia_ Expedition. (With Maps.)
12. THE OPENING-UP OF AFRICA. By Sir H. H. JOHNSTON,
G.C.M.G., F.Z.S. (With Maps.)
36. CLIMATE AND WEATHER. By Prof. H. N. DICKSON, D.Sc.Oxon.,
M.A., F.R.S.E. (With Diagrams.)
53. THE MAKING OF THE EARTH. By Prof. J. W. GREGORY, F.R.S.
(With 38 Maps and Figures.)
88. THE GROWTH OF EUROPE. By Prof. GRENVILLE COLE.
(Illustrated.)
91. THE ALPS. By ARNOLD LUNN. (Illustrated.)
92. CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. By Prof. W. R. SHEPHERD.
(Maps.)
101. BELGIUM. By R. C. K. ENSOR. (Maps.)
105. POLAND. By Prof. W. ALISON PHILLIPS. (With Maps.)
107. SERBIA. By L. F. WARING.
113. WALES. By W. WATKIN DAVIES, M.A., F.R.Hist.S.
114. EGYPT. By Sir E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A., Litt.D., F.S.A.
118. THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. By NORMAN H. BAYNES.
_LITERATURE_
2. SHAKESPEARE. By JOHN MASEFIELD.
25. THE CIVILISATION OF CHINA. By H. A. GILES, LL.D.,
Professor of Chinese at Cambridge.
27. ENGLISH LITERATURE: MODERN. By G. H. MAIR, M.A.
35. LANDMARKS IN FRENCH LITERATURE. By G. L. STRACHEY.
43. ENGLISH LITERATURE: MEDIÆVAL. By Prof. W. P. KER, M.A.
45. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. By L. PEARSALL SMITH, M.A.
52. GREAT WRITERS OF AMERICA. By Prof. J. ERSKINE and Prof.
W. P. TRENT.
64. DR JOHNSON AND HIS CIRCLE. By JOHN BAILEY, M.A.
65. THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY. By Prof. J. G. ROBERTSON,
M.A., Ph.D.
70. THE VICTORIAN AGE IN LITERATURE. By G. K. CHESTERTON.
73. THE WRITING OF ENGLISH. By W. T. BREWSTER, A.M.,
Professor of English in Columbia University.
76. EURIPIDES AND HIS AGE. By GILBERT MURRAY, D.Litt., LL.D.
77. SHELLEY, GODWIN, AND THEIR CIRCLE. By H. N. BRAILSFORD.
87. CHAUCER AND HIS TIMES. By GRACE E. HADOW.
89. WILLIAM MORRIS: HIS WORK AND INFLUENCE. By A. CLUTTON
BROCK.
95. ELIZABETHAN LITERATURE. By J. M. ROBERTSON, M.P.
99. AN OUTLINE OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE. By Hon. MAURICE BARING.
103. MILTON. By JOHN BAILEY, M.A.
111. PATRIOTISM IN LITERATURE. By JOHN DRINKWATER, M.A.
_SCIENCE_
9. THE EVOLUTION OF PLANTS. By Dr D. H. SCOTT, M.A., F.R.S.
(Illustrated.)
17. HEALTH AND DISEASE. By W. LESLIE MACKENZIE, M.D.
18. INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICS. By A. N. WHITEHEAD, Sc.D.,
F.R.S. (With Diagrams.)
19. THE ANIMAL WORLD. By Prof. F. W. GAMBLE, F.R.S. With
Introduction by Sir Oliver Lodge. (Many Illustrations.)
20. EVOLUTION. By Prof. J. A. THOMSON, M.A., and Prof. P.
GEDDES.
22. CRIME AND INSANITY. By Dr C. A. MERCIER.
28. PSYCHICAL RESEARCH. By Sir W. F. BARRETT, F.R.S.
31. ASTRONOMY. By A. R. HINKS, M.A., Chief Assistant,
Cambridge Observatory.
32. INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE. By Prof. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, M.A.
41. ANTHROPOLOGY. By R. R. MARETT, M.A.
44. PRINCIPLES OF PHYSIOLOGY. By Prof. J. G. MCKENDRICK, M.D.
46. MATTER AND ENERGY. By F. SODDY, M.A., F.R.S.
49. PSYCHOLOGY, THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOUR. By Prof. W.
MCDOUGALL, F.R.S., M.B.
57. THE HUMAN BODY. By Prof. Sir A. KEITH, M.D., LL.D.
(Illustrated.)
58. ELECTRICITY. By GISBERT KAPP, D.Eng. (Illustrated.)
62. THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF LIFE. By Dr BENJAMIN MOORE,
Professor of Bio-Chemistry, University College,
Liverpool.
67. CHEMISTRY. By RAPHAEL MELDOLA, F.R.S.
72. PLANT LIFE. By Prof. J. B. FARMER, D.Sc., F.R.S.
(Illustrated.)
78. THE OCEAN. A General Account of the Science of the Sea.
By Sir JOHN MURRAY, K.C.B., F.R.S. (Colour Plates and
other Illustrations.)
79. NERVES. By Prof. D. FRASER HARRIS, M.D., D.Sc.
(Illustrated.)
86. SEX. By Prof. PATRICK GEDDES and Prof. J. ARTHUR
THOMSON, LL.D.
110. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HEREDITY. By Prof. E. W.
MACBRIDE, M.A., D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S. (Illustrated.)
115. BIOLOGY. By Prof. PATRICK GEDDES and Prof. J. ARTHUR
THOMSON, M.A., LL.D. (Illustrated.)
116. BACTERIOLOGY. By Prof. CARL H. BROWNING. (Illustrated.)
119. MICROSCOPY. By ROBERT M. NEILL. (Illustrated.)
120. EUGENICS. By A. M. CARR-SAUNDERS.
122. GAS AND GASES. By Prof. R. M. CAVEN. (Illustrated.)
126. TREES. By Dr MACGREGOR SKENE.
127. MOTORS AND MOTORING. By E. T. BROWN. (Illustrated.)
_ART_
39. ARCHITECTURE. By Prof. W. R. LETHABY. (Illustrated.)
63. PAINTERS AND PAINTING. By Sir FREDERICK WEDMORE. (With
16 half-tone Illustrations.) From the Primitives to the
Impressionists.
75. ANCIENT ART AND RITUAL. By JANE E. HARRISON, LL.D.,
D.Litt.
93. THE RENAISSANCE. By EDITH SICHEL.
112. MUSIC. By Sir W. H. HADOW.
123. DRAMA. By ASHLEY DUKES.
_Many other volumes in preparation._
LONDON: WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, LTD.
_And of all Bookshops and Bookstalls._
HOME UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE
THE NEWSPAPER
BY
G. BINNEY DIBBLEE, M.A.
LATE FELLOW OF ALL SOULS COLLEGE, OXFORD
LONDON
WILLIAMS & NORGATE
HENRY HOLT & CO., NEW YORK
CANADA: WM. BRIGGS, TORONTO
INDIA: R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD.
HOME
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
OF
MODERN KNOWLEDGE
_Editors_:
HERBERT FISHER, M.A., F.B.A.
PROF. GILBERT MURRAY, D.LITT.,
LL.D., F.B.A.
PROF. J. ARTHUR THOMSON, M.A.
PROF. WILLIAM T. BREWSTER, M.A.
(COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, U.S.A.)
NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
THE BRITISH TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE
[Illustration: THE NEWSPAPER DUTY STAMPS.
The Newspaper Duty Stamps were imposed in 1712.
The Newspaper Duty Stamps were repealed in 1855.
The Advertisement Duty of 3s. 6d. was imposed in 1712.
The Advertisement Duty of 1s. 6d. was imposed in 1833.
The Advertisement Duty was repealed in 1853.
