The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-07-03
NEWSPAPER SCOOPS.
TIE BANE AND THE NIGHTMARE OF
A JOURNALISTS LIFE.

What n sBeat'' Means to the Man
with a ssNose For News"-The PEE
culiarities of Securing Inside News
by Washington Correspondents.
They were all newspaper men, and
they were all SO united on the PROPOSE
ton under consideration that they did
not interrupt the man who was doing
the talking.
Scoops said the sharp nosed re-
porter to the others, sare the bane and
the nightmare of newspaper mans
life, from the proprietor and managing
editor down to the Maltese office cat.
Many q man occupies desk today
because Of good beat and many an
other man is engaged in more humble
occupation because he failed to see
one. Scoops constitute the seesaw OF
journalistic life.
"a newspaper man is as touchy on
this subject as woman on her back
hair; justly so, because standard Is
| formed by which his journalistic tai
ents are largely rated and his salary
In accordance. If the city editor asks
him too often why he didn't get it., he
finally gets it where the fowl gets the
ak, and a new man appears on his for
mer assignment.
editors, however, are usually con-
siderate with good man, for the lat
ter will scoop his rival as often as he
himself is scooped-perhaps oftener-
and it thus evens itself up. Sometimes,
however, the wielder of the blue pen
ell has an attack of acute indigestion,
! like the rest of us, and things are apt
to be unpleasant.
"a good, big beat fills the entire Of
| fee with hilarious joy, and particular
ly the lucky reporter rejoices. 1t ont
times means an increase In salary. The
office of the chief rival contemporary is
thrown into corresponding gloom.
1.-THE city editor is the adjutant gen
| eral Of the force. Usually he is as
4 considerate as his duty to the proprie-
tor permits. Nearly all are graduates
from the ranks. Where the magazine
newspaper story writer finds the city
/ editor he usually portrays has always
/ been deep, dull mystery to me. He
/ may treat outsiders Ito be kind to the
! magazine story writer as their stories
| sometimes relate. but to his force he
| does not carry a drawn sword in his
left hand and pen dipped in redhot
| caustic In his right. He knows that
Of the men under him many are his
peers, capable of taking his desk at a
moments notice and running it as well
as he.
"rhe now you have 1t and now you
haven't It in our profession is well IL
Illustrated by a little occurrence that
happened in Washington few years
ago. and it proves the element of luck
In the matter of securing news.
at was undecided whether congress
would pass as read certain very i'm
portant national measure. The New
| York papers were especially anxious
about it. The drift of opinion among
the correspondents was that it would
not SO pass. On Monday night, say,
the correspondent of one of the metro
politan morning dailies wired his paper
that it positively would not go through
This paper had been talking that end
of the bill all along.
''Ihe correspondent of rival morn
ing paper had drawn the same conciu'
sions from his days Investigations al
the capitol. He was on his way down
the west marble steps when he met q
member to whose opinion on the prob
able fate of the bill hesattached great
weight The member declared that the
bin would positively be passed. un
amended and unchanged, at the open
ing of the session the following day.
''The correspondent cast his own con
trary opinions and those of the mem
bers he had interviewed to the winds
He wired that night that the bill would
certainly pass the following day. Il
did Its passage was surprise to the
country.
Before night the other correspond
ent was relieved of his position by
telegraph. One made bold hazard
! against his own judgment, took thai
of another and won. The other con
scientiously obeyed the dictates of his
conclusions, based largely upon the
opinions of men who were in position
to advise him correctly, and lost.
''This case also illustrates the pecul
iarity Of securing news by Washing
ton correspondents. 1t is sui generis
Rules which obtain in other cities art
impracticable here. Most of the CORE
spondents are picked men, who carr
and command good salaries. But one
of their most important functions is tt
make acquaintances' with men in of
fetal and congressional life. 1t Is al
important element in his profession tt
know who to see about piece o.
news, and the little interview In ques
ton between the correspondent and thu
congressman on the west steps Is bu
an example of everyday episodes IL
the life of a Washington correspond
ent "-Washington Star.