The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-11-14
THE EDITOR.
DIR. TALMAGE'S IDEA OF WHAT HE
OUGHT TO BE.
The Model Newspaper and His Advice to
Men About to Start One-'"The Nigh
test Force for Good on Earth To-day is
a Good Editor

Ihe Model Newspaper and His Advice to
Men About to Start One.-"The Nigh
test Force for Good on Earth To-day is
a Good Editor
college Of Journalisms.]
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage visited
Minneapolis the other day, and dur.
call at the Tribune office of that
city INDUCED in talk on the subject
of newspaper editing. On being asked
if he though: newspapers should pub
lish reports of hangings and prize
fights, he said:
"My idea of good newspaper is a
mirror of life itself. Some people COM
plain because the evil of the world is
reported as we'll as the good. The evil
must be reported as we'll as the good,
or how will we know what to guard
against, or what to reform. There is
chance for discrimination as to how
much space shall he given to reports
of such things as prize fights, but the
newspaper that merely presents the
fair and beautiful and the bright side
of life is misrepresentation. That
family is best qualified for the duties
of life who have told to them not on.
Iy what ood there is in the world, but
what evils there is in the world, and is
told to select the good and reject the
evil. Let children come up with the
idea that all society is fair and beauti-
full, and when they come into life they
will find it so different from what they
thought they will be as incompetent
= 10
throw your child into the Atlantic
ocean and tell him to learn how to
SWIM A complaint is sometimes
made that wickedness is made attrac-
tive and goodness stupid; that evil is
put in great headlines and goodness in
| an obscure corner; that crime is set
up in great primer type and right
eousness in nonpareil. Sin is loath-
| some, and newspaper can make it so,
and virtue is beautiful newspaper
can make that So" When DR.. Tai
mage was in the composing room he
watched the work of "throwing in"
with evident interest. He stood near
one of the cases and took several type
from the L box.
"Were you ever a printer?" was
asked him.
'No, never printer, though for
fifteen of twenty years my fingers have
been black with printers ink. I have
never edited dolly newspaper, but T
have editel three or four weeklies and
have written for the papers when not
an editor myself. Almost every man
at some time in his life is smitten with
a newspaper mania, fancy. He has
some idea, moral or political or relig-
ious, which he wants to ventilate, and
he induces some friends to advance
the cash to start paper, and gets out
a prospectus which threatens to do
great things. After week or two
some plain, matter of-fact stockholder
finds out that there has been no espe-
cial revolution in the universe, and
that the sun and moon do not stand
still, and that men are just as big liars
as they were before and that boodlera
are just as thick. Pretty soon big
bill for white paper comes in and alb
serbs all the spare cash in the bust
ness business Office, and the printers
refuse to work unless their string il
cashed up, the printer bows to the
managing editor and the managing
editor bows to the editor in chief and
he bows to the stockholder. The stock
holder bows to the general public and
the subscriber in the rural dirtricts
wonders why the paper does Mt come
any more. My advice to the mar
who has anything he wants to say in &
newspaper is to say it through som,
paper that is already an established
institution. An idea is prevalent tha
man who can do nothing else cal
edit newpeper. A man who canno
row dug-out across the Mississippi
river has no business trying to engin
eer the Big Eastern from New Yorl
, to Liverpool. 1t requires to edit
newspaper successfully the brains of
philosopher, the skill, the vigilanc
and the boldness of great general;
man ought to be Statesman, IAN essay
. ist, geographer, statistician and al
encyclopedias; and if more men ha,
found this out earlier in their caree
there would have been much fewe
cases of bankruptcy within the las
fifty years. My advice to The ma
who fees called on to start newspa
per is that he consider that the bes
! sign of softening of the brain, and tbs
he place his money in his wife's hand
and make rush for some lunati
asylum and surrender himself befor
!; he does something desperate
"Do you believe in colleges of ioul
nalism?" was asked.
! "Yes," said DR.. Talmage. II do.
vast improvement will be made in Il
/ newspapers when the Universities ha,
departments where young men al
z prepared for editorial and reportori
4 work. The universities have schoo
% of law and medicine, and why not
l. journalism? Sometimes men stumb
J. into success, just as men stumble in
i. success in any other business or pr
9. fession, but I believe that succe
~ would be greater if there we're reg
n lar courses where those who intend
become newpaper men were told
re the hard work, the dangers, the tenn
,e tations and the wonderful opportul
IS mites of the newspaper man. IF
he need schools to train lawyers and Dc
lp tors and artists and evangelist, we ne
u them to train editors and reporters.
id I would have courses of lectures whe
the greatest editors of the count