Evening journal., 1888-10-16
MAKING NEWSPAPERS.
WORK BEGINS IN EARNEST AT
O'CLOCK nv THE AFTERNOON,
And from Tint Time Till the Hour Of
Going to Press the Next Morning Every
thing Is Hurried Through at Very
Great Rate.

CHICAGO, Oct lit / o'clock in tho
afternoon newspaper making begins in
earnest. At this hour the editor in chief
and the managing editor come in and hold
o short consultation. Then the editor-in.
chief receives calls from his assistants,
and they talk over the subjects about
which editorials are to be written for She
paper Of the following morning. The
chief editor has three or four writer's
under him, including witty Photographer,
and this staff prepares a page of matter
each day The editor-in-chief,s the reader
should understand while directing the
general policy of the paper has little to
do with details and the actual manage
ment. All that Is left to the managing
editor, the particular charge Of the editor
in-chief being the editorial page
Tho managing editor now consults with
his assistants His immediate assistant,
who has been at work since o'clock, tells
him what is going on in the country, and
the evening papers begin to come in with
their early editions. Telegraphic instruc-
tons are sent to various correspondents,
and, perhaps, there are special and i'm
portant directions to give the representa-
tives Of the paper In New York and
Washington. Most important Of all is
the work Of the city editor. The city
editor has been at work for three or
four hours, readisg all the morning
papers and making up what Is called his
assignment book" In this book he has
memoranda of all the known events of the
day, If there are meetings, weddings,
sensational. trials, police Investigations;
if a prominent man is due in the city. or
a noted criminal Is to nrrive In charge Of
officers; If particularly interesting case
is to come up In the divorce courts-no
matter what is likely to occur or has al
ready occurred in or about the city-the
city editor must know all about it, must
have a record of 1t on his book. and must
send man, or a number Of men, as the
case may warrant. to report 1t. The city
editor tells the managing editor what no
thinks is going to be tho news of the
day" That is something that every edi-
tor stops and asks himself almost hourly,
What will be the best thing in the
papers tomorrow, the thing that peo-
pie do the most talking and think
ing about2" For that 10 the thing
be wants to spread on, the thing
he wants to put his best men on, and
have some pictures made for, IL 1t is a
thing that will bear pictures, and when
put in type and ready 70 make mp in the
forms be wants this thing, this news OF
the day, to lead the paper. that Is, to
g4pear as the first article on the frat page.
Tho first page Of q metropolitan news
p0por Is like the show windsw Of mer-
chant, for 1t is there that the best goods,
tho novelties, the striking things, arc to
be displayed. An editor who does not
know hsw 20 get his best news ON his
hrst page, and who has not good iudg-
nent 81 TO what Is his best news, might
- well quit and 20 into some other bust
meas. He Is q failure rs an editor.
The worst Of 1t is that all plans may be
changed In an instant. What at O in the
evening seems to be the big news of the
day may be completely ovcrshAdowed by
something which comes In At midnight.
and the really great newspaper is one
which not only gets all news in good
shape, but stands ready at a moments
notice, no matter how late the hour, to
accommodate itself TO changed conditions
and to make the most Of the latest and
best There IRE newspapers, and some ia
Chicago, SO lazily managed that the news
which comes is simply put ia the columns
until column after column is filed, without
any sort OF effort being made to sift the
good ncws from the trivial and to make
The paper up in accordance Herewith.
80
Tho city editor has under his control
twenty or more reporters. Some Of them
are men who have made regulations as
writer's and who draw salaries as large as
the city editor himself The tendency Of
late is to employ the best writer's on the
city staff, and the man who can hustle
for news, who can take hold Of an event
Of any sort whatsoever, find out oil about
II quickly, catch its spirit and substance
and put them on paper rapidly, graph
ically and reliably, with keen perception
Of what Is material and what too trivial
to mention, making Of the whole "a
story" that is, tale Of fact which is
complete in that it has dramatic action,
cause, development, climax, crisis--a
story that Is short, compact, Trustworthy
and AZ tho same time possessed of
that rare and iadescribable Quail
ity called readableness-sueh a man
Is the highest typo Of journalist
There arc not many such, and tho few
there are command good wages Some Of
them work by space, being paid ten or
twelve dollars a column, and in some
cases fifteen or twenty, for all they write.
The managing editor Of Tho Tribune said
to me the other day There are two
classes Of newspaper men who are so
scarce that Il is almost impossible to find
them. Ono is the first class reporter who
can wrtto anything, and has at his COM
mand a dozen different veins suitable to
as many sorts Of subjects The other is
tho man who thinks. can hire five hun
dred newspaper men to 60 and do what
tell them to do, but ! cannot find one who
hns ideas OF his own. There is premium
out for newspaper men with ideas"
Some people suppose that q reporter
simply goes out In the town and depends
upon the good Offices Of friends who come
up 70 him and give him items" That is
true only IN small villages. In cities a
reporter wouldn't get a printable item
once month in that manner Whatever
a man gets in a big city he is generally
sent for. He knows what he is after. or
he has certain field TO cover and the
news comes to him in that way. For in
stance, ono reporter goes into the city
ball in the morning and STAYS in that
building all day It is his business to
lind out Oh that is going On in the various
public Offices there. Another man works
In the government building, another in
the criminal courts, and So on. Every
policeman IN town is q reporter, and
but for the police the newspapers would
have sorry time Of it gathering the
news. The police telegraph system was
a godsend to the newspapers. If crime
is committed, on accident occurs, there is
mysterious death. body Is found, or a
bomb, or an important prisoner Is arrest
ed, In any part OF the city or suburbs, IL
is known within few minutes ct police
headquarters. The patrolman either re-
ports IN person ct his station or tela-