The Paper Duty was repealed in 1861.]
THE
NEWSPAPER
BY
G. BINNEY DIBBLEE, M.A.
Late Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
LONDON
WILLIAMS AND NORGATE
PRINTED BY
THE LONDON AND NORWICH PRESS, LIMITED
LONDON AND NORWICH
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE FUNCTION OF A NEWSPAPER 9
II NEWSCOLLECTING AND REPORTING 25
III THE GREAT NEWSAGENCIES 74
IV THE NEWSPAPER AS AN ORGAN OF OPINION 87
V THE NEWSPAPER AS A BUSINESS ORGANIZATION 112
VI THE MECHANICAL PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF A NEWSPAPER 139
VII THE LONDON DAILY AND PERIODICAL PRESS 162
VIII NEWSPAPERS IN THE PROVINCES AND IN
THE EMPIRE 204
IX CONTINENTAL AND AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS 216
X JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS 226
BIBLIOGRAPHY 253
INDEX 255
THE NEWSPAPER
CHAPTER I
THE FUNCTION OF A NEWSPAPER
So common an object as a newspaper is seldom the subject of serious
reflection. If any one of us should stop to consider what it is and
why it is made, it is odds that he would think chiefly of one aspect
of it to the general exclusion of the others. The curious man might
reflect in surprise on the vast amount of mere reading matter turned
out regularly every morning with perhaps only half a dozen literal
mistakes, on the variety of typesetting and the amount of printing,
often more than sufficient to make a large sized book. The manufacturer
would direct his imagination to the efficient machinery necessary to
produce perhaps 3,000 copies a minute or to the practised organization,
able to distribute them, as fast as they are printed. The business man
would think chiefly of a newspaper, as a vehicle for prices and a
medium for advertising. Cooks, butlers, clerks and governesses look
upon it as a daily registry office. The solicitor sells houses and
lands through it. Housewives through it sometimes buy their soaps and
more often their hats. Actors, singers, authors, artists and musicians
each read their special column and wonder when the editor intends to
engage some one really acquainted with the only subject worth reading.
The politician will read its leading articles with smirking assent or
explosive repudiation. Last of all comes the general reader and he
asks nothing more of his newspaper than all the news of everywhere,
collected at great cost, transcribed with finished skill and presented
to him in just the way which pleases and flatters him most. All of them
have on their lips the daily threat of giving up the paper, if they are
not scrupulously satisfied.
In writing about “the newspaper” it seems to me most useful to the
greatest number of readers to dwell much less on those sides of a
newspaper, which are most familiar to all of us, however interesting
in itself everything connected with the editorial conduct of a paper
may be, than on the central entity behind them, which makes the public
functions possible and actual. In other words I shall write chiefly
of what most people seldom or never see and but little of all those
aspects of any newspaper, which every reader is accustomed to judge for
himself. To do otherwise would require an encyclopædia to hold the mere
bulk of material and would also bring oneself flat against the serried
ranks of fixed opinions. Every one is quite sure that he knows “what he
wants” and “what he wants” is always “the best” for him. To lay down
the law therefore on matters which are the subject of common opinion
is a danger to be evaded whenever possible and I propose only to deal
very slightly with what is generally known as “the press” and for the
larger part of my space shall try to explain the mechanism, which
industriously collects, enshrines in print and tirelessly circulates
all the material, whether news or literary, to every attainable corner
of the country and also the organism, which by serving the business
needs of its community, acquires the immense revenues, which alone make
the continued existence of the other possible.
A newspaper is of all modern private institutions the most
comprehensive in function and complicated in principle. Perhaps the
only thing at all comparable to it in these respects is a ship.
A ship, engaged on a voyage, almost equals the triple life of a
newspaper, because it is for the time being a place of residence, a
means of travel and a conveyor of traffic. But voyages are short and
discontinuous with one another, while the existence of a newspaper is
organically continuous from the issue of the first number to bankruptcy
and very often even afterwards. In every case, the newspaper is a
vehicle for the satisfaction of human wants and that in three diverse
ways; but the odd thing is that none of these ways, although they
actually in practice overlap, are essentially related to one another.
