The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-09-17

-oat Of the Journal e the roporlisg, 'hst Is,
10 special reporilog, ne dnunguiSntI mn,
The more general news gathering l niea .
he reports Of the proceedings OF SunS'eSs s
| ia conventions, assemblies and oonloloHV
public conversations, Lectures, ssrm9ns' ~,
veslieslons, Lectures, law trlais euu 49,
tenees of Ill sorts that riso into geueIe. 'in
oor.ance. These reports ara lns oa''' VI W.
| knowledge and opinions, and II tne puolN
mas a right to demand anything OF news
0aper il Is that lis reports OF ThM occu's
| hall DO faithfully accurate, unpFeJu neeu
and coorless. They ought not 10 90 EDITOR,
ala or the vehicles Of personal opinion ana
feeling. The Interpretation OF the c's
they give should DO left 20 the editor ana
The public. There should DO a sharp line
drawn between the report and tho ed1o ri'l
70 be both stupid and Inaccurate Ia the
UNPARDoNABLE SIN IN JOURNALISM
Reporting requires AS high ability as edl'
toriAl writing; perhaps of Il different kind,
though in tho history Of American journal'
sm tho best reporters have cIen become
the best editors. ral0nt Of this kind muss
be sd, qnatoly paid, and /. happens ta't IN
America tho reporting Held Is 50 HAsI mat
few journals csn Eiord 30 mako tho reporting
department correspond IA abby
to the editorial, and doubt II the inpor'
lance OC doing so is yet fully roAlzed. An
intelligent Snd representative tynopa5 OF
lecture or other public performance 10 rare.
The ability 70 grasp spoaker's meaning, or
10 follow long discourse, and 20 reproduce
either In spirit and fairly IN n short space IL
not common. Whom the public which has
been present reads tho inaccurate report il
loses confidence in the newspaper
The editorials Of our ilunals soom to me
better than formerly, improved Ia tone, N
courtesy, in eelf-respCc you may
not bayeto go lar or search long for The
provincial note and the easy grace OF the
frnnter-aud they arc better written. Thu
is because the newspaper has become more
profitable aad 10 abo TO pay for talent HnC
mas attracted 10 IL epucated young men
There it sort Of
EDITORIAL ABILITY
Of facili5,of force, that can only DO acquire,
by practice, aud in the newspaper Office; n,
school Can ever teach IL; butthe young edito
who has brOad basis of general education
Of information in history, politica
economy, the classics, and polite literature
has An immense advantage over tho mau whI
has m4rely pl actc0l experience. For tht
editorial. If IL is TO hold is place, must b.
moro and more the product Of information
culture aud reflection, as woll nS of sagscit,
and alorineM. IguOrscce OF foreign affair
and economic science, the American people
have in times past winksd at, bu. they vii
not always wink at II.
L think that wo mSy fairly claim superi
GRITTY in our journals over the English dailie
in our habit OF belief, pointed editorial para
graphing. They are tho life Of tho editoria
page. A cultivation of these until they are
us finished and pregnant ~ the paragraphs o
the Londen Spectator and Now York Nation
,he printing of long editorials only
when the calculation of q subjec
demands length, aud the usc of the spao,
thus saved for more interesting reading, i
probably the line of our editorial evolution
The third department in newspaper i
that OF miscellaneous rondi0g matter
Whether This is tho survival of the petiOC
when the paper contained little else e1cep
selections. and other printed matter We
scarce, or whether it ls only the beginning 0
q development that shall supply tho publ
nearly all lie literature, | do not know. ia
as our newspapers have already gone in thi
direction. l am inclined 10 think that il
their evolution they must drop this sdjunc
and print simply the news Of the day
Some of tho leading journals of the wor
already do this.
The powOr of the press ia in lie facility 70
making public opinions aud events. shoul
say il iss
MEDIUM OF FORCE
: rather than the force itself. Iconfe. that
/ am oftonor impressed with the powerlofsnes
, of tho press than otherwise, it's slight irlu
once in bringing about any reform or 10 iu
ducing the public TO do what is for its oW
good and what ii is disinclined to do.
Wo will drop the subject with one re
mark for the benots Of whom Il may con
Germ. With oil its faults believe the mors
tone Of the American newspaper is higher 8
a rule than that Of the community in whic
it 10 published.
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