The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-03-15
OLD AND NEW" JOURNALISM.
The Sensational Press Might Take
Pattern by the Lamb Case.
Puck.

A needed light is thrown upon the new
Journalism OF our day by a chapter in a
deals with the great tragedy of Lambs
life, the killing OF his mother by his sister
and shows how the newspapers of a hun
dred years ago treated such things. Re
turning one day from India House TO the
lodgings in Little Queen street. Lamb heard
shrieks issuing from an upper room. He
rushed upstairs and found Mary Lamb her
eyes cleaning In unconscious mania, about
to attack her helpless mother with a carv-
tragedy. The elder Lamb 1'' was cut in trV e
ing TO wrest the knife from the mad
woman. and before Charles could reach her
and was flourishing the knife for new
victims. Help came and she was overpow-
cred and taken to madhouse. Sense fully
the awful details of this tragedy and then
imagine. if you can, the disgust with which
an editor of the new journalism" would
read the following:
After the awful event the papers of the
day were most considerable and reticent.
not making capital out of each harassng
detail. Names were suppressed and there
was no gloating over the scenes. The young
clerks grief was too sacred to be paraded
before the public as bit of entertaining
news. The London Times only spoke OF
the sad death of an elderly woman by the
frenzied hand of an insane daughter i'm the
neighborhood of Holborn. The cor
oner's jury. after sitting. the evidence,
Now consider how the new journalism"
would treat such an affair The first page
WOufO ne cnle11y occupied Dy ILLUSTRATIONS
and 1aring headlines: The main picture
would show the tragedy itself the daugh-
ter driving the knife TO her mothers heart.
with the father and son rushing TO drag
her off. Supplementary TO this would be
small cuts showing: The knife with
which the deed was done-full size"
THE mother as she looked in life" 'X-ray
photograph showing the knife passing be-
tween the ribs and reaching the heart;
THE murderess being strapped down By
young Lamb and a neighbor; The grief
stricken brother" THE father" The
house I'm which the crime was committed"
The story would contain interviews with
each member of the family. written to
der by trained perverts and there would
be yelled hints of a shocking scandal on
Within week one of the women of the
new journalism would have gained access
to the place where the maniac was confined
and secured an interview with her-or
would have claimed 81 much-and one of
the male sleuths would have discovered and
published that Charles Lamb himself had
been confined in a madhouSe but a short
time before. Names not mentioned, Grief
too sacred to be entertaining There would
have been no detail of the family history
or the tragedy, however painful. however
ghouiSh, however revolving TO decency.
that the new journalism" would not have
paraded. One picture is fact: the other is
not ovcrdrawn. The worst of this style of
Journalism is that it gradually befouls. per-
Verts and debaSes the readers mind until
And IL will flourish so long as IL pays
What is needed is that public libraries. in
situations and persons OF influence should
follow the example of the trustees OF the
Newark Free Library. who lately debarred
two of the most conspicuous offenders. A
general movement in this direction could
not help but start a wholesome reaction
in the minds of the community.