Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-04-27
A NEWSPAPER CRITICISM.

ing the public mind against the unre-
stricted immigration of the Chinese
A NEWSPAPER CRITICISM.
II. Elton Smith, in the Overland Monthly
for May, discourses of modern journalism.
He starts out with the assumption that
newspaper men have standard of their
own for Judging things that does not al
ways correspond with that of the public.
We cannot understand how Mr.. Smith
justifes such a conclusion AS the successful
journal is that which most nearly reflects
public opinion, its standards of Judgment
must be those most generally accepted by
the public as true standards.
His second charge is that the journalist
comes into touch with the public thought
or rather with his readers, only through
the imperfect medium of the business
Office. In this Mr.. Smith is again in error.
The newspaper that feels the public pulse
only by putting its finger upon the count
ing-room, is very poor apology for a
journal. The skilled journalist has a
score of mediums for ascertaining the
thoughts of his readers. One of these is his
reportorial force; another is the reflection
of the daily news; another his correspond
ence; still another is his personal COM
munication with men; others are the
voice Of the pulpit, the bar and the public
forum, and SO on through long list, not
the least of which is the aggregation of his
country exchanges-the heads of which, of
ali in journalism, are brought most di-
rectly and intimately into association with
the people of the vicinage, and who, of
all journalists, most directly reflect the
sentiments of their clientage.
From his inaccurate premises Mr.. Smith
concludes that the newspaper man does
not see things as they impress every day
humanity. Thus, ne declares that the
newspaper man looks upon an item of
news as important in proportion to its
opportunities for sensation. "a hang
ing is not for him an expiation of wrong
against society, but a column and-a-h half
sensation; a cyclone is not disaster rem
dered tragic by the destruction of life and
property, but "a four-head story"
In the name of the prophet where did
the Overland discover H. Elton Smith, and
in what schools of reading and observation
has Mr.. Smith been trained? In the
statement we have quoted he would have
readers believe that modern journalists are
devoid OF human sympathy and are little
short of thugs and cannibals. That he has
perverted and absurdly false notion of
journalism is undeniable-he reveals it
beyond question.
1t is very true that a good deal of news
publication takes on the color of the
handler of the news on the paper, but not
more than news reflects the bias of auv
who retail it. We must take human ma
ture as it is, not as it should be- So long
as it is imperfect, so long will the newspa-
per be defective. But that there is less of
sympathy, human kindness and benevo-
lence among newspaper people than others
is not true.
The scheme of the sensational journalist
to paint all reports in vivid colors, to seek
for and dilate upon scandalous news, and
to feed perverted and vicious taste for
tracy" reading, the Ocerland's critic very
properly mathematics No decent Jour
nal defends such practices, but that such
news literature should be taken as the
gauge and standard of modern journalism
as whole is no more Just than it would
be to measure the literature of the world
by the condemned books, or hold it amen
able for the vicious prints that even the
rigor of law cannot wholly suppress.
There is, as Mr.. Smith charges, obscene
journalism, just as there are obscene poets
and writers of bawdy books. That the
fictitious element enters into journalism as
it does into most other modern activities
is true; that newspapers are bought to do
base service is as true as that men are pur
chased to serve evil. But to say that these
are the chief characteristics of modern
journalism, as Mr.. Smith must be under
stood to imply by the tone of his sweeping
and unqualified criticism, is to confess to
inability to discriminate and to fairly and
dispassionately pass judgment.
The mammoth Sunday paper comes in
for good share of denunciation, and not
without much reason. 1t is bulky af-
fair, in which the minimum of news is
buried in mass of Indifferent matter for
the most part. But where there is one
corpulent Sunday paper, pustulent with
silly and often vicious matter, there are
scores of newspapers that do not need to
be handled with the tongs or to pass quar-
antine in the study of the head of the
house before admitted to the family circle.
Where there is one sensational and de-
sheet. there are scores of self
and clean journals, and these
are the measures by which the merits of
modern journalism are to be ascertained
1t would be another world than this if.
while all other human institutions have
defects and are shamed by the misconcep-
ton of duty and the viciousness of some
modern journalism should in all its repre-
sentatives be found perfect.
In one criticism by Mr.. Smith, however,
we find pearl of wisdom-that "opin-
ions newspaper should have, and they
should emenate from the editorial depart
ment, not from the business office "a
truth no experienced newspaper man of
honest purpose for moment doubts.
The Sunday Union" mt Folsom.