Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-20
JoURNALrsM AND JOURNALISTS.

a
Al correspondent fayors THE MINER
with q Communication upon the occult
{ lject of "true journalism" In it he
IRIS out his indignant scorn on three
classes of journalism which, he paradox
caily mentions as outside the pale Of
classification and yet denOminates 'the
illiteratiye, the combat-atiye and the
co~nceit-ative." On these last he empties
tile yials of his wrath with a yirulence
OF expression that leaves room for infer
ence that he must have had some con-
apicWous example of the class he particu-
larly denelDces in his minds eye. But
masmuch as the correspondent sees
only the worst side of journalism and
holds that up to repro CHI, and only in
ferentialIy leaves true journalism" TO
. understood by failing to set it forthin
express terms, he fails to accomplish the
undeftak .ng With which he set out.
In this connection it may be set down
as an axiom for general acceptatiOn that
there is a great deal 9f error prevalent
as to what is euphoniously termed the
mission" Of journalism. A great deal
OF airy nothings and glittering general
tiles passes current for wisdom on this
IL bject. The true mission of journalism
nowadays is to give the news of the day
as widely as each individual journal can
collect the same. The object of a news
paper is TO please as wide a variety OF
readers as possible, and, in proportion as
it receives support from the community
in which it is published, to that extent
will it be able 20 attain the prime object
OF its being. To this extent a journal is
representative OF the community III
which it is published. In a new and
growing community that desires to at
tract attention from elsewhere and in
Vites to its midst brains and capital, N
OF the surest and best means of accom-
plishing this result is through the col
umns of its local press. Where that Is
freely ~patr0nized and encouraged the
community is benefited tenfold more
than by "~write-Hps" in publications pub
lished elsewhere.
The most successful journalists in this
country have been those who have passed
through all the grades OF newspaperdoDl
from the Ease up and have picked
), uthelr edlGattQAALtbap-1Pa
they were getting their experience,
A movement has been begun to
introduce a course Of journalism
at Cornell University, TO train aspi-
rants to the editorial tripod BY putting
them through q regular course. II is
aid that the press Of the country in gen
eral indorses the idea and encourages the
plan. When an institution of the learn
ing embodied III Cornell University un-
dertakes such a scheme, it may be as
summed that the course will take a practi-
ralturn suited to the objects in view.
And yet at best it can 6nly result i'll pre-
ducing amateurs. 1t does not matter
how brilliant an essayist a man may g
when turaed out OF college, only by pFac-
teal contact with the public through the
moulding operation Of the daily grind
can he turn his abilities to effective
journalistic use. Review and magazine
writing is one thing. The sense TO see
news and 10 know how to present the
most salient points in the most attract
i've way is another and can never lie
Taught in a college. 1t must be learned
III the only real newspaper college on
the stall OF a newspaper itself. There,
merit is recognized a quickly as it dis
plays itself. There are drones among
newspaper men just as there are in other
professions. But they are never pushed
into prominent position and kept there
to the detriment of better men, as some
times occurs in other professions. And
as a rule, the same amount Of application
and energy necessary to produce a first
class journalist, if applied in any other
profession than journalism will bring a
hundred fold as much profit to the indi-
yidual as will ever accrue to him by the
best service he can give. But there is Il
fascination about it that holds brilliant
minds in its ranks ieyond the g al
which they can enter new fields and they
generally die in harness as poor in this
worlds goods as they began.