Part 23
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.)
The Patent Medicine Conspiracy against the Freedom of the Press. Collier’s Weekly, v. 36, p. 13. (Nov. 4, 1905.)
Silencing the Press. Nation, v. 76, p. 4. (Jan. 1, 1903.)
Stansell, C. V. Ethics of News Suppression. Nation, v. 96, p. 54. (Jan. 16, 1913.)
A Real Case of Tainted News. Collier’s Weekly, v. 53, p. 16. (June 6, 1914.)
Seitz, Don C. The Honor of the Press. Harper’s Weekly, v. 55, p. 11. (May 6, 1911.)
Can the Wool Trust Gag the Press? Collier’s Weekly, v. 46, p. 11. (March 18, 1911.)
Holt, Hamilton. Commercialism and Journalism. 1909.
12. Editorial Policy and Influence
Kemp, R. W. The Policy of the Paper. Bookman, v. 20, p. 310. (Dec. 1904.)
Blake, Tiffany. The Editorial: Past, Present, and Future. Collier’s Weekly, v. 48, p. 18. (Sept. 23, 1911.)
The Editorial Yesterday and To-day. World’s Work, v. 21, p. 14071. (March 1911.)
Editorialene. Nation, v. 74, p. 459. (June 12, 1902.)
Irwin, Will. The Unhealthy Alliance. Collier’s Weekly, v. 47, p. 17. (June 3, 1911.)
Shackled Editor. Collier’s Weekly, v. 51, p. 22. (April 12, 1913.)
Fisher, Brooke. The Newspaper Industry. Atlantic Monthly, v. 89, p. 745. (June 1902.)
Porritt, Edward. The Value of Political Editorials. Atlantic, v. 105, p. 62. (Jan. 1910.)
Haste, R. A. Evolution of the Fourth Estate. Arena, v. 41, p. 348. (March 1909.)
We. Independent, v. 70, p. 1280. (Jan. 8, 1911.)
Bonaparte, Charles J. Government of Public Opinion. Forum, v. 40, p. 384. (Oct. 1908.)
Ogden, Rollo. Journalism and Public Opinion. American Political Science Review, Supplement, v. 7, p. 194. (Feb. 1913.)
Williams, Talcott. The Press and Public Opinion. American Political Science Review, Supplement, v. 7, p. 201. (Feb. 1913.)
13. The Associated Press and the United Press
Beach, H. L. Getting Out the News. Saturday Evening Post, v. 182, p. 18. (March 12, 1910.)
Noyes, F. B. The Associated Press. North American Review, v. 197, p. 701. (May 1913.)
Stone, Melville E. The Associated Press. Century, vv. 69 and 70. (April to Aug. 1905.)
Irwin, Will. What’s Wrong with the Associated Press? Harper’s Weekly, v. 58, p. 10. (March 28, 1914.)
Is There a News Monopoly? Collier’s Weekly, v. 53, p. 16. (June 6, 1914.)
Stone, Melville E. The Associated Press: A Defense. Collier’s Weekly, v. 53, p. 28. (July 11, 1914.)