The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1894-05-05
WOMEN JOURNALISTS
90 THEY TEND TO LOWER TUE
DIGNITY OF THE CALLING,

That Appears In SO Called soo,-.
Paperss--A Good word for Them.
Those who look upon the present co.s,
ton Of the press with unalloyed safiss~.
tion. and who consistently maintain h, N,
face of anything in the way OF proof or ~, NY
| dence that the influence OF women In ~
nalism. as in everything else. is necessa ~
A good one, will probably regard the ST.
tion from the optimistic point Of view c,,is
Those. however, who prize thar IL
and virilty of sentiment and WRITING VIII M.
cbaracterizes the best masculine mems. ~, r-S1
deplore the personalities, gossip and f ~
mine tone which find so prominent n nlaa.
I'm many Of the papers; who value strie
and scholarship and humor, all Of WIN
stand chance Of being neglected n ~.
lost. will see reason for regret tb.t ~
much of the literature Of the day IL vr.;,
ten by women. Nowhere, IN the on;n,a..
of the present writer, can this deteriors,
ing and demoralizing influence be seem -,
better advantage than in the society 40
pers. which, however, il is only iust N So
are as-Inuch read by men as by women
There are a large number Of so called
high class society periodicals, the preatsr
gossip and personalities about the conver.
sation. mode Of life and movement Of ner-
sons who are in no sense Of the word "n,l,
lic:" who have distinguished thcmselve.
In no legitimate way, and often Ia no rsv
at all outside existing, and whose 'smart-
ness" or fastness OF money ai-'no rnakes
them the object Of this rubbislinu tittle-
tattle While, however. good portion NJ
| 49, 80 IA
Did. the same cannot be said Of the VERY
latest development Of feminine enterprise
in the press which seems likely to have
flourishing existence before it,
This takes the form Of 'lady's letter
and is written ostensibly by a lady Of fash.
ion whose fastness not only gOes to the
verge Of disreputability, but some way be-
yond il. She purports TO give an account
Of her weeks doings, which generally
include visits TO music halls and other
places not usually considered classic ground
for decent women. Somewhere or other
there Is one Charlie" or Jack" in tow
and this accommodating husband invaria-
bly, figures in the description so rs to give
the thing presumably an uir OF propriety
Let any impartial person peruse some OF
this bare, flippant, worthless stuff now be-
coming so general and ask himself whether
Il can have anything but vicious effect
on the brainless young persons Gt is to be
supposed they are young) who read It
every week.
But even if these society papers are left
out Of account it must be apparent to any
one who has an intimate Acquaintance
with current newspaper literature that
the ewig weibliche strain is far too pre-
dominant, and that the hysterical and
emasculate attitude taken up In some
quarters on certain social and other Ques-
tions is direct result Of this feminine in
nuence. OF course a large amount Of re-
spectacle journalism is done by women,
aud is read by women, and the proof Of
this is to be found in the existence Of we'll
written and ably conducted papers and in
the successful launching Of the new paper
for women. which has papers on purely
literary topics written in excellent style.
But with the exception OF a few indi-
vidual women who have made tLeir liter
airy reputation elsewhere) the better sort
Of newspaper work, which includes leader
writing, reviewing and miscellaneous lit
erary articles. is not in the hands OF women
at all, whose main business is concerned
with paragraphs and articles about social
functions. the shops. fashions, cookery,
p home decoration and reports Of Lectures,
p meetings, weddings and so forth. To write
successfully upon cookery and art decora.
ton requires a certain amount OF technical
knowledge, and women who are well up
Z in these subjects find ready market and
very good prices for their literary wares.
Carried on legitimately-that is to say,
p without puffs and bribes-this seems very
suitable and desirable field for the femi-
nine pen. But-and this brings me to the
second part Of my inquiry-can much be
said in praise Of the work of the ordinary
= lady journalist, which involves the con
;; slant wear and tear Of reporting, night
! work, severe physical strain which neces-
states, il she is to get on, an astounding
exhibition Of audacity and push, and which
perpetNally compels her TO place her na'
tural impulses Of reserve and unaggres-
- slyeness in the background; which includes
> the interviewing Of persons who are not
gentlemen and the formation Of promiseu'
GUS acquaintance, and which, above all;
forces her to write about worthless trivial.
ties which, II she have any better sort OF
aspiration or literary taste. she heartily
despisesi
As setoff against these disadvantages
Il must be admitted that n woman pos
, sessing but average intelligence and quick.
ness, even If her education Dc Of the mos
limited kind, can make n very fair LIVING
out Of this sort of journalism, while
woman with moderate ability, with gooo
education and facile pen and quies
eye, can make double the income earned
by her scholarly sister. who has graduate.
at Newman and become n high scnoo
teacher-which is only another way o
: stating that journalism is the one prol.s
sion. vocation or trade, or whatever u
enemies like to call Il, in which the won
OF men and women is paid for at precise'
che same prices
30 Tar as know, the real genuine ire
the woman journalist has yet 70 be WI,
ten and would afford interesting and Tres
ground for n female Thackeray, II sa
!, ever arises What pity it is that SON,
enterprising press lady does not hersel
give us her experiences and "betray tue x
erets OF the prison houSer' We misu
: then get solution Of the problem that ."
, puzzled good many Of US, rs 70 the res
son that certain ladies, whose scholaFsni
Is as little evident as their shyuess, are !
the happy position or realizing large
eotnes.-Author.
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