The newspaper is primarily a collector and distributor of news and
in this function has long ago beaten every possible rival out of
the field. Secondarily it is a vehicle of opinion and in virtue of
this capacity it often becomes the prey of the mighty or the victim
of the long purse; but still it continues to draw from its other
functions and powers a capacity for resistance to outside pressure,
which guarantees to it more independence than sometimes appears on the
surface. Lastly it serves as the great introducer of business from one
trader to another. It has been estimated, that the annual amount spent
on advertising in general is not less than £600,000,000 in civilized
countries and it would be safe to say, that probably something like one
half of this amount passes into the treasuries of journals and other
periodicals, all or nearly all of which fulfil in one way or another
the functions of a newspaper for their special circles of readers. It
is the existence of this colossal revenue, more than double the annual
budget of the United Kingdom, which makes possible the costly task of
collecting and transmitting the news of the world from all places to
all other places at once. It is a commonplace that the small amount
paid by each reader for the purchase of his paper, whatever it may be,
would be very far from defraying the expenses of providing him with all
that he will find in it.
Let us examine these functions of a newspaper separately. By far the
most important and exacting task, which falls to its lot, is the
provision of a daily--or weekly as the case may be--supply of news
and that not of any news nor of enough news but of all the news. The
distinction is of immense practical importance because it trebles the
difficulty imposed on the conductors of a newspaper. The outsider, who
as a general rule consults only a small part of the reading matter
provided for him, sometimes finds in any issue very little that
immediately interests him and a vast deal that does not. He therefore
commonly receives the impression of a large amount of space regularly
wasted. Very few readers are aware of the simple truth that, of what
may be called pure news matter, almost every issue has had at least as
much “copy” provided for it and rejected as appears in the paper. The
practical task of the editors and sub-editors in making up their daily
issues consists not in scraping together material for the printer but
in rejecting it. Of an evening paper with its successive editions this
is even more true, many a report or “story” appearing in the early
morning and being cut down or “killed” before nightfall. The great
responsibility assumed by all editors, to which they are very seldom
unfaithful, is the provision of _all news_, everything printable that
has happened close to rail or wire or not kept secret by governments or
private parties. There is only one excuse for leaving out any item of
news and that is that more important news has claimed precedence of it
and crowded it out.
It is evident therefore that the collection of news is strictly
speaking extra-editorial or, to be more precise, it is under the
general but not the immediate direction of the editor. It is an
elaborate and almost automatic system, consisting partly of a
world-wide organization for general news, which works for the common
benefit of a large number of papers, and partly of a particular corps
attached to each individual newspaper. It is the special function of
this private organization to secure, if possible, exclusive news for
its own paper and at any rate to emphasize and pay particular attention
to that class of news, which each paper considers its own strong
point. Yet while it is true that this duplicate and to some extent
self-overlapping system fulfils the fundamental duty of every paper,
which can be called in any sense a newspaper, it is not that side of
newspaper life, which arouses the greatest amount of attention from
outside, at any rate in this country, nor does it absorb the greatest
amount of energy and talent within. The sensational part of journalism
is the control of opinion.
