Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-18
NEWSPAPER MEN IN ENGLAND.
Difficulties Of Interviewing Officials Of All
Kinds.


Among the first things that an Amer
lean newspaperman discovers in this
country is that he is not so well con-
sidered here as at home. Here
everybody takes you for a penny-a-
liner. 1t is a little puzzling to under
stand how a well-dressed man can be
set down this way, often by people
who do not make half what he does in
the course of year, but that is the
general Impression. l went INTO
Bond street jewelers. when | first came
to England, to ask an explanation of
n curious thing that l had noticed IN
the window, with the Intention or writ
ing IL up If / found 1t newsy. The |
dealer, who took me for a probable pur-
chaser, explained what l wanted to |
know kindly enough. Then 1 gave him
my card. An American would have |
redoubled his efforts to please ana
tried to get me to make an article ON
the subject: but that patronizing re
mark settled it. 1 put it in the paper
in about six lines
But 1t Is In trying to obtain I'M
portant Information in the House OF
Parliament and about the foreign and
colonial offices that an American re
porter learns how surprisingly ILL
served the English are content to be,
as regards news. No alderman in
New York. no legislator ut Albany, no
congressman in Washington, hardly the
President of the United States himself.
and disobliging to even an unimportant
American newspaper man as are some
private secretaries and even liveried
attendants in English official life to
representatives, not of news agencies
alone but of the biggest London
dailies. IT is almost impossible to get
| an interview with a man like Cham-
| berlain; people are content to gather
| his views in the report of one of his
speeches at some country musings, ana
wait for an explanation of an import
| ant diplomatic move on the floor OF
| the house. The nearest the most ex-
| pert. enterprising and capable reporter
| can get to an account OF the cabinet
meeting. or II hint of the premiers
policy, Is a nod or smile from one of
the private secretaries to the effect
that some wild guess the reporter has
hazarded is not altogether wrong. or a
fiat denial of some canard the reporter
has brought in. An American news
paper man in his own country who
| could not get at first hand, fresh news
from the biggest politician. would soon
make life not worth living for that
politician.
Only a few days ego 7 saw in n copy
of the most widely read social paper in
| America IA paragraph which ran like
this: Mrs. Blank. the intimate friend
of Mr.. and Mrs. Mrs. Mckinley, is not
meeting with anything like the social
success in Washington which her
wealth, beauty, and position gave her
the right to expect. 1t is m open Sc
cret that Mrs. Blanks social failure is
due to her cool treatment of the news
paper representatives who were at
Canton in the closing days of the cam
paign. The lady's name was printed.
Another surprise awaits the Ameri-
can reporter in England when he goes
out interviewing. Objectionable as
some features of American Journalism
are, the general respect for a reporter
| over there is such that never once
even when / have had such n dis
agreeable assignment as going to a
house where father or husband, son oil
brother, lay dead. in order to get VI
facts for an obituary. have / ever beer
received with anything except the
greatest courtesy and given the infor-
nation ] wanted. The average foi
courtesy. certainly for polish. is
higher here than 1t Is there, but ar
| head that an interviewer Is an intrud-
er. He has not been educated up Il
the fact that his business is also othe'
peoples business, 1t takes more tact
and diplomacy to find out from al
Englishman the merest detail OF every
day life than 1t would to make goot
friends of France and Germany.
To interview n man on anything eN-
cept something he wants to get into
the paper as 'puff" Is an art. Yol
Try 10 make toou IlSl IMPRESSION VI
your victim. then endeavor to Civ,
him an idea that II would be no harm
to anybody and great favor to 20,
If he would tell about few unlm
portnnt little facts OF course. thli
is only the A II C of the science. Some
times man too artful to he easily
caught is surprised into telling all h.
knows by bluff of knowing al
about II anyway; or by telling hin
that some outrageous canard floating
about Is what you are going to prin
$ the following day. II he cannot aid yo'
! by showing how false II Is.
Almost any Englishman of any i'm
nortance that have ever talked will
has punctuated his conversation witt
We'll, | really can't see how tina
would be OF any interest to the public
That would he rather going on privat
n grounds would It not =" Nov I cal
: teli YOU lust where 10 find that. It wa
Z printed In the Times last February
!, year ago, or let me see, wasn't 1t tw
years ago?' Then Englishmen are n
Z. vet so little accustomed 10 seing them
g selves interviewed or so punctilou
u over the matter of a comma or &c
sometimes so Mortified that they hav
!, been saying more than they had an
intention of (things do look so differen
in type) that they generally write
letter 10 the editor the next day to sa
l. that the interview as published Is
i "tissue of fnlsehoods," and unless n
i nnology Is at once published he wi
% hear from the interviewed mans soil
+ cItor. I once interviewed woman VIII
!, claimed she was the daughter OF Hoi
" Mrs, and had been robbed, The neS
!; dny her husband demanded public re
trnction--which was not glven-and
few days after the daughter Of Hor