Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-12-08
JOURNALISM.
Astonishing Things About the Berlin
Press.
Berlin Correspondents N. Y. Tribune.


The Berlin press is not at all metro
pohtan in character, and even behind an
American inland town like CHICAGO.
Even the present war did not break its
slumber. BY royal authority, there is
only one reporter at the Kings head
quarters, who writes for all the papers
of this city; his letters, under the sig
nature of K. (kaysler), are published
by all of them. Only very few have
their own reporters; here and there an
occasional contributor sends an account
of some important event, but / do not
remember having seen single tele-
graphic dispatch of more than
ten lines beside the official ones.
I'VE cannot help it," say the
editors, when blamed for the
meagerness and sameness OF their news
ut would not pay to procure informa-
ton at the enormous expense which the
American and English papers go to for
satisfying the Unsuitable appetite of their
readers" But these gentlemen have
never tried whether it will pay or not,
and prefer their old method of copying
from foreign, especially English, papers.
Imagine that the capture of Napoleon
was not published any earlier at Berlin
than ut New York and San Francisco !!
The first news of this momentous event,
addressed to the Queen. arrived here on
Friday night, September I'd, at II
O'clock, and another account reached
the Minister Of the Interior at II O'Clock.
The latter, instead of sending it at once
to the press, kept it for himself and his
friends. Thus the morning papers of
Saturday, Sd, did not contain a word
about the glorious success, and it was
only at $3.50 q. IN. of that morn
ing that extras were published. |
have not seen single paper which com
planned of this utter want of propriety,
of this gross stupidity, on the part of
the Government. The city items of
Berlin are about all the same, and the
papers seem to have but one common
reporter. The editors have no idea of
the GTeatimrOrtaQce of this department,
which forms The basis of the local circu-
lation, and slowly but surely works on
the minds of the readers. True, there
are many good articles in the Berlin
journals, but on the whole they are too
heavy, too essay-hke, so that they
would be more fit to be printed in
weekly or monthly than in daily pa
per The Volks Ieitung, a cheap dem
ocrstic sheet, has about 80, 900 sub
soribers and the largest circulation; the
Vossiche Zeitung, of the same political
tendency, some $4,000 subscribers; and
she Iukanft, radical organ, has the
tmallest circulation, with not more than
1900 to 1000 subscribers. The average
circulation of all the Berlin papers, at
a high estimate, amounts to about
dstsch, by the way, the best satirical
and comic paper OF Europe, sells 1906
copies. Would it have been successful
it had been dull and tame? often show
the Tribune to pubic men and newspa-
per editors of this city. / never shall
forget the stupidity incredulous air
which one of them exhibited when / ex-
planned to him that you paid more than
$4,000 for your Geographic dispatches
Of September g. Not once, dozen
times, | had to show copy of the Tri-
bune, of September 4. 1t went from
hand to hand, and was returned to me
in rather dilapidated state l did not
calculate upon the curiosity which the
paper necessarily caused, but wished to
see the effect which it made on newspa-
per editors. "Well, that's grand, that's
extraordinary, that's quite American" |
heard them exclaim, "but here such a
feat is out of the question: But
why9 [ interrupted. Because
we are too poor; we have
not readers enough" All my remon-
strances were in vain, in vain all my
protests that paper Like the Tribune
had its time when it, too, could not af
ford such heavy expenses; that by in
dustry, thrift and sagacity, step by step,
it had reached its present prosperity;
but that to win, man must risk and
avail himself of his opportunities, and
that the only secret of q successful
newspaper was to undo all its competi-
tors in enterprising spirit and in keen
perception of the political needs and
tastes of it's public.
1t is to be hoped that with the prog
ress of Berlin the press too will lose its
provincial character, and assume larger
proportions. A newspaper established
with 100, 900 thalers, on the American
system, would be an excellent invest
ment, and great political benefit to
Germany.
TrOchu and His Hopes-The Great Men
in the Conflict.
The New York Times balloon cores
pondence from Paris, dated October 30,
(the latest received), says that Gen.
Trochu hopes to be ready for an attack
in twelve or fourteen days That he is
confident of success is seen by remark
which he. made Sis Inorning to an
American going out of the city. :. 1t IS
not worth the trouble you take" re-
marked the General, "for before anoth-