The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-04-15
The Newspaper and the Public.

sued in a neat little volume, Chas. Dudley
Warner sets forth many facts which it is
worth while for the public to consider more
clearly than is the custom. The following
extracts deal with phases OF newspaper expe-
rience which are so familiar that Mr.. War
ner's admirable statement of them ought to
be given the widest circulation
HEI,A ALIVE RIGHTS OF THE NEWSPAPER AND
IT'S PATRONS.
The reconition of the fact that the news
paper is a private and purely business enter
prise will help to define the mutual relations
of the editor and the public. His claim up
on the public is exactly that of any mannfact-
urer or dealer. 1t is that OF the man who
makes cloth, or the grocer who opens shop:
neither has a right to complain ii the public
does not buy of him. If the buyer does not
like cloth half shoddy, or coffee half chicco-
nv. be will 90 elsewhere. Il the subscriber
does not like onenewspaper he takes another,
or none. The appeal for newspaper support
on the ground that such a journal ought to
be sustained by an enlightened community,
or on any ground than that it is good ar
ticle that people want.-or would wanS II
they knew its yalue,-is purely childish in
this age of the world II any person wants
to start periodical devoted to decorated tea
pots, with the noble view of inducing the
people to live up to his idea of teapot, very
good; but be has no right to complain If he
| fails.
On the other hand, the public has no
| rights in the newspaper except what 1t pays
| for; even the 'sold subscriber has none,
except to drop the paper II 1t ceases to please
him. The notion that the subscriber has
| a right to interfere in the conduct OF the
| paper, or the reader to direct its opinions,is
| based on a misconception of what the news
| paper is. The claim of the public to have
| its communications printed In the paper is
| equally baseless Whether they shall be
| printed or not rests in the discretion OF the
| editor, having reference to his own private IN
| terest, and to his apprehension of the public
| good Nor is he bound to give any reason
for his refusal. 1t is purely in his discre-
| ton whether he will admit reply to any
thing that has appeared in his columns. No
| one has right to demand it. Courtesy and
policy may grant it; but the right to it does
not exist If any one is Injured, he may
seek his remedy at law; and should like
| to see the law of libel such and so admin
istered that any person injured by libel
in the newspaper, as we'll as by SANDER out
of it, could be sure of prompt redress.
While the subscriber acquires no right to
dictate To the newspaper, we can imagine
an extreme case when he should have his
if the newspaper totally changed its
character If he had contracted with a
dealer to supply him with hard coal during
The winter he might have remedy If the
dealer delivered only charcoal in the coolest
weather; and so if he paid for Roman
Catholic journal which suddenly became
an organ of the spiritists. The advertiser
ACQUIRES no more rights in the newspaper
| than the subscriber. He is entitled to use
M f<r r,t,oJ, ba y,avc U the inSp rtiOn
| of such material as is approved by the
| editor He gains no interest in any other
| mart OF the paper, and has no more claim to
any space in the editorial columns, than any
| other one of the public To give him such
! space would be unbusiness-like,a and the ex-
tension of a preference which would be I'M
Just to the rest of the public. Nothing
| mure quickly destroys the character OF a
journal, begets distrust of it, and so reduces
its value, than the well-founded suspicion
that its editorial columns are the property
of advertisers Even a religious journal
will. after while, be injured by this.
Yet it must be confessed that here is one
of the greatest difficulties of modern Journal
ism. The newspaper must be cheap. 1t is,
considering the immense cost to produce II,
the cheapest product ever offered 20 man:
| Most newspapers cost more than they sell
for: they could not live by subscriptions
IOF any pFOlll lily CCAodihiy ANPcAo oPOA-
advertisements. The advertisements de-
pend upon the circulation; the circulation
Is likely to dwindle if too much space is
occupied by advertisements, or If 1T Is
evident that the paper belongs to its favored
advertisers. The counting room desires to
conciliate the advertisers; the editor looks te
making paper satisfactory to his readers.
Between this see-saw of the necessary
subscriber and the necessary advertiser, q
good many newspapers go down. rms
| difficulty would be measurably removed bJ
the admission of the truth that the news
paper is strictly business enterprise, de
pending for success upon guild pro Qut
between all parties connected with II, ans
upon integrity in its management.
THE NEWSPAPER AS A CHARITABLE INsITU
:
paper is sort of open channel that the pub
lie may use as it chooses, is the conceptions
of it as charitable institution. The news
paper which is the property of private per
son as much as drug shop is, is expected
to perform for nothing services which woult
be asked of no other private person. There
is scarcely charitable enterprise to which
| it is not asked to contribute of its space
which is money ten times more than Othe
persons in the community, who are Ter
times as able as the owner of the newspaper
contribute. The journal is considered
ssmean'' if it will not surrender its columns
| freely to notices and announcements OF Thu
sort. If a manager has . hen-coop or new
singer he wishes to introduce to the public
| he comes to the newspaper, expecting Il
have his enterprise extolled for nothing anl
probably never thinks that it would be JUS
as proper for him to 60 to one of the regula
advertisers in the paper and ask him to CIV
up his space. Any thing from church pic
mic to Grassland concert for the benefit O.
/ dor Trso nn1 acCc tho III