The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-04-24

the power of enjoyment from anything else
than his business. The Frenchman gets |
his pleasure as he goes along. He takes a
holiday when ever he can and he is always |
ready for laugh or for any pleasure of
life. He sets aside a part of his day for
pleasure and rest, and he likes to read
about other things in his newspaper than
money and business. Nearly every French |
newspaper publishes a serial story, and
these form very important part for some
of the French journals"
'How about stories in an American news
paper, Mr.. Reid! Would it not pay to in
troduce
THE FUEILLEToN
into American journalisml''
II can't say" was the reply. at is hard
to determine what constitute the most at
tractlve features of great newspaper; al
most impossible sometimes to tell what in
creases and what decreases its circulation.
we have published number OF good novels
In the Tribune, but l have never noticed
any appreciable increase in our sales from
them. The people read them, and if they
are good we hear Communications andif bad,
the complaints come in; but l couldn't
prove that they have really ever affected
our circulation. BY the way, met Dana,
editor of the New York Sun, Just as | was
starting to Washington, and had few
moments talk with him. During this he
spoke of newspaper novels, and told me he
had been buying story by W. d. Howels,
and also one by Mark Twain. l asked him
II he thought they had been profitable VEN
lures, and he said they had pleased the Sun
readers, but whether they had paid from
dollar-and-cents, or circulation point OF
view, he could not say.'
This brings up the subject of the syndi-
cate field in journalism, Mr.. Reid. Do you
4 IN hnn
TO stay, and will the production Of noted
writers and others continue to be sold for
simultaneous publication in newspapers in
| different cities!n
II don't think you can tell what will and
what will not continue in journalism" re-
piled Mr.. Reid. 'There are certainly a
number of advantages about the syndicate
methods. They enable the writers to get
better prices for one thing, and the news
papers through them can get excellent mat
ter at much lower rates. The Tribune has
patroniZed some of them, though we prefer,
and l think the more prominent of the New
I ork papers prefer, to have exclusive mat
ter, as we haYe more matter than we
can use, and for every column used at
least another column of good reading has
TO be thrown away in the make up of every
days paper. 1t is a question of the sur
vival of the fttest and the best of the news
and the first literary matter gets in. The
amount of matter
is TOO GREAT
Notwithstanding the increase in the size of
the paper. l used to think when we were
publishing ten or twelve pages in our Sun
day newspaper, that the paper was as big
as ii would ever get, but we are publishing
twenty and thirty pages now and the peo-
pie seem to like it, One objection | have
to syndicate articles, is that they decrease
| In tpf 10 IF n
newspaper, and this is it seems to me q
necessity to its influence and its prosper
ity."
Speaking of newspaper individuality,
Mr.. Reid, how about signed articles in
newspapers. Does the use of signatures
injure the paper in which they appearH
| "Jf signatures were general | would say,
yes. The people get to look upon the news
paper as an individuality; and when no
signatures are used, they rely upon its
statements or opinions, in proportion TO
their general estimate of its character.
When, on the other hand, fifty names APP
pear at the end Of fifty pieces of news, or
of editorial matter in its columns the result
is confusing and it detracts from the news
paper as whole"
The conversation then turned to the
Illustrated features of the of our news
papers. Mr.. Reid said he thought news
paper illustration might be over done by
the American papers.
''In so far as pictures are associated with
the news of the day." said he, "they are q
good thing, but l do not believe IN putting
pictures in the papers merely for the sake
Of having pictures. The methods of fast
printing, and the quality of the paper
which large daily must use make it i'm
possible to have newspaper pictures works
of fine art; but they often add 10 the ex-
preston of the news they convey better
} ideas of men than can be given with the
pen. The picture of new witness in q
sensational trial taken by a good artist
when he is N the act of giving some testi,
mony which is to startle the world next
, morning is sure to be good thing to have
or that of witty after-dinner talker tc
accompany the