Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-06
NEWSPAPER WORK.
The First Of Series of Talks on Its Various
PhaseA


The First Of . Series of Talks on Its Various
Phases
Mr.. FRED PERRY POWERS SPEAKS OK THE REIA-
TON OF THE PRESS TO THE PUBLIC IN THE
7. NJ. Q. A. BUILDiNG-soME CRITICISMS OF
NEWSPAPER MANAGEMENT ANSWERED.
The first Of the series of talks on phases Of
newspaper work by newspaper men at the
Y. NJ. c. A. building was given last evening by
Mr.. Fred Perry Powers. The weather was such
as to be a powerful reason for comfortably
staying at home. but in face of that fact the
spacious parlors were filled with large and
| interested audience. With Q few brief words
OF introduction from Mr.. W. B. Bryan the
lecturer OF the evening spoke on the theme Of
The Relation OF the Press to the Public" Mr..
Powers forcible and incisive style and his keen
and witty thrusts at some time -honored mis-
concept ions were thoroughly enjoyed and ap-
preclated by his hearers.
WHAT Is NEWS?
he spoke at the outset Of the unreasonable
but at the same time universal and instructive
human feeling of pleasure in the vehicle that
brings US welcome intelligence. You are under
no more obligations to the letter carrier than
you are to the policeman, he said, but you have
more friendly feeling for him. The converse
OF TINS sentiment, the dislike for the vehicle
tnat brings US unweicome intelligence is more
often met in literature. But why should the
newspapers BIO bearers of ill news? This brings
US directly to the question, What is news?
Mr.. Powers cited the case of gem
tieman who called on family of
friends who had been out of the
country for some time. He asked all the usual
questions. The travellers had not been ill a
day. They had not lost their trunks Abso-
iuteiy nothing had gone wrong with them.
when they had completed their narrative the
gentleman remarked, in affected disgust: ''You
haven't given me particle of news to take
nome The speaker said that he did not give
TINS illustration as an exact or exhaustive def
milton OF news. but merely as a suggestive def
milton that news Is something exceptional. The
newspapers, he said, are sometimes bitterly
criticised by those who may be called the nice
people because they devote SO much attention
TO crimes and to the weaknesses of humanity.
ATTENTION TO CRIME.
The papers, the speaker said, devote less at
tention to these things than they are charged
with doing. He called attention to the fact,
however, that crime is quite out of the ordinary
run or it would not be news. 1t occupies more
space III the papers than il does in actual life
because the papers are not photographs of the
body polite In which every detail isreproduced
but sketches of the salient features of life car
toons showing the striking and unusual ele-
ment OF life. An idea of Washing
ton is given to strangers by showing
them pictures of some of the public
buildings and views of Pennsylvania avenue.
But your friends do not infer that Washington
Is made up of huge public buildings and sin
gle street. 1t is the unusual that you show
when you show Washington. He spoke of the
Criticism based on examination of the col
uhins OF leading newspaper and the allegation
that the accounts of the murders, suicides
scandals. DC, constituted a microcosm of
American life and manners.
SERIES OF VIEWS.
But the speaker maintained a newspapers con-
tents are not a microcosm of life, but a series
of views. He was glad that the trial of a min
lister for immortality is piece of news worth a
quarter of a column, that difference between
husband and a wife is unusual an occur
renee as to be worth a quarter of a column. A
murder, he said. is certainly worth a column
and the scandals of the British nobility might
as well be exposed. You would take" he
observed, IAN asbestos umbrella and "A boiler
plate overcoat with you if you had to enter a
place where virtue and peace and truth and
openness were news. You would not dare
stay over night In city where the
purity of minister the harmonies
of married life. the sobriety of u
church member, the honesty OF a merchant
were worth quarter of a column or a whole
column each Oh the first page of the leading
morning paper. l know of only one city where
that his daughters were virtuous, and it is not
surprising that on the following day storm of
fire and birthstone plotted that city out of ex-
lstence and destroyed every resident of it ex-
cept the members of Lots family. and even
Lots wife persisted for thinking regretfully of
such an infamous place.
You may have concluded by this time that
you do not like news and want your newspaper
to be something other than newspaper. The
press Is not the only thing that has been de-
nOuDceQ for not bpluU Romefhpfy nj hoy fhay =
Is. Plenty OF people have denounced the church
because 1t was not monastery, or a commune,
or an emancipation society," total absti-
nence society, or a reform club"
WANT To KEEP THINGS QUIET.
As to the amount OF space in the newspapers
given to crimes. the speaker said that it was
over-estimated. and quoted from statistical
estimate that was made of the contents of the
papers III SIX largest cities From this data IL
was found that if twenty minutes is given to
looking over the morning papers a pro rata
distribution of attention would give about two
minutes to crimes. He spoke of narrow
minded. short-sighted people who imagine that
the publication OF criminal news promotes
crimes They are always eager to hush
things quiet # everything is not all right nsiR
they at least want to make 1t appear so. This
Is as irrational as the rage of Cleopatra with
the innocent messenger who told her Antony
was married. If there be crime it had better he
made public. Il should like, he added, TO
have the people who imagine the newspapers
are promoting crime tell me whether crime Is
a new thing. believe there was a good deal
OF 1t before the art Of printing was invented"
THE MsUsED WORD ''sENsATIoNAI."
In reference to the word sensational as de-
scriptive of newspaper matter the speaker re-
marked that this word is much misused The
| sensational theory" he said, lis the event and
not its treatment. A paper cannot make a
sensation out Of thing that is not in itself
sensational. 1t attempts its occasionally and
the result is ridiculous. When people speak of
| a sensational account they generally mean one
| that gives the details. For myself admit that
want the details where the event is of any
| special interest. 1 do not think that am a
| person OF morbid tastes or criminal pro-
clivities, but l have read good MANY de-
tailed accounts Of hangings and prize fights,
| though l never saw one of either and have no
desire to be a spectator on such occasions 1
| have read voluminous accounts of an electro
cution at which no newspaper man was per-
mltted to be present 1 suppose a member of
the Society OF Friends might read detailed
account of the battle Of Gettysburg without
entirely losing standing.