The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-06-16
EXCHANGE EDITORS.
HOW SOME READABLE NEWSPAPER
STORIES TRAVEL.

! sors and Paste Pot-Lost Credits Some
times Cause Trouble-Stories That APP
pear In the Same Papers Twice.
a story originating in Boston told Of
the finding by "a fisherman of "a malodorous
| golatinous mass in the bay. He towed it
to shore and tried to boil it, He thought
it was some kind of glue.
The mass weighed 100 pounds, but II
smelled so bad he threw most of it away.
a portion weighing six pounds he kept
and took to the village pharmacist. There
he learned the stuff was ambcrgris, worth
| S3 an ounce
Tho man who wrote the story figured
| out tho fisherman had thrown away $685.,
| 600, and on this the tale was based and
| given value. Hundreds of papers copied
| the story, because of the immense amount
! the fisherman was supposed to have lost,
| says The Press and Printer.
Any one who took the trouble to figure
| the value of 100 pounds of ambergris ut So
u troy ounce would have seen the "for.
! tune" thrown away footed up only SO, 500.
| Some one did this finally, and the story
ceases to travel.
Occasionally an exchange editor forgets
what has originated with his own paper.
! Thus, Il New York paper that is generally
looked upon as the one nearest perfection
in that city printed II good article not long
ago that was copied in part by weekly
| paper, and the paper that first had the
story copied it and gave the weekly credit
for it,
Old exchange editors look for certain
stories periodically. Poker, snake and
| ghost stories never die. A good poker story
1 u.
! country at least once in three years. They
are filed away until they have been almost
| forgot, and then brought out, brushed up
and put before the public.
Most papers are conscientious in giving
credit for matter taken from exchanges.
Sometimes the credit is actually omitted,
and then there are papers that deliberately
crib matter This leads to confusion, both
of readers and exchange editors. Once in
awhile II story is so good the usually con
! sciCntiouS exchange editor ''appropriates
it just this once.
Frequently II story is reprinted without
credit by other papers and is finally credit
cd to one of the publications that has
borrowed it. When this happens, a well
meaning exchange editor may he led into
error in giving credit Readers are con.
| fused when they find the same article
printed in two papers in one city the same
day, one of the papers presenting it as
original and the other crediting it to an
/ exchange.
Publication of en- article does not always
end interest in it in the Office in which it
originates When The Post printed an
article two years ago about the market for
old bottles in Pittsburg and the fortunes
! some persons were making out of it, it
} M inn Il,
heard of it,
But people in the territory in which tie
paper circulates sent in scores of letters
asking for further particulars. They wish
ed to share in the rewards of the old bottle
industry. The article was copied by news
papers throughout the country, and every
week for u year thereafter The Post receiv-
ed inquiries from men who "knew where
there were some old bottles" Some of
these letters came from cities and towns
1900 miles distant.
One of the best magazines in this coun-
try, one that continues to be sold for 35
cents copy, regularly prints stories that
have been moss grown for years. They
are good things, short and sharp, in anec-
dote form, and they are copied by the
newspapers now as If they had not been
printed originally in newspapers years ago.
The magazine is given credit for them
now
The exchange editor doesn't expect to
go through life without making mistakes,
and he will admit printing old stories I'M
Willingly, but he does feel small when he
finds he has clipped one story twice within
few days and it appears twice in the
same issue of his paper.
One who reads Il great many newspa-
pers observes curious things about them.
The exchange editor is the man who sees
most of this, and he could tell some inter
esting tales. On the number of papers he
can ego through" depends his value to his
employers.
There is an old newspaper office joke,
one that never fails to raise laugh when
told among newspaper men, about IA mer-
chant who bought newspaper property
and set about conducting it on economical
principles. After he had been in posses.
sion few days he went TO his managing
editor with the suggestion that Jones be
discharged.
what for? He's one of the best men
on the staff" protested the managing
editor.
"He's fooling you," said the newcomer.
GIVE been watching him for three days
now, and l haven't seen him do a thing
but read papers"
The exchange editor has to have a good
memory, as well as good Judgment. He
must know what is fresh matter and what
is likely to interest the great body of read
crs. But sometimes he forgcts and Il good
story will DO printed in one paper more
than once.
Sometimes very odd stories go all oyel
the country, one paper after another print
ing them without the popularity ever be
ing discovered. Stories have been known
TO travel for ten vCars