It is usual in speaking of the editorial side of a paper for nearly
everyone, who is not within the narrow ring of professionals, to
mean the latter function of the paper and not the mere collection
and reproduction of news. This is true not only of periodicals and
weeklies but also of the great morning dailies, which are by far the
most influential part of that institution, which we casually refer to
as “the press.” Here is where power is presumed to reside. Whether it
be politics or art or finance, everyone, who wants anything important
done to influence the general public, feels that it is here that the
first and most valiant effort must be made. The press must be got at
and persuaded or bullied into taking what is the only possible point of
view, as each individual sees it for himself. And as there are always
dozens and perhaps hundreds struggling more or less successfully to get
to the one central point, where opinion is supposed to be controlled,
the illusion is set up that here is where events are being guided,
whereas they are only being agitated. The efforts and influences
generally balance themselves so evenly that the net result is generally
independent of any single personality. What governs all these efforts
in the end is the interest, which the general reader will take in the
particular matter in question and by the general reader, I mean in this
connection, those particular readers, who habitually look out for any
special news or discussion on any named subject. The power, which a
newspaper has of taking a subject from one plane of interest to another
and thus widening the number of those to whom a special matter will
appeal, is nearly always determined by an editorial estimate of the
amount of interest it will arouse, which is not strictly speaking an
analysis of its real importance but a prevision of the psychology of
the majority of readers, who will judge it next day.
Although to many of us the power of the press presents itself, perhaps
mistakenly, as largely an illusion, it cannot be denied that here lies
the romantic interest of the newspaper world to nine men out of ten.
Those, who, like musical or dramatic artists, habitually come before
the public, are apt to be obsessed by the importance of what is said
or done by the press; authors, politicians and prominent citizens are
not above actively canvassing it; even royalty and the state government
are careful to give it whatever guidance will be tolerated. Dear to
the imagination also of the occasional visitor to a newspaper office
are the inconceivable complications of one subject tumbling over
another at the last moment in competition, to find out which of the two
should be crowded out. Let me quote in illustration of this tossed and
wayward charm of self-important confusion a brilliant description of an
editorial room at the last moment from a recent work of fiction.[1]
[1] C. E. Montague: _A Hind Let Loose_.
“Brumby’s editorial room was fit to visit the dreams of a dramatist.
Used as a scene, whole ranges of characters could have popped in and
out of it all night, and nobody run into any one else till the good of
the play required. For its walls were mainly door; for dooring’s sake
Wellington, Canning, Dizzy himself (after Millais) were skied; doors to
right of him, doors to left of him, at one hand a row of bell-buttons,
close as on a page’s bosom, at the other a serried squad of mouths of
speaking-tubes, Brumby sat like a brain centre in a nervous system--the
simile is his; at least he borrowed it first--feeling at all the
threads and living along each line.
“All the evening all the forces of the press, now centripetal and
now centrifugal, drew in upon this core to take direction or were
sped outwards from it, aimed and animated. To and from the central,
octagonal, skylighted room were sucked in or radiated forth each
by his proper door, along the spoke-like corridors, the office
messengers with ‘copy,’ proofs, letters and telegrams; the foreman
shirt-sleeved from the composing-room, asking the size of to-morrow’s
paper; the publisher, not yet perspiring, to know how much per cent.
Lord Allbury’s speech, the thing of to-night, should add on to the
parcels for the outer towns; sub-editors doubting how much to make of
some not very well-born rumour of a row inside the Cabinet, or if it
might be libel, though it were true, to say a borough treasurer had
turned invisible since Thursday; the porter from the lift bringing in
callers’ cards--the Manager, Theatre Royal--would not detain the editor
one instant; writer of a letter--turnstiles needed on trams--would
the editor see him, simply for five minutes--reform vital; small
deputation from Hospital Friday Committee--had not liked to give him
the trouble beforehand to make an appointment; bankrupt of some hours’
standing--just two words about to-morrow’s report--could nothing be
done about the judge’s conduct--method of choosing official receivers,
too, thoroughly faulty. Thence would the war correspondent post, at
Brumby’s bidding, over land and ocean without rest, bent to sweeten
the sacred home life of the _Warden’s_ readers with all the heroic
pleasures of war, unalloyed by groin wounds or enteric. To this call
at the heart of the hive the reporter, home from some delicate quest,
would come to lay up in the charge of the queen-bee that most perfect
flavoured news, which you could never put in the paper.”
