The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-25
THE PRESS AGENT BRANCHING oUr.
Faxed Stories to Advertise other Lines or Buni-
ness BESIDES the Theatre.

ness BESIDES the Theatre.
The press agent Ia no longer an exclusive adj
junct OF tho theatre. The demand for free
advertising has spread to other lines of business,
and so press agents are employed TO palm faxed
stories Off on newspapers. to the great benefit
and profit of the men who inspire them. This
growth of an occupation which has never been
regarded as legitimate. even in the profession
which gave it birth, is aided by the new Journal
ism. With properly conducted newspapers 1t is
sometimes a matter OF difficulty to distinguish
between false and true stories, between genuine
news and news manufactured to boom some in
dividual or enterprise. With tho new journal
Ism IL makes very little difference whether the
story is true or not. whether it is news or adver-
Using matter sailing under false colors. II IL Is
sensational nothing more is asked.
As long as the press agent remained O part of
the theatrical business he was regarded as q
necessary evil. The competition among press
agents increased 30 that the idea was no longer
to furnish TO the newspapers routine matter, but
to make some actor or actress the main figure of
n sensational incident, an account of which the
papers would DO forced to print as news. The
original fake was the lost or stolen diamonds.
For many years actresses kept losing diamonds
and jewclry. Just how such losses worked to
increase tho desires OF people to see a performer
has never been explained, but It evidently
had some good results or the press agents
wouldn't have stuck to the old fake 30 long as
they did. The deg came. of course, when tho
lost jewclry racket lost its power. Then came
other fakes. all familiar now. but each one good
and strong in It's day, such as the poisoned bou-
tempts to kill performers. Then royalty began
to, make presents to actresses. One had a dog
received a monkey as the personal gift OF a
dusky African prince; q third had a score of
pets from monarchs, and so tho yarns went on.
Next. actresses began to be attacked by high
waymen or to be robbed in their flats by burglars.
Other fakes followed up to the present time.
and tales OF milk baths and that sort OF thing
are regarded as most valuable by the people who
In the history OF press work two fakes, of all
that have been devised. stand out as really sue
Gs Ss ones Inc most most noted note ,son one OF al was a.
usefulness in n menagerie. was turned loose in
an uptown, stable. the doors and windows of
was left in the stable, and for three days the lion
lived on this, while thousands gathered in the
The newspapers printed columns about the
"man.eating lion" who had escaped from his
tine TO n'r ret free and rum nH,'tthf through rnu the s Streets et adh ey.
vouring everybody in sight. When the proper
time came, and tho fake had been worked to the
kicked the s~piritless beast back into his cage and
exhibited him at a great profit for weeks.
Another famous fake, the work of n press
agent. was the holding up Of a cab at midnight
in Central Park. Two actresses. performing in
a music hall, were the heroines of this incident.
According to NIL reports. they were Obliged to
surrender money and diamonds at the muZzle of
pistols. They were a~fterward brutally beaten.
so the story went, and were confined to their
homes by their injuries for many days. 1t was
weeks before the general public realized that
this yarn was n fake, although in the profession
It was understood from the first that it was an
advertising dodge.
About as tino an example of what this sort of
advertising will do for a man is Steve Brodie.
As a newsboy Brodie pretended to jump from
pie who really think he did it. But the adver-
tising he got out of the story changed him from
n penniless newsboy to a man worth nearly
100000 In a very few years.
Now the press agent il branching out and try
ing TO do for other industries what he has done
for the theatres. There is in this city a so-called
medical institute presided over by a man who
is not a graduated physician. has no right to the
Medical Society made him discard it, and has
no right to practise medicine or surgery. He
secured some free advertising recently by means
of u yarn about a young woman who had come
year there. have been dozens of such adver-
Using schemes worked off on the public.
One of the most successful men at this
sort OF thing, for a long time, was n downtown
animal dealer. Regularly every week some of
his animals would go through some remarkable
performance, and as regularly the newspapers
would be notified OF II. One time he had an
orang- outang kidnap a child and take 1t over a
dozen tenement house roofs. Another time he
had a boa constructor escape and glide up a
times there would be queer combats between
animals Of all kinds, and one way and another
he kept his name constantly in the newspapers.
OF course. IL doomed his business, but he overdid
that pays any attention TO the tips which flow in
from his establishment.