Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-03-02
MEXICAN NEWSPAPERS.
EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS OF JOURNAL
ISM IN THE AZTEC CAPITAL

ISM IN THE AZTEC CAPITAL
k<adiee the >asaay Payer As Your
Lessare on Saturday Evenins-Ne Cos.
eepsisn Of Nevs-Aa Exanple Of the
Enterpri<e Displayed.
'-El Ndcional > TEMPO de mansnaf
Now, there's enterprise for you. The
National and Times of Tomorrow" To-
morrow. mind you, and this IN land
where the flies are said 10 roast low Of
nights from sheer laziness. Have you
anything ike it in your so called enter
prising New York.
II sort Of knocks cu- the stranger in this
land Of pulque and tortillas TO find tina, he
can read, or rather could read if he under
stood Spanish, Sundays rarer while he
reclines at ease in big armchair on Sarur-
day evening. II takes all the eonceit out
Of him, and the next day he duasni carry
his head near so high. 1t is cniy after ne
has mastered the language that his cid
time confidence returns. and the Amer ican
eagle flaps mis- wings as Justify as ever 70
his eyes, for when he is able to read to-
uiorrow's paper today he finds tina, it Is
really todsy's paper of yesterday, or day
before yesterday. or week before last
no CONCEPTION or NEWS.
To be sure the paper is dated tomorrow,
but If ne finds any news of today in II he
puts it down as an exceptional case and
when night after night, from clock in
the evening until 3 clock in the morning,
he hears the cry, Ell Nacional TEMPO
de msnanar' he comments on it IN the
darkness with q plentiful sprinkling Of
swear words, for the Mexican newsboy's
cry is exceptionally sh-ill and penetrating,
and makes sleep stranger TO the nervous
mans eyes. Queer institution is the
newspaper here in this land Of queer insti
tutions. The word newspaper is really q
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 an I'M
known factor in Mexico
And the people seemed TO be perfectly
contented with this sort of thing have
seen The Monitor Republicano. the chief
daily pape. of the republic, come out,
time after time, without a 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 10 fill the space
given TO news" so called, and a. each
paper is enabled TO get at least an item or
two OF something fresh every day, they
manage between them to keep the pot
boiling and I'LL from three to 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 find it. That sounds very
funny, doesn't il, Just imagine the cry
OF ''chestnutsr' that would soar heaven
ward If anything OF the kind was at
tempted in your city. It's all a matter OF
education, however. and after awhile you
learn not to mind tin fact, you rather
like IL. / do. II 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, il you only
wait long enough. All you require is pa
thence, and you somehow Or other accu-
mulate q wonderful stock Of IL here after
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
of the water supply, the great cathedral
was cracked. bridges were ruined and the
people were almost scared to death. This
r-<.1 I,9n -,
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 few store
keepers-it was Tuesdays papers that
were looked to for the news
On Tuesday FL Monitor Republican,
informed its expectant readers in about
twelve lines, that on Saturday night there
had been q yer. severe earthquake which
had done much damage. Its staff of re-
porters was busily at work investigating
the damage, and IN a day OF 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 tie 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. Ii will accept no advertise
ment for stipulated days or for consecu-
tive insertions. The best that you can
do, il you want to advertise In its columns,
is to secure a contract 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
al the insertions, some OF which may not
be given for months afterward. Not
iue 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
four page sheet. Its circulation is about
1000 and no effort has ever been made to
increase il Like every other newspaper
God save the mark.-in this city and
throughout the republic, FL Monitor Re
publicano closes its forms at 8 O'Clock in
the evening.
Think Of that, you overworked news
slaves Of the place known as Gods coun-
tryH'-City o. Mexico Cor New York
Press
fAcIOOAnAn%At