The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-02-18
MEXICAN NEWSPAPERS.
EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS OF JOURNAL
ISM IN THE AZTEC CAPITAL.
Reading the sunday Paper at Your
Leisure on Saturday Evening--No Com
ception of News--An Example of the
Enterprise Displayed.
..El Nacional y TEMPO de m;

pfising New fOfhf
Ii sort Of knocks out the stranger in this
land of pulque and tortillas To find that he
can read, or rather could read if he under
stood Spanish, Sundays paper while he
reclines at ease in big armchair on Satur-
day evening. 1t takes all the conceit out
Of him, and the next day he doesn't carry
his head near 50 high 1t is only after he
has mastered the language that his OLD
time confidence returns, and 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 1t Is
really today's paper OF yesterday, or day
before yesterday, or week before last.
40 CONCEPTION OF NEWS.
To be sure the paper is dated to morrow,
but if he finds any news Of today in 1t he
puts it down as an exceptional case, and
when night after night, from : o clock in
the evening until o clock in the morning,
he hears the cry, FL Nacionai TEMPO
De manana" he comments on 1t III ths
darkness with Il plentiful sprinkllng u
swear words, for the Mexican newsboy >
cry ia exceptionally shrill and penetrating.
and makes sleep a stranger TO the nervous
mans eyes Queer institution Il the
newspaper here in this land of queer instl-
tutions The word newspaper is really II
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 un-
known factor in Mexico.
And the people seemed to be perfectly
contented with this sort of thing | have
seen The Monitor Republican,, the CHIEF
daily paper Of the republic, come out,
time after time, without Il single item OF
original news Everything in its new,
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 gong
carefully through the columns Of the city
exchanges they manage TO Ill the space
,iVen to news so called, and rs 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 fill from three To five col
| umns Frequently have seen an item
| travelling about for two or three weeks,
going from paper 10 paper as the editors
happened TO find it, That sounds very
funny doesn't IT. Just imagine the cry
of "chestnutsn that would soar heaven
ward if anything Of the Kind was at
tempted in your city. It's all Il matter OF
| education, however, and after awhile You
learn not to mind tin fact, you rather
like it, do. It 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
tience, and You somehow or other accu-
mulate a wonderful stock OF IL here after
a short residence.
THE ENTERPRISE DISPLAYED.
About the funniest illustratioL-tha Is
funny 10 you New Workers, | mean--of
the enterprise displayed by the papers here
ia LAYING the news before their readers,
occurred some time ago when Mexico eX-
perenced the severSst earthquake shocks
Of which there is any record. Houses
were shaken down III 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 were almost scared 10 death. This
occurred at 1870 o'clock on a Saturday
night. In your city you newspaper people
would have worked your reporters nearly
10 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
morning paper. Here the Sunday papers
had been printed many hours before, and
such a thing Is an extra or anything Of
the kind for Sunday was not even dreamed
Of As there are no Monday papers mo
body works on Sunday except few store
keepers-it was Tuesdays papers that
were looked TO for the news.
On Tuesday III Monitor Republican,
informed it, eXpectant 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 at work investigating
the damage, and in day or two the paper
would lay its complete account before the
public. And it did Oh Thursday morning,
| Just i've days after the shock. This paper
has made great fortune for its propri
etor; its advertising rates are enormous,
! and the advertising department is more
arbitrarily conducted than that Of the
! lAlysL ilANcpShutul JouAll IA <liA~AA~b'
IL will print no cuts Of any kind or at
any price. 1t will accept no advertise
ment for stipulated days OF for consecu-
/ tive Insertions. The best that you can
do, if you want 10 advertise in its columns,
is TO secure a contract for given number
Of insertions, the 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 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 a
| four page sheet. Its circulation is about
| 1900, and no effort has ever been made 10
increase it. Like every other newspaper
- God save the mark!--in this city and
throughout the republic, Fl Monitor Re-
pUblicano closes its forms at q o'clock in
the evening.
Think oi that, you oycrWorked news
slaves of the place known as Gods coun-
tryY-City OF Mexico Cor New York
| Press.
| sympathy for the Sick