The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-09-30
JOURNALISM.
A Practical Article for Young Men who
Want TO belEditors and WELD n M oral


A Practical Article for Young Men who
Want to belEditors and WELD n M oral
Influence.
All the way from the university of n
far distant State comes to us an appli-
cation for a position on the Journal as
an editorial writer. 1t comes from a
young man who says he has been pur-
suing q special course of study with o
view of adopting journalism as q pro-
fession. He has about finished this
course and desires to enter Immediately
upon his life-work. The young gen.
tleman writes that from early youth
his ambition has been to WELD moral
influence, and he sees no hope of exer-
cising this influence save as journal
ist. He has tasted of science, of Ian
guage, of philosophy; has labored to
form style which he could use with
effect; has sought out new paths, and
endeavored to make new paths where
he found none. His knowledge of politi-
cal history, law and political economy
the average questions of the day intel
ligently. In treating questions of social
interest, his knowledge of socitl econ
omy might not prove amiss. AS a
journalist he would keep his life pur-
pose ever before him. In his paper he
would introduce new features to old
ones he would give the charm ofnovelty.
In political discussions he would shun
insignificant partyisms Oh personal re-
hections-everything save fair presen-
taiion OF party principles and party in
terests. AS manager he would exercise
Judicious economy, as editor, untiring
energy and brain.
The young gentleman is no doubt
honest and sincere in his statements,
but they weigh nothing with an ex-
perlenced newspaper man. Journalists
are not turned out of universities ready
made. Journalism is profession which
can only be mastered after long years of
active service-on the same principle
that to be a good lawyer, or a success
full minister, or competent mechanic,
one must have practical experience, and
can attain prominence only after long
years of patient labor. Young men on
leaving college are apt to think they
could shape the destinies of nation If
they could only get control of the
columns OF some newspaper. Perhaps
young graduate does get an oppor-
tunity to write editorials for some coun-
try weekly. He launches bolt, and
then anxiously awaits the report. He
generally waits in vain, and is both
panied and chagrined to find out that
his majestic utterances have attracted
no attention whatever. Perhaps he
gets position on one Of the big dailies,
and with n proud heart he hands in to
the managing editor long article, over
which he has spent several days and
nights in writing and rewriting, only
to be mortified almost to death by the
matter of-iact chief, telling him to cut
that thing down to two stickfuls, even
if he does not tell him the paper has no
room for any such stuff. He may fur
ther tell the young man, whose am
bition is to WELD a moral influence, that
they want no opinions from him, they
only want news, and that in con-
densed, concise form. The conceit may
further be taken out of the young man
by being detailed to write up the stock
yards, or sent to get the points in Il
scandal case, and told that he must get
his report into a half column and have
his copy in by eleven o'clock sharp.
This doing uncongenial work, and
doing 1t on the jump, with no time to
elaborate glowing periods and eloquent
perorations, is anew experience, and five
to one he MAKES n Hat failure and is
chagrined beyond measure by being told
that he has no aptitude for journalism,
and is advised to seek some other voca-
tion. Journalism is drudgery-plod.
ding, unostentatious drudgery. The in
dividual work which makes up COM
plete newspaper attracts no attention
from the public generally. Readers say
this or that paper is a good Jne, with.
out once caring who did this OF that TO
make it such. And this alone would
be cruel to the unfiedged writer who
hopes to WELD a moral influence. II
one of his articles appears he expects it
to be the feature of the paper. and is
it and insist on knowing who wrote it
-SiOuT Ciru Journal.