The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-07-07
QUESTIONS IN JOURNALISM.
The South Carolina State Press AssO-
citation Has an Eye 10 Business.

the officers of the South Carolina State Press
Association, under date June .. 1856, from
which we copy the following items Of inter-
est TO the editorial fraternity:
'rhe twelfth annual session of the South
Carolina State Press Association Will be heid
! In SpartanburS on Tuesday July -. 1850, at
! SlI p. m. and it is sincerely hoped that every
editor or publisher in the State will, If posi-
BILE, be present. =,
considerable time will be devoted to q dis
cusSion of matters pertaining to Journalism.
"Co John w. II. Pope. Of the Columbia Reg
ister is the annual orator. with Capt. M. l..
Bonham, Jr., of the AJJeriUe Messenger, as al
! tcrnate.
"Thc first object of the Association is bust
ness A definite programme has not yet been
arranged, but the following topics have been
named for discussion at this meeting:
a. Regulation of foreign adyertising-agen-
cies and prices.
| Sd The editorial.
"3. The local.
| ~. The subscription list.
a. The effect OF sensational publications up
OH the morals Of our country.
&c. The Press as an educator-fts RESPONSE
bility for the moral status Of the reading
~. Is 1t expedient for, or encumbcnt upon,
newspapers to publish news items of doubtful
moral purport.
"S. Ready prints.
-. VIII you not prepare paper on one OF
the topics named, or on one which you Shall
yourself choose?"
| For the want of something else TO do, we
will reply briefly, through the Press and Ban
ncr, taking up the questions separately, ms
they arc enumerated:
]. Foreign advertisements can and should
be "regulated' by excluding them from our
papers. AS a rule, we get almost no pay FOR
! them, and such us we publish, have tendon
cy to lower the standards of Journalism. Ihe
editor that publishes in his local or reading
column Il certificate as to the efficacy OF put
cnt medicine, gives a certificate about some
| thing OF which he knows very little, u any
thing at all. Those editors whose opinions
are not a pnrchasabe commodity, should not,
! in our opinion, publish patent medicine no.
! tices as editorial or local matter. We cannot
afford to publish other advertisements for The
| reason, that when n five dollar advertisement
Quires a. copy of the paper to be sent.the sub
| scription price of which is generally S2.N.
| 2 The day for long essays In the ediLoria!
columns has passed. Short comment Is what
8. Too little attention is paid to local mat
ters. Tl,c value of a local newspaper consists
in the amount of matter which IL contains
that will interest the people of the particular
locality in which 1t is printed. Itoften occurs
that even matters which are mentioned, are
not as fully and as carefully written up MS
they should be.
4. or course we know very little about the
subscription list OF any newspaper. except
the Press and Banner, but from statements
which we see about the circulation OF country
newspapers, we are led to believe that the
printers OF such papers send out great many
complimentary copies, or else they have
great many subscribers who do not pay. Our
own opinion is, if the circulation of country
newspapers was reduced In many instances to
one-half, and in other instances to one-third
of the present circulation, and the amount OF
money thus saved In paper were expended In
typc-sctting, that there wou Id soon he good
showing on the financial side of the business.
Our newspapers should be made so full of 10,
cal news matter, that there will be demand
for them. When this Is done no more will be
said of the duty Of the people to 1,oS support PIP
clippings from other papers Is worth but lit
5. 1t is not SO much the effect of sensational
publications upon the morals OF our country,
as the effect that such publications has upon
the standing and rcspectability OF our news
papers. that demands Our attention. our
should be the highest. Then we will attain
the largest degree of usefulness and exercise
the greatest influence on the public morals,
and thereby gain the largest reward In money.
full influence for good or evil. For this reason,
the newspaper should use the best language
possible. No writer for the press is eXcuSable
who does not under the circumstances do the
best he can at all times. The editor who
prints articles. the chief merit of which Is
their ungram matical sentences and mlsspelt
words, not only commits an offence against
the language VIII ich it prints, bnt at the same
time degrades the newspaper itself in the es-
timation of the public.
Z. We do not know what Is meant by the
seventh proposition. There are. according to
our way Of thinking, very few "news items of
doubtful moral purport-" Wewould say, that
1t is more often the manner of,reporting the
news that is of doubtful moral purport
Too many reporters and editors give certih-
Gates of character when reporting occur
rences and too many give irrelevant state
mcntS, which should not be printed.
8. With the present sharp competition In
the business, we regard the use Of ready
printed sheets as essential to success, and PC
lieve that the competitor who uses ready
prints and eXpends the same amount Of ener-
gy and business tact. as the all-at-hOme prin-
ter does, will certainly win In the contest for
public favor. No all-at-home printer can
compete with n neighbor who uses ready
prints. All else being equal, the man who
nscs ready-prints is bound to win. Printers,
like other people, must keep pace with the
march of improvements.
.. Under this heading we would speak
against the use Of large type, and against the
using of two fonts In printing our newSpa-
pers. 1t is much more difficult to print
newspaper on two fonts than one. A sheet
printed on one font Of small type locke bet.
ter and contains more matter, and 1t Is more
the same size. The change from one size OF
type to another hurts the eye of the reader.
TO- A SiX-Column paper prin ted In good non
pareil, Is more desirable than an eight t-column
paper, containing the same amount OF matter,
set in long primer. Another advantage in the
six-column paper is the saving in type, and
the saving In paper. The small paper, too, Is
more acceptable to the reader AS long prlm-
or ard BREWER were the Stap dardS In the past.
so nonpareil Is bound to become the standard
OF the future.