OCR Text |
Show Hj NEWSPAPERS. H Everybody thinks he knows how a Hj a newspaper should be managed. Men H who rely entirely upon experts in H everything else, will, with the utmost H confidence, aesume to tell exactly what B a newspaper ought or ought not to do. HH If it is logical and truthful, one claBS H of persons complain of it for not pub- HB lishing more news, and writing it up H in a racier Btyle. If a coloring is H placed upon it to make it more read- H able, then complaint is made because H it is untruthful. H Our very best men and women would B not like to have all their acts and say- H ingB published just as they are. The H exact truth would in some cases be H considered flattery, and in other cases IBJ or instanroB abuse. H The poorer of a newspaper is felt Bj rather than acknowledged. If a man H does a thing of which he 1b juBtly or H unjustly proud, be will resort to all H kind of expedients to get it published H with all the embellishments his elated H vanity suggests, and will be angry at H the newspapers that do not gratify his B pride and thereby make him ridicu- B aTreporrior-inootoK-mj-ii...,.i,itj- -.ir H appear in print as being of the char- H acter readers desire, even when their BPjH, desires are directly opposite to each other, or one class or the other of them HJ wilbdenounce the report as untruthful. H He must make a readable speech out H of a mass of inherent uttances of a jH speaker, and yet do it eo it looks some- H thing iike the original. H A newspaper publisher is every day B asked to advertise something gratuit- K ously, and if he does not do a great Hj deal of free advertising will have to K endure unfriendly criticism, and yet at H the Bame time readers are complaining Hj because the papers does to much ad4 H vertislng. Hj An editor must write in a manner H to lead public opinion, but he muBt do Hj -so aB to gratify the vanity of those who H think they are leading; he must write H "strong" articles, but if too strong he H will be denounced abusive, if truthful H without embellishment he may expect H to be called weak and milk and watery. B In Bhort all classes of society feel Hj the power of the press, but very few M are willing to admit it; all want its H favors, but very tew are willing to act H so as to deserve it; all desire to avoid K its unfriendly criticism, but if the man H lives who does not criticise some news- B paper in a manner that it would be groBBlv outrageous for the same newspaper news-paper to criticise him, we would like to meet him and' give him a gratuitous advertisement as a rara avis. |