There is no word here which is not true description, both in letter
and in spirit, capable of being annually multiplied by the number of
week-days in the year, except Christmas Day in some offices. Of all
this our presumed visitor might see one quarter and understand but the
half of that; yet it is all Fleet Street to a cup of coffee at 1 a.m.,
that what he did see and understand would dazzle and intoxicate him.
He would not know, that for every one professionally concerned in the
furious hive all this bustle had long ago become mere routine, that
everything had its method of being tested and that while almost nothing
was left to chance, intelligence had not often very much more to say
in the matter. Every kind of difficulty had occurred a hundred times
before; every decision given was an old one, that had been taken before
the oldest compositor was born; there was only one thing that changed
and kept changing and remained the perpetual preoccupation of workers,
little and big--he himself, the visitor, the reader, the representative
of the general public.
As far as the public is concerned, there is very little distinction
made between the function of newspapers as newsgatherers and their
duties as purveyors of opinion. This arises from a very simple cause.
While news is nominally an impersonal thing, as a matter of practice
it is far from being so. In obtaining it the faculty of selection is
required in the highest degree by the newsgatherer or “story-writer.”
Selection again is strenuously required in determining the competition
between one item of news and another. Finally the presentation of
news in words and paragraphs leaves a wide opening for individual
preferences and inclinations. Thus it comes about, naturally enough,
that the same series of habits, which govern the conduct of avowed
opinion in a newspaper, habits summed up briefly in the term, the
policy of the paper, express themselves, not so consciously but even
more effectively, in its news columns. Readers, who are on their guard
against the intention of the editor in that part of the paper, which is
avowedly the vehicle of opinion, retaining a certain critical faculty,
wherever they have reason to believe that their favourite newspaper is
not what they call “sound,” are quite unsuspicious of the news columns
and accept as plain facts statements, which have perhaps undergone
three unconscious garblings. It is therefore paradoxically true that
where a group of men conducting a paper consciously try to exert an
influence in a certain direction their intention is often discounted
and they produce very little effect. Whereas otherwise, through being
the medium of the distribution of mere news, a newspaper will wield
unconsciously a very considerable influence over its readers and may
continue indefinitely to do so, so long as it does not exploit this
subtle power in any way, which is detected to be conspicuously unfair.
The last aspect of a newspaper is much less impressive to outsiders
than anything, which appears in print in its columns. Every newspaper
is a commercial organism subject to the same laws of life and death,
which govern businesses in general. It has to build up a goodwill
sometimes slowly and against great odds, almost accidentally, in other
cases meteorically and insolently. Its peculiar faculty of dealing in
publicity both ways, through its news columns gratuitously and through
its advertisements for payment, give it a special power of making its
own way independently of outside help, in certain cases of advancing
itself by the aid of its own enemies. To succeed it must be talked
about and abuse is welcome, almost as much so as praise. Once arrived
at the eminence of an extensive popularity it becomes able to help
others and thus acquires the revenue necessitated by its own expensive
wants. But these wants are the great obstacle to any flash success.
In the case of a new daily morning paper it is impossible to start
with any less equipment than the best and richest of its rivals. The
income from the sales of the paper is trivial and for some time it has
to support enormous expenses out of capital, until it has not only
established an undoubtedly important circulation but has also convinced
the numerous classes of advertisers that this circulation has been
securely attained, a problem which is sometimes even more difficult to
solve than the other. All these questions and problems fall under the
classification of business management, which we shall arrive at in due
time.
The life and power of any newspaper or periodical is thus doubly
entrusted to the hands of its readers and to their opinion of it. They
must draw from it amusement, instruction and business facilities and
for the latter the newspaper proprietor is even more concerned than
for the former. The secret of the miracle whereby 6d. or 10 cents
worth of news and literary matter can be sold in the streets for one
penny or one cent is that the reader makes a return to the newspaper
for every copy, which he buys, equivalent to the difference in price.
This return is afforded by his attention, a commodity in these days of
busy competition in exchanges, which it is extremely hard to secure and
worth therefore to the advertising world a very considerable body of
wealth.