The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-08-16
NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING.
Relations Existing Between NeWsI
pers and the Public.

rarely IN puolIC duulo9o
there spoken such "words OF sober
ness and truth as are contained II
a paper read by Editor 0. }
Sturgis, of the Uniontown (Penn.)
Dai7g Ners Standard, upon the1
occasion of recent local gathering,
and from which copious extracts
are given below. Mr.. Sturgis went
to the heart of the subject of the
relations existing between newspa-
pers and the public, taking an
exalted and dignifed view Of the
newspaper publishing business
one that is full of food for thought,
whether the readers have to do with
the business office or upstairs.
lie said in part:
at seems to be a common I'M
preston that the newspaper IS
sort of public institution, upon
which everybody has claim, some
right to say in its management,
or to kick if its policy does not
suit him. For that reason, a news
paper is constantly subjected, to.
demands that are unreasonable az
unjust. If a man goes into the
mercantile business you do not
expect to control his policy or shape
his views simply because you buy
his commodities. You take his
goods, he takes your money; that
ends the transaction. The news
paper also does a legitimate mer-
chandizing business. 1t deals IN
news and advertising space. Those
are It's commodities. 1t pays for
news what it costs to collect, print
and publish it, including the inter
est on invested capital. 1t sells
news for the price Of the paper; and,
considering the labor involved, the
money expended and the capital
invested in its production, there is
nothing so cheap as the American
newspaper: nothing gives SO much
for so little. Few people have any
adequate idea what it costs to run
q newspaper in an ordinary country
town. The failure to appreciate
this, and to grasp the business rela-
ton which the editors enterprise
sustains to other enterprises, ex-
plains the large number Of newspa-
per failures that are recorded and
the vast amount of money annually
sunk IN the business.
"What then is the business status
of newspaper? 1t is private
enterprise. Its proprietor-whether
individual, firm or company-pub-
fishes it for profit, to make living
out of 1t, just as an individual or
corporation goes into the manufact-
uring or banking business. The
motive here is no lower, the calling
no less honorable, than is his ~
enters any other vocation Of a semi
public character. The same obi
CATION Of moral and business integ-
rity rests upon the press as upon
other professions and businesses,
and the fact that an occasional
newspaper prostitutes its columns
to unworthy ends no more condemns
journalism as profession or call
ing, than the legal or medical pro-
fession is made unworthy Of public
confidence because of isolated cases
of unprofessional or dishonorable
conduct by member. A newspa-
per gets no special credit for main
tanning high moral tone, but it
gets plenty of censure if anything
creeps into its columns to lower
that tone. 1t is expected to be
yirtuous as q matter Of course.
ct is the conception Of the news
paper as a legitimate private bust
ness enterprise that has made great
results possible. The editor gath
ers the news of the field, and sells
it to his subscribers. When the
subscriber gets that, he has what
he paid for. and there his claim
stops, The paper is rot obliged to
print the communication of odd
Subscriber, constant Reader, or
Pro. Bono Publico. or even to give
any reason for it. If the subscriber
lmagincs he has special rights and
therefore special grievances he can
stop his paper, and there is no harm
done. The conscientious newspa-
per endeavors to have its news cor
rect and trustworthy, and to verify |
its information in order not--4s
misIead or injure the innocena'
Considering the difficulty, often,
Of finding reliable sources Of infor-
nation. and of sitting the false
from the true, the wonder is, not
that so many errors creep in, but
that SO many are kept out.
"ln the large cities, this mutual
relation between the press and the
public is better understood than in
the country, and hence the relative
growth Of the city paper has far
outstripped that of its rural con-
temporary. The city paper does