The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1883-09-27
ARE THE NEWSPAPERS TO BLAME2
a Sufficient Answer to a Great Deal of
Criticism.

This is the view that some people are
taking of the prevalence of suicide and
other forms of violent crime-that the
newspapers are partly responsible. They
give more or less space, according to
their character to news of this kind.
Persons Of the lower grades of intelli-
gence especially read the criminal rec
ords, conceptions of murder and self
murder become familiar to them, and
when some crisis comes the mind turns
more swiftly to the thought that ends
with blow or pistol-shot than it would
II it were not already saturated with
such ideas. And this is only a part of
the general Indictment which is often
made-that publicity is one of the cry
ing evils of the age. These critics say
that nothing is sacred against the in
quisitivencss of the newspapers. Pri-
vate life is invaded, and the fierce light
OF the press beats into every home.
There are newspapers that have q
good deal to answer for. Those that
make trade of sensationalism are not
scrupulous as TO either their matter or
their manner of presenting it. But q
little reflection will show any one that
these form comparatively small class
among the journals of the country.
Charles Dudley Warner. in speaking on
the subject of the press three years
ago, said that the moral tone of q news
paper was usually higher than that of
the community where it was printed.
There was no little truth in this ohser-
vation. Even the most sensational
newspaper hardly furnishes crime and
scandal enough to satisfy its readers,
and the respectable newspaper has to
make up its mind to do without the GUS
tom OF large portion OF the commune
ty because it will not pander to a dis
eased appetite for details of revolving
crimes or unclean gossip. There is an
other point on which newspapers are
liable to be misunderstood by the pub
lie, through lack of information. The
public does not see, and therefore can
not appreciate, the vigilance which is
exercised in every respectable newspa-
per office to keep such news out of its
columns. More care and discretion are
needed in this matter than the average
reader realizes. The system of news
collection becomes more complete every
year, and the field is swept more thor
oughly each time than the time before.
The wheat and chatf come in together
and it is the province of the clean news
paper to see that as little of the latter is
used rs possible. Probably the average
reader would be surprised if he could
see the quantity of news that is thrown
aside each day because it is not of
kind that ought to come before the
eyes of his boys and girls.
At the same time the newspapers
must publish the news. The wide
spread publication Of murder arouses
q whole community, and often brings
thousand eyes and ears to the help OF
justice. Then, too, there is natural
and pardonable curiosity with regard to
some sensational occurrences that must
be satisfied. When men hear of a
friends death, they are eager to know
the details of his sickness, or. the acci-
dent that befell him. or if he has gone
astrav, to understand how and why.
This is human instinct, to which few OF
rs are superior. 1t is the delicate duty
Of the newspaper to satisfy it without
going so far as to make the news de-
mOralizing.
II the extreme publclty OF the present
day is an cviI-and there are times
when it seems so-what shall be said of
N love Ss of notGfs Iss i the otass ass
accused 81 PFyng into tho fas
home, filing their columns full of Of
fensive personalities, etc, and some OF
them are not without sin in the matter.
But do the public ever think Of the
striving and labor on the part of large
class of the community to get them
selves into the ncwspapers-yes, and
even their home affairs? This hunger
for notoricty is seen in all classes-rich
and poor, learned and ignorant, busi-
ness men, professional men, writers,
soldiers and poets. This tendency, too,
has to be held in check. If the growth
of the newspaper has developed the vice
of publicitv,it has itself been developed
and impelled by a kindred viee-the
love of publicity. y.-Ne10 York. Tribune.