The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1885-08-26


] ed. 1t is not to be expected that all tn
} compilations of the exchange editor ar
to be labeled with the record of thei
origin we all know where the lin
should be drawn and should stick to tn
limit
The newspapers represented in tn
Association are mostly dependent upol
local support and their circulation il
largely confined to the immediate vicin
| ity of the place of publication. 1t i
therefore the local department tha
should receive the largest share of you
attention. Local readers want to know
all that is happening among their neigh
bors and if they have done anything
noteworthy of which they are no
ashamed they want it duly reported
Few occurrences in your community arr
too unimportant to find place on you
local page. Every paper in Montans
should be a good local paper first of all
after that furnish your local readers
/ with all the news of the outside worlC
that you have space to accommodate
Such paper has claims upon the com
munity where it is published t.lat moth
ing can supplant. 1t interests itself in
| its readers, and its readers have cor
responding interest in the paper. They
justly feel that its life is a part of theirs.
that its prosperity is bound up with
theirs and it becomes one of their cher
ished institutions 1t is eagerly read
and then passed to the neighbor, who
always has the latest news, but never
subscribes for paper. The publisher
of a live local paper can reasonably null
tiply in order to reach fair estimate of
the number of his readers. And this is
an encouraging sign. Ifyou are publish
ing a paper that is sought after and read
by the best sentiment of you community
you have scored a success. However
the public may appreciate the mental
and physical labor and the expense in
volved in the production of the paper
daily or weekly issued, 1t has an uner-
ring instinct for what constitutes good
paper. You may seek to impress it up
on your readers minds, and you may
yourself believe that you are publishing
a better paper than your rivals. but the
actual test is its comparative popularity.
The public verdict must be depended
upon as the judgment of success or de-
feat.
| can think of no more subtle hattery
and no more pronounced evidence of
appreciation of newspaper than the
public admission that it is reliable.
When your readers come to understand,
from experience, that you are diligent to
publish only the truth, you have obtain
ed hold upon their continued support
that it will he difficult to break But re-
peated misstatements, whether they
arise from willful distortions of known
facts or careless investigation, followed
by dection, exposure and probable cor
rectioI1- 1pIlJifU ICs-
pect and reliance, and, as an inevitable
consequence, lesson your patronage.
While no consideration should restrict
the publication of legitimate news, the
avoidance of sensationalism is, in my
opinion, essential to the success of every
paper in Montana. Sensational journal
ism is more easily recognized than de-
fined. To narrate an imaginary occur
renee of startling character, the theater
of which is indefinite, or located far
away from any chance of investigation
by the majority of your readers; to seize
upon an episode of trivial import and, by
loading it with imaginary, if harmless,
details, give new and more interesting
phases; to twist and distort legitimate
news item in order to give it startling
or sensational aspect to hint at various
unmentioned or unmentionable details
in order to furnish food for the readers
imagination to drag private affairs into
print when nothing has been done to
warrant the license all these are in
stances of sensationalism, and all partake
more or less of the element of falsehood
Ia fraud upon the whole public or upon
some individual From the most inno-
cent species of sensationalism is only
short step to that policy which regularly
caters to low and prurient tastes or
levies blackmail as an
alternative of assault upon private char
acter or the exposure of private transac-
tions. So far as investigation will
achieve that end let your news be trust
worthy and then publish all of it if you
can. 1t is common excuse on the part
of country edi tors that their papers are
so small that they are not able to make
them good. The less space you have to
fill the more time you should employ in
producing, selecting, revising, condens-
ing and otherwise preparing such matter
rs you publish. In my opinion the sue
cessful paper of the future, whether
daily or weekly, will be the one whose
few columns are crowded with systemat-
ically arranged news that has been
carefully pruned of all superhuous
drapery, and whose substance is con-
densed into as few well-chosen words as
will tell the whole story and no more.
OF what should constitute the person
al qualifications of successful journalist
it is almost useless to speak. 1t is at least
profession where no talent is buried
in the earth. In it many fail where
few succeed The great prizes are scarce
and many contend for them. The quail
fcatlons for success are manifold and
few possess even fraction of them. All
the endowments of mind and body which
nature might bestow upon her ideal man;
all the varied learning that could be
acquired in the years usually devoted to
exclusive study; all the constant attention
that retentive memory might give to
~ 4 r IL