Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-09-16
NEWSPAPER CHARACTER.
Essential Virtues To day Are Good
Faith, Discretion and
Independence.
(From Tie WaH Street Journap

(Fr0m TIE Wal Street JOurRdil
The idea that newspaper men are
eager to publish everything they
know or hear is utter fallacy. The
publication of newspaper is a very
grave responsibility, and the largest
discretion must be exercised in the
use of information. The newspaper
man is, indeed, eager to learn all
that he can of what is going on in
the world, but in actual practice he
prints only a small proportion of
what he learns In the columns of his
newspaper. The information which
may be kept back is not suppressed
because of a desire to suppress the
truth, but because publication at
that time might do more harm than
good. There is, indeed, a certain
class of news which must be pub
lished whether it hurts or not,
whether it works for prosperity or
Tor panic. That is the essential
truth, the suppression of which
would be the same as an out-and-out
lie. But there is large mass of in
formation, true in itself, and which
some time may develop into proper
material for publicity, but which at
the moment is better left unsaid.
Another popular misconception re-
garding newspapers is that they can
be easily bribed. The subsidized
journal is, indeed, in evidence in this
country as we'll as in other countries.
The ''court circular" type of Jour-
nalism is one to which we have had
many occasions to refer during the
past year. But there is another and
higher type of newspaper, and this
kind cannot be reached by bribery
of any kind. Yet nothing is more
common than the idea that a news
paper can be controlled by its adver-
tlsers, by its subscribers, aud by men
from whom it obtain its news. This
is very common fallacy in financial
circles. A good many business men
think that because they give an ad-
vertlsement to newspaper they
have sort of mortgage on its news
and editorial columns. There are
also a good many business men who
think that because they give a piece
OF news to a newspaper they are en-
titled to favorable consideration in
its editorial columns.
The fact is that a newspaper con-
Quoted on high principle has no bus
iness, on the one hand, 10 run amuck
like a bull in china shop, smashing
this interest and that interest, de-
molishing this plan and that plan,
and playing havoc with business gen
orally. Its policy must always be
constructive, not destructive, de-
signed to build rather than tear down,
to aid rathar than to injure. But
on the other hand in order to serve
the public faithfully, it must main
tain strict independence. It's nat
ural desire will be of course, to aid |
its advertisers in every way, but it |
may be sometimes necessary for it TO |
criticise an advertiser, and it will do |
so fearlessly. Its natural desire will |
be always to keep on friendly terms
with those men from whom it must |
necessarily obtain the news to which
its readers are entitled. But there /
will be frequently occasions when
the newspapers may feel obliged to
oensure severely the very man from
whom it may have received the big
gest possible piece of news. The
three cardinal virtues of the news
paper men are good faith, discretion
and independence.