Show ne Writer US Senators Valoe Local Press the ration nation from irom Octo Octo- October Octor ber r ber er 1 to Oct S. S 8 is being observed as s National Newspaper Week Week- time lime during which the importance ance of the newspaper to its community y and ami the importance of newspapers newspaper s n the aggregate to t the he state and to t I the Cite nation is being called to public I attention Governor Herbert B B. Maw has issued a proclamation designating g Oct 1 to 8 as Newspaper Ne Week Vice k and in th proclamation the T states The Thc Newspapers of Utah perform performa n this state In I a 01 very great service to n addition to publishing the news o of fn f i what is going on in the world in i n he nation and in their local com corn Utah's newspapers ne pr jare Jre e constantly striving in to serve the th e best interests of the people by fos fos- fostering civic enterprise and develop develop- ment kind by encouraging the th e growth and progress o of their com com- and their state t o. o When this government governor ent was form form- cd ed d everything possible was Hong t to o encourage the establishment of o f mall papers as statesmen felt that there was the most safety in Then them themas hemas t as asa they arc are published mostly as in independent in dependent units and not controlled j in-j I I by politicians and syndicates Whit While c the rural press preSs has as some special specia 1 privileges es in the way wa of reduced reduce I postage rates they reciprocate lib lib- liberally liberally liberally I in emergencies During the th e World War Var the country papers ran i barge advertisements for the govern Jovern free to sell bonds At the present time they the are arc assisting the government tto in in advertising the sale of f stamps and bonds also in adver adver- advertising advertising for men for Cor the army navy and nd the Ithe marines and helping inmany in inmany inI I many other ways A good food many senators and con con- congressmen congressmen congressmen gressmen have expressed themselves es Cs as to their opinion of the worth orth orthof of the country press several pages I of what hat the senators s na ors and men m n n fc ha e appeared nr ir in In Inthe the I I mr I of f theA ri j h il 1 cote o e what n r 1 1 S St 4 t I JJ A j NI t t t t of l 1 nt l i itO I L tO n nJ e n f tater ent by live tn C Vincent Harrington J clearly expresses the the s of scores cores of United States States' States's s ii senators rat irs and representatives rep who hp who have paid great tribute to the editors edit rs of the weekly newspapers of America America- the thc editors whom they say form the backbone of our Democracy r There is no doubt do bt that the great majority of government leaders I l turn urn turn to the weekly newspapers newspapers for guidance 1 for inspiration ins and for keeping keepin their Singer finger on the pulse of public opinion Representative J. J J Edgar E far Chen Chen- Chenoweth Chenoweth Chenoweth of Colorado says It gi gives ve veme s me great pleasure to congratulate the newspapers of this country on o othe n the celebration ce ratio u of National N News News- W u W paper Week I wish particularly part to pay Fay my tribute to the small town t 11 newspapers which are arc doing so much to mould and fashion n public opinion in this country countr I I have never feared the out out- outcome outcome outcome come of any issue providing the American merican people arc are fully futh informed In these days days days ashen when hen there is so much propaganda and ana foreign in- in to entice the United States int war I leef that as never before beCore the newspapers rs have an in unparallel unparallel- unparalleled u ed Cd opportunity to give he the people the truth Perhaps our our fate fat will witt de- de depend depend pend on how the the etc Newspapers ne meet m et his challenge I We Ve arc are quoting now fr m the th e look The Grea rl writ writ- n. ln n by Simeon editorial riter f New York Y rk Times iho ho after discussing the circulation tion tt f daily and weekly newspapers newspaper a In n and monthly magazines magazine ma I tales tates that in this nation of 30 mil mil- milion jion ion families the average family family- famil y each month reads 40 daily news news- newspapers tapers papers nine nine weekly s newspapers newspaper rs td ma magazines zin and antI n five month monthly 1 zin n 1 s. s Then he adds these the c Significant paragraphs par graphs I What is tile the relative weight of each ach of these thes types of journal in American Ain rican public opinion and Jand and beyond it in fn shaping the per per- permanent manent idea ide ides ides- of the American peo peo- pIc l sU when we think of the power power of he the press we wc we think of o the th daily newspaper al al- al always ways hot from the griddle always bringing the th latest bulletins the bulletins the r V latest victory or disaster the latest lacs reassuring I the latest alarm The politician in the side side- sidewalk walk cafe snatches snitches the newspaper from front the shouting vendor end or and leaps r without loss of oC time to the top of a table to harangue haran ue the crowd for a IV I march on the thi Bastille or on Parliament jl ament or on the convention hall hall hall- r. it is a familiar symbol of the J power of the press which may be as as' faith ful ml to the facts as most symbols symbol s are ar But whatever vcr may have been beer 1 true of f the coffee coHee houses of Queen Queer Anne Annc which English journalism m first became a a power or the milli milli- I tant newspapers of the French rev rev- i or the cafe caCe politicians of bf o f I I I i since ince then the I the picture doe docs dOcs s I i for lor this country i With ith us the shaping of public c opinion Pinion is less the work of city cit y cy gossipers in in a club or a back room roo m than of calf a dozen rural debaters debater s at the general store or in the local garage With us the town small small to I and country newspaper which is f s most often a a weekly journal is ismore ismore i imore s ss more influential than the daily dail y press Primarily this would be due e to the very fact that it is a small small- smalltown smalltown smalltown town rural press press As late as the th 1930 census 51 Si per cent of the c population of the country was living liv living ing in to places having feder leder than 8 inhabitants but this small ad ad- advantage advantage vantage of 2 per cent dos does do s not real real- really really ly measure the weight which the th e urban non-urban half of the American America n people Boole carries in the life of the na na- na n a I tion In these small towns to and farm homes the ratio of native born is much higher higher- than the cities The ratio of stock old population is much higher and it is still a fact of prime prime pr me importance for the realis realis- realistic realistic tic observer that the American of the older stocks is a more po powerful force manfor man man for f r man then the Amer Amer- American American ican of later origin Country jour journalism journalism in addressing itself to this I better entre entrenched ched and more m r highly privileged ed section of the American people has right ri ht at the start a se- se selective selective advantage over the urban daily press To this we vc may add the a priori argument that u n weekly newspaper which is read and absorbed in the th e seclusion and comparative leisure of the small town or the farm Ss is j s likely tike to exercise a greater pull pun o oits on on its reader than the average era a e copy of the Jhc metropolitan daily dally paper crammed with a bewildering ring array aria y lof I of reading tea matter and consume consumed d amid I the distractions of urban life Psychologically it is is a sound con con- tendon that a single copy of a weekly newspaper newspaper slowly absorbed may succeed d int in driving home home a point more effectively effe than seven sevenda daily da ly newspapers n repeating the same same point in the course of a week to a metropolitan litan audience A portion of the foregoing appear appeared appeared ed cd in the Publishers Publishers' Auxiliary ry and the following is a comment by the th editor who is a very ery high class news newspaper newspaper newspaper paper mani man f We Ve hope that every country c publisher will read the above and above and read re-read it It should be good for his morale It lIt should increase his re respect re- re reSpect respect for his job It should should- help convince him that as the publisher of a little country his contribution to American journal journal- ism ism ism and more important still to t o the maintenance of American de Ide- democracy e- e is is just as great as that thit o of f any other newspaper worker in th the c nation i. i i t iAH All AH of which gives Rives additional point to his participation in the observance of National Newspaper Week |