Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-10-31
AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS,
An English Observer Had Amusing Ex-
periences Here, but Nevertheless
Formed Favorable Opinions.


ed in America from the Celtic | was ac-
costcd by an intellgent-loohing young
man who raised his hat and said, Nj,
! should be very glad to have your views
on america" With becoming modesty
explained that I should require at least
twenty -four hours residence before com
ing to "A definite opinion on the whoe SUD
jCCt of his question. "5ut at least ne
said you must have been shocked py thr
news of the attempt upon our Preside Mt .
| replied that | was naturally very inu'h
shocked at the outrage. The next MOI n /
ing in Il leading Journal of New YORK |
read in characters of a siz" Whlch You
will not allow me to reproduce, hrSt my
own name, then Ills first words on lahu'
then Ills irexpressible Eorror AT outrage
on President and then followed ab1ut
IL third of a column in which on the VINO
/ was generously treated, Tor IL IL salu
much that / had not said 1t sald noth'hB
with which disagreed On another o'ca--
ion was "baggcd" by an interNltWcr so
dcxterously that / think it should b. re-
corded to his credit. He was an innocent
and retiring young man; by caro- no
"eXtended the ccurtesieS OF the Ne"
York, and begged the honor of an inter-
view" I explained firmly but coHrteo'sIF
that had nothing to say ana couli ans
wcr no questions. He said he was sorry
as that prevented him from asking the
single question he had intended to ask.
reflected that one question which | was
not bound to answer could do no hafin'
and my curiosity prompted Inc to ask MN
what it was. ~ had intended. Il" sMd,
TO ask you whether you considered mat
the assassination Of Pres NcknleN was
due to the liberation afforded to andr
chiSts by England The supposition was
50 prcpostcrous that | burtcd out an IN
dignant disclaimer before | realized thlt
had been caught out | have no DOUBT
that y startling account of the interview
appeared the next day, and my only con-
ISOLATION is my firm conviction that that
ingenious youth would have produced 1t
even if | had said nothing, for the inter-
viewer has often no hesitation in t"tl-
ing You with rrankness that has an almost
Irresistible charm that the intorNi"W
has to be- printed whether YOU contribute
it or not.
when it became known that at Euira3
| had been received by Mr.. Roosevelt and
the members of the cabinet the chase
came fast and furious.l was assured NOR
than once that ! could secure a nice lit
tie sum" either by reporting what they
had said to me. or. ii | fell any deI,acr
/ in the matter. by saying anything in
| teresting that would occur To Nou as
! probable" / venture to think that thoS
last words, anything interesting that
would occur to YOU as probable, turi S n
Il key to II right understanding Ot the
/ American press.
/
/ do. Processes to be seeking ter ia is
! the drier and dullcr those facts the more
! likely he Is to get reputation for depth
and accuracy. He knows that if hi- sta e.
/ rlcuts prove incorrect he will b. coutra-
diCted and he knows that his editor does
not like a contradiction of what appears
! in his columns, he has moreover Il
healthy fear of the law of libel. which
tends to curb even eXaggeration. As a
result his imaginative powers are allowed
no play; they get hlunted for want of use
aud perhaps this is why the English jour
nalist is regarded as something of lore
| who requires facts, and who Is not 10
! 20 be put off with vague generalitieS.
His American brother lives in an en-
tirelY different atmospl ere, and is there
fore an entirely different product, He i
not required to concern himself oVermu i
about facts-at most they are pegs on which
to hang Il general conversation. He lust
sustainS and directs the couVersat on
but INDUCES in no Socratic cross eXumi
nation. He Will accept any reason \ot
give him, or can invent it for You if >ot
have not got one If you have no ideas
he has plenty, and puts them into Nou1
mouth with no foolish reservation Of
copyright. If he makes YOU talk mons MS
it is generally interesting nonsense, fJ
with much practice he gets To know VIVA
! he THINKS YOU ought to say even If yet
do not say it. His object and his cdi or
object is to make his paper resting
I'VE publish a daily paper and not
daily encyclopaedia, sir" said one of them
| The American journalist has to suppl.
the copy, and the three requisi .es Il
. quoted to me by very intelligent report
t., are Cd that 1t shall be good reading
GU that it shall be connected with som
individual Or event of note; 80 that
SYN be probable. Within those limi
t~lo !ield is all his own In some way o
a h, "A Incomes H.,
be made to 3pe TX. He is dull and eentou~
he must be made interesting. He know
or will say nothing Oh the subject upo
which he is questioned, he must be mad
to express strongly what would proball
be his view if he had any. The next da
= the man interviewed may wish to den
all he has been made to say Nothing
easier, the same or another reporter q
| the same paper is at his disposal, II
wants perhaps merely to deny the pre-
vious interview; he would be a poor jour
nalist who confined himself to that. II
is made to express opinions diametrica !
opposed to those he expressed yesterdd y
tl!e same paper will publish the two, wi
@ make no attempt to reconcile them, II
n apology and the public may choose be
T. tween the two versions, whichever
: thinks the more probable as matt
= Of fact the public reads both. is amuse
p. 10y both, and attaches no value to eithe
In America the press Is distinctly a con
> mcrcial enterprise. 1t is printed to Sc
o and success is measured by its sales, an
h it's sales alone. A very much larger nun
$ Der buy newspapers than in England
t The interest of the masses in polite
@ (Statc, Federal and ImpcriaD is niue
r higher, and they are much MOI
= apt to form their own opinions from fact
. given to them than, as in England,
= take them ready-made from their paper
. As result the news portion of the pa
per is a far more important feature tina
: the editorial. The news editor" as he
n called. is really far more important tina
!. the political editor or leader writer,
q is the news editor who has to make tt
. paper readable to the masses who bu!
, while the editor is sort of a Greek cho
y Gus. Formerly the news editor ives eXpe,
ed to collect and publish such items
so-callcd news as told on the side whiC
the political editor supported. AnNthin
y irconVenient to those views was supprcs
.: ed (as ii is today in most of the Fro nc
Il Qross) but the Importance of the new
u eGitor has grown, the nece ssity of glVir
- both sides of a question has been reco.
y Missed as an act of policy If not of jus,i,
II and the news editor has come to b" I'm Il
o pendent OF the political views of his I'd
IS tor. That is distinct advance but u
;. result has been that the editor. who
o England is responsible for the whole 4;
l. per, who gives to II its tone and chara
- ter, who is the guardian Of its consi
:, tenCY and reputation, exercises in AmC
- lea no such control over the news port
~ of the paper. If his own reporter is d