The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-07
NAMES IN THE PAPER
SOME WOMEN DISLIKE 1T, 9TH
ERS DO NOT CARE.
This Age Is One of Publicity, and it
Social Affairs Are Not Correctly Re-
ported They Are Put in Somehow.

The question of newspaper publicity
came UP for discussion recently among
a number of women and the woman'S
department was pleased with what
some of them said. One woman who
has been accustomed to society in other
places beside st. Paul said that she
bowed to the inevitable. She could
see that it was the spirit of the time
to publish social affairs and their de-
tails, and as the papers got things any
way she had made up her mind to fur
nish news of her affairs herself, and be
sure they were put in straight. An
other woman said it gave. her the hor-
rorS to see her name in the paper and
that she had so expressed herself to
the representatives of the press and
they respected her wishes. A third
woman said she was rather Indifferent;
it didn't worry her very much to see
her name in print, neither did it give
her any joy
| Now these three women fairly repre-
sent the classes of women in society
whose ideas vary somewhat on this
subject. The number-it is stated
gratefully-of those who go to the Of
| flee and absolutely forbid the appear
ance of their names in print, is very
small. If the woman who does this
treats all papers alike and her name
is excluded from all, she rarely finds
herself in print. But as this is writ
ten from the newspaper point of view,
she must understand that where she
! forbids the use Of her name in one pa
per and not in another no attention
| will be paid to that request. For as
rule, the papers all contain the same
|. news (once in a while they get a
SCOOP, but as a general rule it is about
the same, and the non-appearance of
social news in one paper is merely a
reflection upon the woman who writes
1t. The fact that she is keeping her
word and not printing what she prom
ised to keep out is not known to the
public. So the woman who really wants
her name kept out of print must be fair
| and keep it out of all papers. In this
matter, however, st. Paul women are
kindly and seldom make it hard for
the writer's of society news by for
bidding them to mention their names.
The wise woman is she who under.
stands that she is living in an age of
publicity and that it is impossible to
! stem the tide. Therefore, knowing that
some account of her entertainments will
appear in the press, she sends for or
writes to the women who manage
the department and tells them frankly.
all about it and just how much she.
wants said. A case of overstepping-
the bounds and writing up such affairs
otherwise than as requested is rare.
The majority of women belong to the
Indifferent class; they do not very much
care whether their names are In the
paper or not; they might be slightly
indignant if they read garbled accounts
of their doings, but they would not take
the trouble to send correct account
of their affairs to the papers.
This whole matter is, of course vast
ly different from the point of view of
the social writer and of the woman who
entertains. The writer of social news
| finds it often difficult to obtain news
or use it after it is obtained in the face
of the opposition Of many women. But
to imagine that few women who op-
pose publicity are going to revolutionize
the newspaper business and change the
course of events is absurd. So the
woman who realizes that she must sub
NIT to certain amount of publicity
will do kindly thing if she will send
in her own account of her social doings
thus making sure that it appears prop
erly in print. In Washington, where
women are accustomed to public life
they have not any horror of papers,
because they understand that this pub
licity must be. Also in New York the
society women give out social news and
their pictures to the papers when asked.
1t is more provincial to refuse to do so
than to accede. st. Paul women may
/ in time lose that horror of seeing their
| pictures in the paper which is now
so universal. Until this fear of social
news appearing in the papers wears off
| it will be difficult to do justice to So
ciety in print.