The Worthington advance., 1880-09-16
[For the Advanced


| THE MODERN NEWSPAPER.
In looking: back over. the hundred
years of our Nations history, we car
scarcely avoid the conclusion that the
newspaper of to-day has drifted long
way from the idea of those men who
embodied in the constitution, that prin'
ciple, free press and free Speech" W.
will not stop to question or assert the
the powor of the press. We accept the
statement that no institution in our
country to-day wields greater inAu-
ence than the newspaper. The point
with which we have to deal is the ten.
dency of the modern paper, and the eff.
feet of its influence.
| Inasmuch as papers, like railroads OF
steamboats,. are run in the interest of
their proprietor, the natural tendency
of Editors is to furnish that class and
variety of news which will produce the
| best results to the man who has invest
ed his money in the enterprise. This is
natural. We expect, when we see a man
start a newspaper, lhAt lie is running it
for what money there is in the business.
But, it is the ertent to which they carry
this thing. Most men nowadays seem
to lose sight of the fact that they, in
the vocation of Editors, are exercising
liberty, not q license. Regarding this
feature the following remarks OF Col.
Ingersoll may be appropriately intro.
duced:
"Io-day the newspapers are engaged
i'll finding out all the mean things that
are done. Unless 4 thing is II mean
thing it is not known. II all the report
ers Of all the newspapers would look
through all the streets and through all
the houses OF the country and find the
name of some man who had practicel
self-denial for the sake of /. wife and
children, find the name of some man
who had given up all the property he
had to pay his debts, gone ont Of his
house aud gone down to poverty and
penury in Il hut; if they would tell the
names Of some Of the men who have
done generous deeds, how strange it
would scem."
We are impressed with this idea ev-
cry day we pick up paper. It is not
confined to the sensation story paper or
the police reports, but the ablest and
most influential papers in the country
are becoming tinctured with this ele-
ment. True, there are exceptions. But
we are speaking now of the majority;'
and this point may be better illustrat-
cd by examples. During the prevalence
Of the Conklin-Sprague gossip, the Chi.
cago Tribune had this to say of the n.
Y. Herald:
"TWo explanations are offered of the
New York 1lerald's extraordinary ST.
'ence III regard to the Narraganset Pier
scandal. One is that the Herald pro-
! prietor is enraged because lie was beat
en- in the first publication of the affair;
the other is that he respects the misfor-
tunes which he has himself had expert
ence OF. Either explanation is liscred-
table to the Herald us a newspaper.
No consideration would have prevent
ed the elder Bennett from mixing in IN
affray Of this magnitude.''
Whatever "explanation' might have
been for the 1Ierald's silence, the Tri
bune probably realizes that silence up-
on the subject manifests some regard
for decency at least, and that unwill.
ingness to become 4 pcddler of gossip is
more becoming to al influential Jour-
nal, than an eagerness to publish every
scandal if it will only sell Il few extra
copies of the paper.
Coming down to more recent occur
renccs il our own State, the following
appears in the Editorial columns of
"uarding's lie, ald' Lanesboro:
''lIarring's Herald is using it's license
as newspaper in raking over the dy-
ing tmbers of Il last yea1 s scandal for
the edtication and. ''elevation" of its
readers. Truly the Herald is red-hot
paper.-(1lencoe Register.
The Herald is doing nothing of the
kind. The dying embers might have
kept OH dying till doomsday before we
disturbed them, but when they are ''rak-
ed over" by a judicial prosecution we do
not think we transcend the legitimate
sphere OF newspaper in letting our
readers know what is going on in the
community. If the Register has more
enlightened views, or more reliable in.
formation us to the liberty and license
OF the press we should be pleased to
hear them. We are open to convict ion. -
A man may be very intelligent per-
son and use such an argument as this,
bit it does not seem as though he could
be very honest at the same time. Mr..
II. claims to be open to conviction but
cannot see wherein the wrong lies.
Probably If his own sister were concern
ed in the affair, he would have *|more
enlightened views" upon the subject.
If the skeleton in the closet should
come home to his own door, perhaps he
would not be as anxious to ''let readers
know what is going on i'll the communi-
ty."
Upon this subject the Boston Herald
finds occasion to remark:
There is a growing feeling in eyerv
healthy community against Journals
which make it their special object to
minister to perverted taste by seeking
out and serving up in Il seductive form
| disgusting and licentious revelations
Il!!re is good reason to believe that the
| clean newspaper is more highly prized
today than it was four or five years ago.
1t is also safe to predict that as pe Jp]e
in all ranks Of life, who protect their
| own. at least, from contamination. be-
come more conscious Of the pernicious
influence Of a certain class Of journals
called enterprising because they are am
| bitious to serve up dirty scandals, they
| will be careful to see that the Journals
they permit to be read in the family cir
Gle are of class that never forget tile
| propricties Of life.''
1t is not strange that men will engage
IN this kind Of business 50 long as it is
profitable. The strange thing about it.
and the most demoralizing feature of