The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-01-08
.HARMSW0RTH ON
MODEL JOURNAL
New York Newspaper Men Do No.
Agree With London Publisher.
PAPERS MUST BE ELASTIC
Their Size Must BE Governed by tn
Amount and Importance OF News.
Public Not Satisfied With Bare
Statements Of Fact,

WGrthS declaration aga!n&t "tldL lic .SA iHS
size disease in America, as wen as
English newspapers, and winch ne 'hiitAS
has damaged the success of those Journals.
The New York Herald interviewed MANY
OF the editors and business manaSeFs VI
newspapers in New York city, and 'heH
comments as to what modern newspaper
should be prove interesting reaoahs'
That there is a tendency on the part
of some newspaper publishers TO PRINT
journals Of abnormal size, expanded Win
matter that is either not news or a SEN
sational perversion of naWs was freely
admitted. but not a single person connect
ed with any of the great metropolitan oalA-
les was willing to subscribe TO MI. harm
wortil's declaration in favor OF news
paper 50 small that the news must all
be boiled down into small paragraphs,
making tabloid Journalism as MT.
IIarmsworth styled III.
That the English public had become tired
of the long and sensational police ana
divorce court reports and the du!I ana
dreary debates in the House OF commons
as Mr.. Harms'wort!l has discovered, Ne"
York newspaper men said was no wonder.
New York newspaper publishers discover
ed that their public was tired Oh Such
reports long ago, it was agreed out ltlls
was not because OF n lack of appreciation
| of the news features which were involved.
but rather of the dreary form Ill Wil.c,
such reports We're couched.
LIFE IN LITERARY FORM
That literary form, supplied by skilled
Writer'S. gives life to the pages OF Inc
great American newspapers. and brings
out every point of interest lin the news ot
the day. every ore who was interviewed
III OIL the subject by tho Herald agreed.
II would be Impossible 10 return to the
old style OF reporting or to print the
ncws OF the world every day in neWspapers
| of the size of those issued twenty years
ago they say.
While it was conceded that local con-
ditions might make the simultaneous
newspaper" a success in he Leading cities
| OF England strong doubt was cast upon
| the possibility Of rlonG the same thing
here wilere eacn locality has developed
| It's peculiar style of newspaper and where
| even in this city only two newspapers are
alike in their features or appeal to the
san1e portion Of the community for sup
! port.
l1r Bradford Merrill, managing editor
| of The World sad:
Il agree with all Mr.. Harnworth says
| in lie Herald Interview about the size
] disease of American newspapers But,
| OF course it is Impossible. under New York
here like Mr. lTarmwuHth's e!sht7page
| London Daily Mail, which never prints
more than twenty-five columns OF adVer-
| tisements The advertisements alone IN
| tie World or the Herald fill forty 10
! eighty columns every day.
las for news reports, terseness and
accuracy are two newspaper virtues which
! MI Pulitzer values as hIeMy as independ-
| ence and courage Tie lack of them is
perhaps the most conspicuous IS we'll as
| the commonest fault of many prominent
| American newspapers. The successful
| twentieth century paper will, / think, not
| only try to tell t.lc news earlier than its
l,-rr will tell
other words, will save the readers time"
JOURNALS MUST BE ELASTIC.
Chester S. Lord, managing editor OF the
sun. believes the ideal newspaper must
be elastic.
u agree in general with most that
Mr. Hlrnswortn. said about The news
papers of the day said Mr.. Lord. Most
Of the newspapers are too large. Never
theless, it must ne firmly borne in mind
that each particular piece of news has us
exact value as to length. On some days
the pressure Of good news will be three
times as great as on other days.
In order to give to each piece Of news
its exact news value in the columns of
paper, no matter how it piles in, the
deal newspaper must be elastic enough
10 give space to it all. The whole organi-
cation Of the modern newspaper office is
made to provide for this, and the 1nachln-
cry permits of it. 1t is necessary, and
possible for those in Charge of news
paper to decide within an hour Of going
% press whether the next days paper
shall he one containing ten sixteen or
evenly pages.
1T seems to me- therefore, that the
size of Il newspaper must depend upon
he quality and quantity Of eaGl days
news. 1t must be recognized that there
are two distinct types of newspaper ar
ticles One gives merely the facts; the
other dealing with the same facts, adorns
item with u literary setting ane makes
he story muct more interesting.
1T is articles of the latter kind that
are required to-day, and these take much
more space in the telling than did the
palmer tales Of twenty years ago. The
saste of the public Iilanges. If the news
papers We're to go back to the style OF
twenty years ago the public wouldn't
=, nave it. AS a foundation. each newspaper
must give the routine news of the day
Then the business % news gathering
has expanded wonderfully within a gene
ration, and there is the news Of the whole
world TO he printed each day AS Il Jesuit
he newspaper Of the day is four times
bigger than that OF twenty ye;rs ago.
SIMULTANEOUS PUBLICATION
Erwin Wardman, editor of the Press.
spoke particularly of Mr.. Harmsworth,s
de5 as to a newsl aper trust and the
proposed simultaneous publication OF
newspapers containing the same matter in
-a~ious portions Of the country.
such a scheme might be feasible in
England" he said Perhaps the public
taste is more homa geneous there than it
in this country OF that l cannot pre-
end to speak, because l am not acQualnt-
q with newspaper conditions OH the other
5.de of the Atlantic.
That it would not succeed here, am
convinced. Perhaps the best proof OF this
s to be found in the various characters
OF the newspapers of this city alone New
York is more cosmopolitan. l believe. than
any other city in the world, not excepting
London. OF all the daily newspapers pub
lished here, no two are alike. and no two
Ire made to appeal TO the same portion
oc the community, except the World and
Journal and yet all Of them prosper. Il
s perhaps question whether both the
World and Journal can continue in the
same field with success to both.
newspaper men know we'll that the
character of newspaper which suits one
community is not welcome in any other
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