St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-05-15
A GREAT INSTITUTION.

The New York Press and It's Tire
less Reporters.
The universally accepted idea of
newspaper reporter is that he is an i'm
pudent. dissolute person, who wander
over the city until he finds some picc
of news-no matter of what character
provided it will find readers. This h,
takes to his office and writes out il
very bad English. Like many othe
generally accepted conceptions of mel
whose business brings them into publ,
notice, this is not a correct one. No
only are majority of newspaper re
porters upon our most influential me
tropolitan papers men of education
and of culture. but their work is sys
tematized and gathered through organ
lied channels of Investigation.
The work of the reporter is giver
him by the chief of the local news de
partment of the journal with which he
is connected, who is known as the city
editor. The duties of this editor re.
quire-untiring energy and the utmost
diligence and application. He mus,
see that his paper gives all the impor.
tant and interesting news of the city
and vicinity while it is yet fresh, and il
possible before it has been published in
any other paper. Eternal vigilance is
the price of his position. Every inn
portant and unimportant event in poll
tics, finance, society and crime he
must follow, and see that the reporters
under him investigate and present
promptly for the next edition of his
paper
The city editor of a great New York
daily has the whole city under observa-
tion, as well as Brooklyn, Jersey City
and the adjoining country for fifty
miles around. He assigns one reporter
to each police court. Men are also de-
tailed to each of the other courts, civil
and criminal, from the district courts
to the Supreme Bench.
An important bureau of news gather
ing is the headquarters of the police
department.. Two men from each
newspaper are kept watching the re-
turns of this department day and night
Each of these journals has rooms in a
building directly opposite the police
headquarters in Mulberry street, where
the strictest observation is kept upon
all criminal matters. If a murder or a
crime of any kind is committed in any
part of the city. it is at once reported
by the police officer in whose patrol it
occurred to the police station of his
precinct. Thence it is at once tele-
graphed to police headquarters.
A record of every event of this kind
is made on '.blotter" in the reporters
room at headquarters. The moment
this information is obtained, the re-
porter starts out to hunt up the facts.
He may have whole day in which to
make his Investigations, or he may
have only an hour; perhaps but half
an hour. Whenever fire breaks out
in any part of the city, or an accident
occurs. an alarm is at once sent to po-
lice headquarters. The same trans
strikes similar alarm in the
reporters building opposite. Ten Sec
onds after it has sounded-be it midday
or midnight--twenty men, represent
ing all the papers in the city, burst
out of the door and disappear in the
direction of the fire. They get there
very often before the engines.
If the victim of an accident is carried
to the hospital, the reporter visits the
place where the sufferer was injured,
and ascertains how he was hurt, and
then goes 70 the hospital and learns his |
condition.
In order that nothing of this sort
shall escape notice, reporters are sent
out after midnight to all the police |
stations and hospitals from Harlem to |
the Battery; for. as most of the papers |
go to press between half-past two and |
half-past three o'clock in the morning.
there would be a perceptible loss of |
lime while waiting for information to |
get to police headquarters. Even five
minutes makes an important difference
in newspaper office at two o'clock in
the morning. Another bureau of |
criminal news is the coroner's office.
Any sudden death under suspicious or
circumstances is at once
reported to the coroner and registered
Ior the reporters who cover that Office.
They investigate every case for them
selves. or report it to their city editors
'or their Judgment. So much for the
news obtained through the departments
If justice.
Each newspaper has also reporter
Who calls daily at the offices of all the
,ity officials. from the mayor and con-
roller down. and learns of any inn
,ortant news that occurs in their de-
,artments. Another visits the sheriff.
he district attorney and the county
and one zealously watches the
City Hall. where large room is furn-
shed with desks and tables for re-
,orters.
A reporter covers the post-office
md the Federal court in that building
md obtains any important news there.
Another spends the day among the ex-
hanges and brokers in Wall street. to
,eep the public posted on financial af-
fairs, and one mans sole duty
5 to keep lookout on the water
ront for marine news of any kind.
Other reporters visit the various mu-
licipal departments-the Department
i Parks. of Public Works, of Charities
lad Correction. One man is kept at
he quarantine station in the Narrows
D telegraph any important news Of