Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-02-08
Newspaper Labor.

Very few of the myriads who daily pc
ruse the columns of our public journals,
form any idea of the amount of labor rep
resented by the print before them. To en-
ter upon the full statement of the whole
sum total of toll, from the moment that the
"copy," SO called, OF original text from
which the reproduction is made in type,
comes to the hand of the composition until
the completed newspaper is laid before it's
readers would be a more complicated task
than we propose to undertake at this time.
Our theme is simply the quantity of sheer
scribbling performed by the newspaper
writer-the individual who furnishe the
daily pablum of facts and comments which
are embodid in the articles furnished to the
press. This branch alone yields details that
will convince the most skeptical or careless
thinker that no member of the community
more faithfully tolls for whatever need of
fame and emolument he may set than the
conscientious journalist. A regular practi-
cal writer who prepares daily what would
make two hundred lines of print for every
day in the year, counting thirty only in
every month, therefore leaving five entire
days as margin fot accidents, sickness,
ETC., would run up the following estimates :
| Per diem, 200 lines; per month, 5000 lines;
per year, u, 600 lines Now 5000 lines will
make q portly volume, and consequently
our slave of the pen bestows upon us the
contents of II volumes every year. Sup
posing his career as writer to last for the
medium of 30 years, he would give us 3D.
100000 lines, Or 800 solid volumes, still
counting out the $50 days made up by the
margin of five allowed for each year of the
thirty. But in order to be upon the safe
side of the computation, let us allow an en-
tire additional year for the time lost by
sickness, holidays, travelling, etc, and we
still have 34S volumes from this indefatiga-
BILE worker. However, there are very few
thorough going newspaper men who pre-
pare original articles or do sketch or short
hand reporting, who cannot show an aver
age of 400 lines per diem of various kinds
of work throughout the twelve months
The quota of labor would give the 348 vol
umes of matter in Is years, even retaining
for that shorter space of time the marginal
allowance If one year and $50 days
1t occurs in many cases that one or two
hands supply the bulk of the editorial page
proper, and beside the labors of these gen
tlemen, the boosted performances of the
most prolific book writer's the world has
ever seen fade to inferiority, so far, at all
events, as the quantity of matter is con-
cerned. AS to its quality, there may exist
differences of opinion but It is no more
than justice to say that the same amount of
industry, research, observation and readi-
ness with the pen that is revealed in the
leaders OF the great daily press generally,
would, if applied with equal tact and per-
severance to the more permanent branches
OF literature, carry the journalist to honor
able success
There is no more complete error than the
universal idea among men who can write
something, that it is quite easy to "get
up" as they call it, a newspaper article
When they read one that is well digested
and well written, it flows SO smoothly it's
simple. that to write another would seem
to be mere child's play. So does every
body think that he can poke fire or nurse
baby better than his neighbor But just
try it, dear sir. and with all your talents,
all your learning, and all your self-conf-
dence, you may egregiously fail.
Lord Brougham was an orator, a histo-
rian and an essayist, but he could not, to
save him, put an article into right shape