, 1888-02-22
MEXICAN NEWSPAPERS.
EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS OF JOURNAL
ISM IN THE AZTEC CAPITAL.
Reading the Sunday Paper at Your
Leisure on Saturday EveninG-No Con-
ccption of News-An Example of the
Enterprise Displayed.

oA cAAuHbhy ENtllhE-NO OOh-
coption of News-An Example of the
Enterprise Displayed.
'El Nacional y TEMPO de mananal"
Now, there's enterprise for you. "The
National and Times of tomorrow" To-
morrow, mind you, and this in n land
where the flies are said to roost low of
nights from sheer laziness. Have you
anything Xix it in your 80 called enter
prising New York;
1t sort Of mock out the stranger in this
Ian OF pulque and tortillas to find that HI
can read, or rather could read If he under
stood Spanish, Sundays paper while he
reclines ut ease in n big armchair on Satur-
day evening. 1t takes all the conceit out
of him, md 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 copldencer% returns, INT 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, or week before last.
NO CONCEPTION OF NEWS.
To DO sure the paper is dated tomorrow,
but II he finds any news of today In it he
puts it down as an exceptional case, and
when night after night, from z o'clock in
the evening until 3 O'Clock in the morning,
he hears the cry, 'El Nacfonal V TEMPO
de mammal" he comments on it in the
rkn with u plentiful sprinkling Of
swear words, for the Mexican %newsboy's
cry is exceptionally shrin and penetrating,
and makes sleep q stranger to the nervous
mans eyes. Queer institution is the
newspaper here in this land of queer insti-
buttons. The word newspaper is really n
libel on the genuine article, rs we know.
Newspaper men ave absolutely nc con-
ception of news, and the much coveted
beat" of New York Journalism Is IN 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 paper OF the republic, come out,
time after time, without a single item of
original >news. Everything in its news
columns was copied from It's local con
temporaries ind full credit WINS 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 Mt least an item or
two of something fresh every day, they
manage between them to keep the pot
boiling and fill from three to FIVE col
umns. Frequently | nave seen an item
travelling about for two or three weeks,
going from paper TO paper MS the editors
happened to find it. That sounds very
funny, doesn't it2 Just imagine the cry
OF "~chestnutsI' that would soar heaven
ward II anything OF the kind was at
tempted in your city. It's all q matter of
education, however, and after awhile YOU
learn not to mind it-in fact, you rather
Liz 1t. l 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-
mulatc n wonderful stock of it hero after
n short residence.
THE ENTERPRISE DISPLAYED.
About the funniest illustration-that is
funny to You New Workers., !
the enterprise displayed by tho papers here
in laying the news before their readers,
occurred some time aSo, when Mexico ex-
pcrienced the severest earthquake shocks
OF which there Is my record. Houses
wero shakon down in different parts of
tho city, the aqueduct was broken, cutting
off tho water supply, the great cathedral
was cracked, bridges were ruined and the
people were almost scared to death. This
occurred at ll:3O O'Clock on q Saturday
iibh~ 4 SOuL ClJy you newspaper people
would have worked your reporters nearly
TO death md strained the nerves Of every
body in the establishment for the purpose
OF getting n full and complete story of tho
earthquake and the damage in Sunday
mornings paper. Here the Sunday papers
had been printed many hours before, and
such n thing rs an extra or anything of
the kin for Sunday was not oven dreamed
OF. AS there are no Monday papers-no-
/ hAdu NrnrE0 an GVnalaY
keepers-it was Tuesdays papers that
were looked to for the o
On Tuesday FL Monitor R~epublicano
informed Its expectant readers IN about
twelve lines, that on Saturday night there
had been q very severe earthquake which
had done much damage. Its staff of re-
porters was busily at work investigating
the damage, and in a day or two the paper
would lay its complete account before the
public. And 1t did on Thursday morning,
Just five days after the shock. This paper
has made q great fortune for its propri-
etori its advertising rates are enormous,
and the advertising department is moro
arbitrarily conducted than that of the
most independent journal in America.
1t will print no cuts OF any kin or ut
n price. 1t will accept no advertise
ment for stipulated days or for consecu-
tive insertions. Tho best that you can
do, If you want to advertise in its columns,
is to secure n contract for q given number
of insertions, tho dates to be decided
by the publishers without consulting you.
And this only by paying in advance for
all the insertions, some Of which may not
be given for months afterward. Not n
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
1000, and no effort has ever been made to
Increase it. Like every other newspaper
God save the markl-in this city and
throughout the republic, FL Monitor Re
publicano closes its forms at O o'clock In
the evening.
Think Of TINT, you overworked news
slaves OF the place known as Goods couu-
tryr'-City OF Mexico Cor. New York
Press.
Sympathy for the Sick.
Funnymau-A sudden feeling Of nausea
has como over me. 1t must be something