The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-04-18
JOURNALISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY

eff a rumor is ON the street it is JUS
tifiable and proper to give that rumor
to it's readers. If people choose to
think that rumor is fact, it is their own
fault, and not the fault of those who
supply the news. The Star.
This statement of the ethics of jour
nalism regarding the flag hoax by an
eminent professor of the Whang Doodle
University, has the merit of simplicity
and duplicity. At the next Commence
ment of the college, the professor
should undoubtedly deliver an impress
sive baccalaureate sermon to the grad
Mating class. Can he possibly use any
other words than these?
az impress upon your minds that
Journalism has the nOblest aims. 1t
involves the highest art. 1 have al
ready shown to you how the incident
of AN inquiry in a store for an Ameri
can flag, by a naval officer may natur-
ally, logically, and aesthetically be de-
veloped into a serious statement that
the American naval forces were about
to raise that flag on these Islands, and
complicate the neutrality of the Re
public. What then is true journalism?
Tt is the process of developing upon the
negative of the imagination the faint
est outline of a rumOr. I sit alone in
the solitude of my mental darkness,
holding the negative plate upon which
lies the suggestion of a rumOr. [ rub
it vigorously with the chloride or SEN
sationalism. 1 bring it to the light.
All! gentlemen you see upon it bold,
clear statement reliable as history
itself
'I illustrate again. I am standing in
a we'll conducted tailoring establish
ment Some one says, the old man
has gone up This is the first impress
sion of rumor on the negative of my
Imagination. 1 hasten at once to my
studio. What old mann and how gone
up?' Where to? I think. The genius
of true journalism hovers over me. The
negative developes, | bring it to the
light. 1t shows a clear we'll defined
form. I Immediately send it to the
press 1t is this:
president Dole suddenly died this
morning of cerebro spinal meningitis.
He was conversing with Representa-
tive Loebenstein on the subject of his
own intolerable wickedness as Presi-
dent He suddenly sank down. AS we
go to press, he is with Abraham, Isaac
4 of
You see at once, young gentlemen,
how the negative faithfully developes.
The rumor about the old man natur-
ally refers to Mr.. Dole, because it does
not specially refer to any one else. This
is conclusive. Next, he has gone up
refers not to bankruptcy, or earthly
misfortune, but to an expansion to-
wards the skies. You now see the sub
lime evolution of journalism from the
embryo to the perfect monkey mean |
man.
&c Now if while the paper containing
this sad intelligence is hawked about |
the street, Mr.. Dole appears on the !
scene, and even purchases a copy of the |
paper containing his own obituary, will |
any one dare to say that journalism is |
responsible for this inopportune pres
ence? No! 1t is the faulth of the peo-
pie who choose to believe the state
ment I made. 1t is the duty of the
public to discover the truth. Mine, and
a higher duty is to sit in mental dark
ness and develop negatives.
'T deal only in high art. Give me the
impression only of the word snort on