Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-09
MEXICAN NEWSPAPERS.
EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS OF JOURNAL
ISM IN THE AZTEC CAPITAL.
Beading the Sunday Paper at Your
Leisure on Saturday Evening-No Con-
ccpticn of News-An Example Of the
Enterprise Displayed.

I
GEL Nacional TEMPO de mananar'
Now, there's enterprise for you. 1.-THE
National and Times Of tomorrow" To-
morrow, mind you, and this in land
where the flies are said to roost low of
nights from sheer laZiness. Have You
anything like it in your SO called enter
prising New York;
| 1t sort of knocks out the stranger in this
! land of pulque and tortillas to find that be
can read, or rather could read if he under
stood Spanish, Sundays paper while he
reclines at ease in big armchair on Satur-
day evening 1t takes all the conceit out
of him, and the next day he doesn't carry
his head near so high. 1t is only after he
has mastered the language that his old
time confidence returns, and the American
eagle flaps his wings as Justify as ever TO
his eyes, for when he is able to read to-
morrow's paper today he finds that it is
really today's paper Of yesterday, or day
before yesterday, OF week before last.
40 CONCEPTION OF NEWS
To be sure the paper is dated tomorrow,
/ but if ne finds any news of today in it he
| puts it down as an exceptional case and
when night after night, from o'clock in
the evening until clock in the morning,
he hears the cry, lei Nacionai TEMPO
de mananar' he comments on it in the
darkness with plentiful sprinkling Of
swear words, for the Mexican newsboy's
cry is exceptionally shriu and penetrating,
and makes sleep a stranger to the nervous
mans eyes. Queer institution is the
newspaper here in this land of queer insti-
tutions The word newspaper is really a
libel on the genuine article, as we know.
Newspaper men have absolutely no con-
ception of news, and the much coveted
cheat" of New York journalism is an IN
known factor in Mexico.
And the people seemed to be perfectly
contented with this sort Of thing. / have
seen The Monitor Republican,, the chief
daily paper of the republic, come out,
time after time, without single item Of
original news. Everything in its news
columns was copied from its local con-
temporaries and full credit was given.
This is the practice among all the papers.
They make up their local news by taking
the few original items that appear in the
columns of their competitors. By going
carefully through the columns of the city
exchanges they manage to I'LL the space
/ given to news so called, and as each
paper is enabled to get at least an item or
manage between them to keep the pot
boiling and fill from three to five col
umns. Frequently l have seen an item
travelling about for two or three weeks,
going from paper to paper as the editors
happened to find it. That sounds very
funny, doesn't it? Just imagine the cry
of ''chestnuts!' that would soar heaven
ward if anything of the kind was at
tempted in your city. It's all matter Of
education, however, and after awhile you
learn not to mind tin fact, you rather
like it. do. 1t saves an awful amount
of wear on the nerves, and you need only
read one paper to get absolutely all the
news that has been printed, if you only
wait long enough. All You require is pa
thence, and you somehow or other accu-
nlulate n wonderful stock Of it here after
q short residence.
THE ENTERPRISE DISPLAYED.
| About the funniest illustration-that is
funny to yousNew Workers, / mean-of
the enterprise displayed by the papers here
in laying the news before their readers,
occurred some time ago, when Mexico eX-
perienced the severest earthquake shocks
Of which there is any record. Houses
were shaken down in different parts of
the city, the aqueduct was broken, cutting
off the water supply, the great cathedral
was cracked, bridges were ruined and the
people were almost scared to death. This
occurred at 11:30 o'clock on Saturday
night. In your city you newspaper people
would have worked your reporters nearly
TO death and strained the nerves Of every
body in the establishment for the purpose
Of getting full and complete story Of the
earthquake and the damage in Sunday
mornings paper. Here the Sunday papers
had been printed many hours before, and
such thing as an extra or anything OF
the kind for Sunday was not even dreamed
of. AS there are no Monday papers-no-
body works on Sunday except a few store
keepers-it was Tuesdays papers that
were looked to for the news.
On Tuesday Ell Aa>,:tor Republican,
informed its expectant readers In about
twelve lines, that on Saturday night there
had been very severe earthquake which
had done much damage. Its staff Of re-
porters was busily at work investigating
the damage, and in day or two the paper
would lay its complete account before the
public. And it did on Thursday morning,
just five days after the shock. This paper
has made great fortune for its propri-
etor; its advertising rates are enormous,
and the advertising department Is more
arbitrarily conducted than that of the
most independent journal in America.
1t will print no cuts Of any kind or at
any price. 1t will accept no advertise
ment for stipulated days or for consecu-
tive insertions. The best that you can
do If you want to advertise In its columns,
is to secure contract for given number
of insertions, the dates to be decided
by the publishers without consulting you.
And this only by paving in advance for
all the insertions, some Of which may not
be given for months afterward- Not a
line of paid matter can be secured in the
reading columns for love or money. Hun
dreds of dollars of advertisements are
lost daily because the publisher will not
increase the size of his paper, which is a
four page sheet. It's circulation Is about
1000, and no effort has ever been made to
increase it. Like every other newspaper
God save the mark this city and
throughout the republic, FL Monitor Re-
publicano closes its forms at o'clock in
the evening.
Think of that, you overworked news
slaves of the place known as Gods coun-
tryr'-City o. Mexico Cor. New York
Press.