Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-06-16
Eagle.

Keen competition among the pub
fishers of daily newspapers has set a
high standard of excellence in their
line of endeavor 1t has also created
desire for excellence. making pa
irons exacting in their demands for
good news service. A few decades ago
readers of daily newspapers were few
err and interest centered largely in the
political views of their editors and the
parties they represented. Then the
means for quick transmission of news
had not been developed and less at
tention was paid to what was going on
in the world around us. Then sub
scribers accepted asbrilliant editorial
page as the standard of excellence In
newspaper and news was a lesser
factor in it's make up. Now they de-
mand both.
But with the development of the tel
egraph and telephone and fast mail
service, publishers began to pay more
attention to the news of the day. Their
readers became interested in the do
ings of their neighbors. Fast trains
and quick mail service had made dis
tant states near neighbors and the tel
egraph and cables had made us famil-
lar with foreign climes and strange
peoples.
How to meet the. increasing demand
for news and competition of his pro
gressive competitors became then a
perplexing problem to the publisher.
The problem has grown until it has
become one. if not the most important
factor in the business. Out of the
need created by the demand for more
news came the organization of press
associations, among them being the
Associated Press (of which this paper
is member) which has become at
once the most powerful and the most
wonderful news gathering association
in the world. 1t covers all the "big"
news of the entire globe and the daily
paper that can secure and is able to
afford it's complete service has little
else to be desired in the way of gen
eral news.
Every newspaper, however, has it's
special field for circulation, and press
associations being mutual concerns
and their reports being duplicated to
newspapers in widely separated parts
of the country and circulating each in
it's own special field, are not able to
furnish the details of state events and
the minor news of the immediate ter
ritory of each of it's members. So it
has become a matter of vital impor-
lance to arrange some system by
which this special service can be Sc
cured.
The usual means and the one en-
ployed by this office is the appoints
ment of agents or correspondents at
all points in the papers circulation
territory and at the more important
points in the state. These cores
pondents play AN important part in
the life of the successful daily paper.
They are sentinels who guard the in
terests of the journal which they rep
resent, ever watchful lest some rival
gets a SCOOP" To it's faithful corps
of correspondents the Times Republic
can owes not a little of it's success
and for their untiring zeal and con-
scientious work makes grateful ack-
nowledgement. Many of them have
been with US for many years, and with
a few exceptions, have rendered eff
ficient service Some of them are
trained newspaper men and fully con-
versant with the workings of the
news departments of daily papers.
The majority however, come from
other walks of life and to them at
least the Talks to Correspondents"
may be of some interest. if not profit.
The late j. B. MeCullagh once said
journalism was THE art of guessing
where HI would break loose next,
so as to have reporters on hand to
tell the story" There is little guess
work about it nowadays, however for
the progressive newpaper's reporters