The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-03-09
THE DAILY EXCHANGE
BALTIMORE,
SATURDAY, MARCH o, 1851

1t is somewhat the fashion just at this time 10
sheer at newspaper reports. Whenever poiti-
clan is criticised for some manifest blunder or
di5reputable act, he Immediately seeks TO satisfy
his wounded vanity or honor by an onslaught
upon the press. Whenever the interests or CHAR
acter of a private individual are affected by any
information which is impaired to the public
through the medium of n newspaper, he
instantly mpeaches the latter's credibility-
Every unwelcome statement whatsoever ema-
mating from the press, is now assumed
by certain class of people to be either
mistake misrepresen tation, or deliberately
concoctcd lie These people do not it is true,
constitute majority of the community but not a
few OF them occupy influential official positions.
and this circumstance gives to their ncessant
clamor against the press weight which it would
not otherwise receive, and to which it is in no way
entitled. The fact moreover, that many of
the statements made in every newspaper subse-
quently turn out to be inaccurate or even abso-
lutely uniounded, affords something of a pretext
to those who deal in these wholesale denunciatons
Lest any man should be misled by these fippant
datribes, we desire to present here one or two
brief but obvious suggestions, which ought, we
think, to be sufficient answer to the calumnies
so freely uttered against the press. In the first
place, the journalist is daily in receipt of intelli-
gence from all sections of the country, if not from
various quarters of the globe, and this he must
examine and arrange before he can submit it to
the public. He must suppress what is clearly
scandalous, and reject what is palpably false
or wholly improbable and this duty he is
called upon TO peform once in every twenty
four hours. The news comes pouring in upon
him through the mails and over the wires. and in
the shape of public rumor and confidential ora
communications. Is 1t any wonder, then, that his
eyes should often fail TO note falsehood or that
his hands should inadvertently pass to the prin-
ter matter that he would gladly recall next morn
ing? But it must also be remembered that no
newspaper does, or can be expected to vouch for
the entire accuracy of every item that appears in
its columns. The most its conductors are bound
to do is to sft as fairly and inteigently as they
can the mass of matter before them, and conscien-
tiously suppress what they honestly believe to be
untrue in ITSELF or unjust to any individual This
duty they perform, as far as we know, about as
honestly as the world at large discharges any of
its obligations; and if our readers will reflect q
ht'4e upon lue SUBJECT, we lnlnk they Will be
forced to acknowledge that, considering the
amount of information which journalists furnish
to the public it is more to be relied on than that
circulated. by any other class of people. When
they repeat story which it is in their power to
verify it is nine times out of ten substantially cor
rect, because they have generally, as it is their
business to do, investigated the facts as soon as
they heard them But of how many persons in the
community can this be said Are there not every
day thousand absurd and libelous statements
afioat throughout the city, and are not these re-
peated over and over again, in the course of q
morning, by half the population? Do not the
very individuals who complain so of the naccu-
racies of the press, help to circulate time and again
some falsehood or scandal which they find is con-
tradlced by the press next day? If newspapers
published indiscriminately all the reports which
the rest of the community is continually engaged
IN discussing, and giving currency to, there would
be ample cause for the complaints referred to.
But as 1t Is, we cannot doubt that if a fair COM
parison could, in this particular be instituted be-
tween the press and the public the result would
be found to be altogether in favor Of the former.
The real wonder is that so many of the multitude
nous items of information in daily Journal should
be as correct as they are