Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1906-06-27
THE KIND OF NEWS
Why the Daily Papers Creature"
Sensationalism

Why the Daily Papers Creature"
Sensationalism
Again We see brought up the old
question why newspapers cover
their front pages with crime,
accidents, horrors and sensational
occurrences while the good things
and deeds Of the world are placed
ia comparative retirement end
ignominy upon the inner pages,
saye :the Richmond News Leader.
A Western clergyman asks why the
newspapers do not Creature" the
good news or the news Of the good
and carry the evil in the out-of-
the-way places. Perhaps it has
not occurred to any Of those who
make tho suggestion that the
bad is nswe because il 10 unusual
while the good is not news becuse
it lie usual and common. Ii it was
the universal or general custom in
this country for men to beat and
murder their wives and children
such incidents as wife and child
murder would be carried in ten line
paragraphs, il at all, and the man
with long record of good faith
and kindness to his family would
have his picture. printed and his
stoly told in several columns. As
it is the contrary is the case.
Probably nine hundred and ninety.
nine men in every thousand go
through their lives working faith
fully. patiently and honestly to
support their families and an equal
proportion of women are true to
their husbands. We are thankful
to say that good men, good women
and good deeds are part of the
monotony Of life. We have them
around us on every side and are
accustomed to them.
Human nature turns naturally to
the unuaual, the exciting, the
abnormal and is interested in all
departures from custom. A pound
party for the benefit of the pastor
Is q usual occurrence about Christ
MAJ time, has no wildly exciting
features and is not interesting
except to those Immediately con-
cerned. Therefore it is told in a
couple Of paragraphs. A burglary
in the residential section is unusual
and it interests, alarms and thrills
every household. Therefore the
newspapers give columns to it. If
We had eight or ten burglaries
every night they would be given
two or three lines apiece and if
pound party occurred but once in
eight or niue years it would get a
column on the first page of any
newspaper. A thousand cashiers
stand at their desks from youth TO
old age and live their lives out in
useful and honorable labor and die
leaving respected names to their
children, with brief published
obituaries. The one cashier who
makes a spectacular defalcation
and blows out his brains be-
comes a sensation because his weak
ness or his sin has made him con.
spicuous and infamous. If we had
but one church in this community
and that church has service once in
the year the event would be looked
forward to and most profusely
written up or illustrated; but as
We have scores of churches doing
their coed work every Sunday OF
the year there is nothing new or
remarkable in any Of them and
they pass by with only the custom
airy notice Of time and place and
name of preacher.
Crime and vice are not more fire.
quent than they used to be. In
fact. they diminish year by year
considered in proportion to popula
ton. They are exposed more
fully and relentlessly than ever
before and the punishment of
publicity is more severe that it has
ever been. 1t is because the vastly
overwhelming majority OF men and
women lead honest, virtuous, sober
and decent lives and do nothing to
make themselves infamous and
conspicuous, that the wicked and
desperate, being comparatively |
few, appear on the fret pages of
newspapers under huge display.