The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1871-09-27
The Newspaper Business.
SOME BITS OF USEFUL INFopu,
ABOUT IT.

4 Mr.. Erastns Brooks, of the New W..
Express, says his paper is not au,o.
the Oldest Of the living journals of Na
York city, but since its establislmsn.
in 1886, more than sixty daily pane,.
have been started and have died tn
after losing at least twenty million. :,
dollars. u
i There are few more difficult sn...
prises than the establishment Of ar
paper in any large American CITY !.
is not only capital that is needed h..
brains also are necessary, and aoo,s
many of them"--to which must be ada
cd courage and patience, enterpri..
and industry, ideas, convictions int,
lectual liberafity, the constant actiyi,r
of the five senses and fair share :.
common sense Where it is poss;hl.
tsbring these fundamental forces -
newspaper venture, there is mo-.
chance of it's success than if they ue,.
all absent.
1t is a. frightful thing to contemola,o
an editor who is an ignoramus, a biro,
an imbecile, n clarlatan, lout or
malignant. He drags down, corrup,.
and damns his miserable readers.
1t is very much more difficult to starr
successful daily paper now than !.
was fifteen or twenty years ago.
There has been great developments
OF the journalistic sphere, worldly and
moral, within few years. The Hw..
paper nowadays publishes news with
the utmost promptitude from all part.
OF the globe, and assumes to discuss
every conceivable subject with at least
the pretence of authority and intelli-
geDce. The Associated Press is al, inn.
.portant agency for the collection Of
news throughout the country aud the
world, and its active managers and
correspondents are always to be found
at every place where great events are
in progress. To establish an effective
rivalry with this organization, would
require machinery not less extensive
and pervasive than that which it has
been able to put in working order at
great cost and with many years. ex-
perience.
There is nothing in which it is easier
to lose large amount of capital, and to
lose it more rapidly, and to lose it with
less advantage or result, than in at
tempting to staff a great daily news
paper.
1t newspaper enterprise be intend.
ed to compete with the leading daily
papers already in existence, it must NOT
only, to begin with. be possessed of
large capital and editorial brains, but
must be able to organize effectively
the complex machinery of journalistic
power, without which there is hardly
chance of success, and almost GER
tainty Of failure. IF, on the other
hand, the new paper do not propose to
enter into rivalry with the ability and
enterprise OF existing papers, it cannot
very well amount to enough to mako
it either profitable or influential. A
daily paper without the news of the
world furnished promptly in every
issue-a daily paper without the his.
tory of the day, the thoughts of the
day, and the spirit of the day-in
which the pulse of the world does not :
beat. the features of the world are not
reflected, aud the life of the world is
not reproduced-can possess neither
power, consequence nor vitality.
The protector of a paper should al
ways be sure there is place for such
paper as he means to start; in other
words, lie should be sure it is needed
to supply want in the community
we imagine that if newspaper proiec-
Tors wonld always take the trouble to
satisfy themselves thoroughly on this
point before investing their capital
md brains, there wonld be fewer to
ament their losses.-[ Cincinnati Com
nercial.