Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-02-25
MEXICAN NEWSPAPERS.
EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS OF JOURNAL
ISM IN THE AZTEC CAPITAL.
Reading the sunday Paper at Your
Leisure on Saturday ESening-So Com
ception of News-An Example of tho
Enterprise Displayed.


ception of News-An Example of the
Enterprise Displayed.
'El Ndcional V TEMPO de manana"
Now, there's enterprise for you. The
National and Times of tomorrow" To-
morrow, mind you. and this in Il land
where the flies are said to rOOst low of
nights from sheer laziness. Have you
anything like it il your so called enter
prising New York,
1t sOr; of knocks on: the stranger in this
land of 3ulque and tortillas to find that he
can resd. or rather could read if lie under
stood spanish. Sundays paper while he
reclines ut ease in Il big armchair on Satur-
day evening. II tukes all the tonceit out
of him, and the next day he doesn't carry
his head near so high. II is only after he
has mastered the language that his old
time confidence returns and the American
sagle flaps his wings as Justify rs ever to
his ewes, for when he is able TO read to-
morrow's paper today he finds that il is
really today's paper of yesterday, or day
before yesterday. or week beforv last.
No CONCEPTION OF NEWS.
To be sure the paper is dated to- morrow,
but If he finds any news Of today In it he
when night after night. from o clock in
the evening until 3 o clock in the morning,
he hears the cry, Ell NaciOnai TEMPO
de manana"' he comments on it in the
darkness with plentiful sprinkling of
swear words, for the Mexican newsbOy's
cry is exceptionally shrill and penetrating,
and makes sleep 4 stranger TO the nervous
mans eyes. Queer institution is the
newspaper here in this land of queer insti-
tutions. The word newspaper is really
libel on the genuine article, as we know.
Newspaper men have absolutely no con-
ception of news. and the much coveted
beat Of New York journalism is IN un-
known factor in Mexico.
And the people seemed to be perfectly
contented with this sort of thing. / have
seen The Monitor Rcpublicano, the chief
| daily paper of the republic, come ont,
| 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 fill the space
| given 10 news so called, and as each
paper is enabled to get ut least an item or
| two OF something Iresh every day, they
| MANAGE between them 10 keep the pot
| boiling and fill from three 10 five col
umns. Frequently | have seen an item
| travelling about for two or three weeks,
| going from paper to paper as the editors
| happened TO lind il. That sounds very
| funny, doesn't IL Just imagine the cry
| OF .'chestnutS"' that would soar heaven
| ward il 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 it-in fact, you rather
| like it. do. 1t saves an awful amount
| of wear on the nerves, and You need only
read one paper 10 get absolutely all the
news that has been printed, if you only
| wait long enough. All you require is pa
| tience, and you somehow or other accu-
mulate wonderful stock of il here after
a short residence.
THE ENTERPRISE DISPLAYED.
| About the funniest illustration-that is
| funny TO you New 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 We're almost scared to death. This
occurred at ll: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 "a 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 vas not even dreamed
Of As there are no Monday papers-no-
body works on Sunday except q few store
keepers-it was Tuesdays papers that
were looked TO for the news.
On Tuesday El Monitor Republican,
informed its eypectant 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 AZ work investigating
the damage, and in a day n 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 u 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 n coItract for a 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 n
four page sheet. Its circulation is about
4, 900 and no effort has ever been made 10
increase it. Like every other newspaper
God save the mark i'm this city and
throughout the republic, El Monitor Re
publicano closes its forms at q O'Clock in
the evening.
Think Of that, you overworked news
slaves Of the place known as Gods couu-
try!'-City q Mexico Cor. New York
Press.