, 1883-03-31
SATURDAY. MARCH 81. 1853.
KNIGHTS OF THE PENCIL
Few Facts About Newspaper Aeporters-
Men Who FIJI the Position and Men VINO
Would Like TO.

There is scarcely week pa.ses but what
publishers OF daily papers are III receipt OF
applications from individuals for the posi-
ton Of re porter, giving as q Recommendation
that they have good education, pleasing
address. well connected. etc. While VIC &C
knowledge these accomplishments to be use'
ful su1iliaries, it is a great mistake to sup
pose that all that is required to make good
reporter is a liberal education. A reporters
position Is one requiring tact, Judgment,
courage and thorough knowledge OF the
world, and the new college graduate can no
more hold satisfactorily reporters position
than the reporter could satisfactorily fiii a
professors chsir. Reporters are born-not
OF profession the public Is more or less quo
rant. OF sll Others it coniesses its isnO-
rance, but Of reporters work it eonceires
theories which are rather amusing, bat mach
more asgrarating. The theory that num-
Der OF young men are flying abon. town
gathering up notes, which some Office msn
Hicks into .hspe." is very common. An
ether common theory Is that the repOrtorial'
staff OF each paper Is turned loose at Ger.
tam hour each day to fad Oh. what Ia go
ing os IN the city. and tbs: each individual
one exercises his ovn secret viii ss TO where
he shall co or what he shall do. Several
times day the reporter hears some c't'z-n
say ~ should think you fellows
wOuLD GET ALL MIXED Ur.
several Of yon going 10 tn. saIne place !or
he same thing" and occasionally, when the
report h,ppens aroani several hours after
an important aud unexpected thirg hss hap-
pened, by dilig.nJ questioning finds all sbOut
1t. and writes q particularly VIVID GeecrIp-
ton, some citizen asks How old ynu hap
pen TO hsv. rnan there jus. in t.ne.'
The most eNs,peratIns idea # tie public Is
that tins cuts no hgure IN the reporters
work. 'G.,ma srnnnd in the morning Mr.
Smith will be here al niue o'clock. and ho'll
be ssi tell you AL a.hout it, says the cour-
teols geEt.crn1 whom the reporter sinds No
Mr. Smiths office. and then ths reporter
wants to cub the courteous gentleman fer
not knowing that Ar. Smiths story mrst be
ready for the printers before one clock that
afternoon DOES the courteous gentleman
think. pcIchsnce. that the reporter Is get
ting information frI some good. quiet guar
terly' People ale cure that the reporter
goes everywhere rnl sees everything. They
see him on duty a, the thestre or conven-
tioD. and the impression is made that hrs
time is tilIei only by those .puhlic occur.
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Fences which appear n be most pleasant ani
agreeable things to mako note o. The
fsct that he works from
FOUR TO EIGHT HOURS LoTGEs
every day than the longest worked man in
any other p-oiessioa. snd therefore he has
not even tune - atttnd - his own pfi,a'e
business. Is not known II it were not thai
the work Is fail OF variety rs hours would
Kill him IL ysar- Thsss 2soPia, sirh he
queer qussti IL sod the funny notions Of
newspaper RoFs, az, the ones ai o On-y &C
casionslly co9e 10 contact SIth nea per
mrn. There are some hGrdrc,ls of mer,
who never maie report fOr a newspaper
who are uGsr:ing gu,dss as IL the value o.
new. Thy are men whom the rcyurte
meets every iny. and from whom he gets ID
formaticn-the city cti,ers. clerks Of court,
railway otici,is aud the like. who get every
day information enough 10 ill yolumes. cut
Q: which the reporter picks few paragraphs
or columns. Reporters have become clsss
Is indispensable . the demands of modern
civilization as the locomotive or the electric
teltgrsp''. and If, rni'e the quiet vorld
slambTrs, ancoDscfous of the midGiEht
tramp, tsropsh sini and rain o; tho daily
newspaper reg orter-If. for one day. he were
TO suspend his iahoTs. then the public would
ra2iIlr the i.ht 1t owe. nm.