The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-01-03

There ls in this q great deal "
sense bcgotten OF experience. Any
man with money can start a paper.
Presses are easily bought type Is
for sale everywhere: printers can /
easily be hired writer's are like the |
sands on the seashore; newsdealers |
are always ready to place a new
commodity or their counters. But
when all is slid and done, the one
element necessary for succes--popu-
lar supports likely to be wanting.
Every newspaper reader may be
supposed to be in the habit of read
ing some particular paper. He
reads it because he thinks it better
newspaper than others, or because
he agrees with its opinion, or be-
cause he relies on its honesty. Now
comes n new journal which appeals
to him to discard his old paper and
take it instead. To be successful,
the appeal must be based on very
strong grounds indeed. 1t will not
suffice to argue that the old paper
has for once adopted an unpopular
course. Papers constantly adopt q
course which their subscribers do
not approve, yet, unless their new
departure is outrageous, it is over
looked, and they lose little or moth
ing. Whereas the new candidate
for public favor has got to establish
affirmatively that it deserves public
support and will continue to deserve
it. This must always be o matter
of time. Regulations are not built
up in a day; the public waits and
watches; il after a series of years
the new journal establishes char
acter for sincerity, judgment and
energy, it will probably command
success. But in the meantime the
projectors, unless their purse is very
long indeed, are likely to find it
depleted.
No mistake is commoner among
tyros in journalism than to suppose
that success in the newspaper busi-
ness is to be achieved by fitful
bursts of spasmodic enterprise. 1t
is quite questionable whether these
do not do as much harm as good.
They give the whole enterprise q
hashy character, and seem to i'm
ply-as they cannot possibly be
kept up-that the new paper has
not come TO stay. They are like
bursts of fireworks, which are very
pretty to look at while they last,
but which are sure to be succeeded
by black darkness. When news
paper announces that it has estab-
lshed a balloon service to the moon,
people clap their hands and applaud
its enterprise; but it is remarked
that though they buy the paper for
several days to see what the man in
= the moon is doing, they do not sub
scribe. For sublunary news they
continue to rely on their old favo-
rites.
1t is doubtful if there ever was an
instance of paper which was started
for specific object becoming sue
cessful until it abandoned that OBJ
iect. Several of the leading papers
of to-day were started to accom-
plish certain objects; but the pro-
prletors, being shrewd men, soon
discovered that the accomplishment
of reform was one thing and the
establishment of newspaper as a
business enterprise quite another,
and they dropped the former to de-
vote themselves to the latter. Ii
they had not their papers would
have died. 1t may be worth while
for Mr.. Blaine's friends to start a
newspaper to advocate his claims in
the city of Chicago; if they put up
money enough, it will last over elec-
ton. But every one will feel that
it has not come to stay, and no one
will make contracts for advertising,
or subscribe for. a year. AS tc
affecting the Tribune" it will not
be likely to disturb the business OF
that sheet to much extent.-[S. F.
Call, Dec. 81, 1887.