The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-02-18
MODERN JOURNALISM IN ITS
HIGH WALKS.

Even In the higher walks of Jour.
nalism there are trials that will put the
mettle to the keenest test. The editor
cannot do his duty without sometimes
applying the knife, without wounding.
He must accept unpleasant response
b lities; he must be firm in the face of
protest and resentment; he must be
ready for the return blow. There is
DO place of greater obligations, none
of wider opportunities, none of higher
personal respon visibility. The LAWYER
is directly amenable to client and
court, the preacher to his coDgrega-
ton and church tribunal, the doctor
to his patients and his professional
peers; but while the readers edit the
editor it is an ~unorganized public
opinion, and be is practically q law
unto himself. The character Of his
influence and the measure of his sue.
cess will therefore depend on his sure.
ness of insight and sobrety of Jude.
ment. The fundamental element Of
journalism is al instructive, unfailinc.
unerring grasp of popular wants and
impulses. The editor must intuitiveIv
know what the masses think and how
they feel. He must have the supreme
faculty of Interpreting their W
thoughts to themselves, and of max.
ing them feel that what he says is lust
what they would say if they only
could. The Importance of the "nose
for news" is proverbial; but the ear
for heart beats is just as essential.
The editor in his grasp and embodi.
ment OF human nature, ought to be
the concentrated popul4ce. This is
far from meaning that he yields to
every caprice or momentary gust Of
popular passion, or that he follows in.
stead of leading. On the contrary he
should preserve the best side of the
popular mind against the worst side:
he should advance with the steady
current instead of being whirled by
the temporary eddy; he should bring
the transient outburst to the touch.
stone of the ultimate criterion. He
should possess the highest attributes
of the intellect-qualities which in d
soldier would not only organize the
forces and plan the strategy, but lead
the attack, and which in a LAWYER
would infallibly seize the strong
points of the case and 90 straight tc
the judgment of the jury. This an.
swers the plea we sometimes hear for
impersonalism. The aggressive force
Of vital journalism is a strong person.
ality. The vigorous editor must make
his personality felt, and every great
journal will have a stamp and impress
of its own which cannot be hidden
under an impersonal cloak.
ITS REWARDS.
One of the trials of the editor is Tia
ephemeral nature of his work. Yet
even this has its compensatory offset
in the wider reading and the imme.
date effect. A hundred thousand
readers over ten or twenty years
would be a great crown and reward
in any Internationally not a hundred
thousand readers concentrated in q
day? However e~vanescent its char,
acter, the triUmphs associated with the
modern newspaper are incaIculable.
The consciousness of directly address.
ing half a million people and Of direct
ly speaking to a continent, is inspir.
ing. 1t is true there is no intellectual
exh1laration, no electric thrill, no
ecstacy of soul, like that of the orator
who looks into the eyes of his hearers
and plays upon their emotions and
feels the q~uickening reaction upon
himself. But that audience is limited,
while the newspaper audience is IN.
limited. The editor has the world for
his field and all subjects of thought
for his themes. He speaks before
the orator a get to his feet, and SCI
ties opinion before the Statesman
makes himself heard. He draws the
fang ever while he gives it play, and
sends his antidote with the poison,
When Coleridge, reporting a midnigh:
speech in the house of MINOR and
dashing off his answer at 2 o'clock in
the morning sent it out in the same
sheet, he established the editoria,
leader and showed its possibilities.
NdPO4eOA IoSaLuou 4OuE newspapers
as more dangerous than an army Of
hundred thousand men; and neWs.
papers ia his day had all the limitations
of the hand press. How much more
powerful with the unreasonable re-
sources of to-day. Jefferson said he
would rather have newspapers without
a government than government with.
out newspapers; and the philosophy =
of the observation is clear. The alert. /
ness, vigilance, publicity and organ
lied public opinion of newspapers are
the safeguards of the social and pO-
litical fabric. The editor scourges
wrong-doers, dethrones political
usurpers, unhorses official ~recreants,
nnfrncks n~ratantio,,c oh arlatans nricks