The record-union., 1893-09-23

that trite saying, Mr.. Huntington. If
you are as well posted as you assume to
be, you know that if every man does not
think he is capable of running news
paper, that nine-tenths of those who do
think so are not capable. If every man
should set up to be broommaker with
out any previous knowledge of that me-
chanic art, it would be no more absurd
than the pretensions of nine out of every
ten men who assume that the possession
of a press, handful of types and a roll of
paper outfits one to edit a journal worthy
of recognition in journalism.
AS to the editor trying to place himself
in touch with the public, the essayist
is right. But being in touch with the
public by no means implies being for
ever on the popular side and floating with
the tide. To be in touch with the public
is the condition in which debate, even
contention, is possible. One is out Of
touch with the public when dogmatism,
self-conceit and shooting over the heads
of the people are dominant in the editorial
room. But we are in hearty accord with
Mr. Huntington's idea expressed in the
following extract from his able essay:
The interdependence OF newspaper and
reader is one OF mutual benefit and enjoy
ment. The man Of affairs must read q news
paper, first, because it has to do with the
practical affairs in which he is Interested sec
ond, because he must keep in touch with the
doings of the day; and third, because of the
entertainment and education it affords him:
Is there any necessity for a closer study OF
newspaper methods by the reader in order
that more benefit may come to hIm IN either
OF these directions? The editor constantly
studies and watches his public The more
alert and progressive he is, the more he
watches anu reflects the stronger is his Infiu-
ence upon the opinions the business interests,
and the lives Of his readers. Certainly the
study should not be one-sided. Understand
ing of the methods by which a newspaper is
made and conducted will enable the reader to
form more accurate Judgment concerning it.
to weigh properly certain statements and 10
discount others. The reader is prone to ac-
cept with unquestioning faith the statements
OF his IlVOrlte journal and 20 permit II 10 90
large share of his thinklng-a course which
inevitable leads to mental Incidence.
All which is true. There is too much
OF thinking by proxy; too much accept
ance of what is printed without reading
thoroughly and testing the statements in
the crucible of reason. The adroit head
line writer of the sensational paper un-
derstands this, and by his art manages to
put into mems minds statements that
would never be accepted under the test
of examination and thought. A great
mass of people in this hurly-burly age,
we fear, are very superficial readers,
skimmers of headlines and swallowers of
what is set before them or else rejectors
of all that is printed. That is to say, the
newspapers of this day have either the
unquestioning faith of people or are
wholly rejected. The class that rejects,
that refuses utterly to accept newspaper
statements, that doubts all it sees in
print, that esteems every newspaper man
actuated by unworthy motives and open
to purchase, is unfortunately growing
larger, for which decent journalism has
to thank the sensational press, not the
people. The class that accepts all it sees
in a newspaper as true is not less repre-
hensible for its course, though happily it
is not increasing in number.