Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1907-02-14
rns raAw CASE ANpr THE PRESS

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give to a subject like that OF the Ihaw
murder trial Is now uppermost Tor con
sideratlon in many newspaper sane
tum and counting room, Not only
there, but the public at large sits IN
Judgment on the press in this matter
and its verdict has no small eject IN
determining the policy thereof
Few newspapers there are that
really relish serving up such a nanse-
Gus mess to their readers. Most OF
them would prefer to print savory
news, telling OF the pure, the upright
the bright, the cheerful things OF NE
But il is unfortunately true that the
reading public, speaking OF 1t as a
mass, is itself responsible for the pub
licatlon OF most of the vileness that
finds its way into the columns OF the
newspapers, Deny this who can
Suppose ease. Let every newspaper
bat one in New York city at the pres
ent time suppress the report OF the
Thaw trial, or limit ii TO the proper
tions which the censorship OF the most
astidious would prescribe. Let this
one paper print the whole story, day
by day, as it is now appearing in all
the papers. Which paper would be.
read?
But the excitement over this Thaw
clse, some say, has been fomented by
the press itself, which now claims its
reward in the increased sales OF Its
product. Undoubtedly there Is a
measure OF truth to this. Had the
homicide been merely mentioned in
the first place had the sidelights been
omitted had not antiei2atlons OF sala-
cious developments been built up,
through the day-by-day outpourings OF
the newspapers, certainly there would
have been less knowledge OF it and
less interest in the outcome. But the
trouble is not primarily with the press.
II exploited the Thaw killing because
it saw the possibilities OF Il sensation
in il, and because, from long expert
ence, it has learned that the American
public dearly enjoys a sensation and
is willing to pay for it.
What if it did? may be asked,
II Is the press no other mission than
to pander to depraved tastes and en-
courage,those tastes by constant feed
ingP Again let us see how tar the
public is responsible. How large 4
proportion OF the reading public turns
away from the reports of the Thaw
case. tor instance, and seeks other
subjects Do only the "depraved'
read it? If so, how great must be
the proportion of depravity in our
citizenship And is it the duty of
the newspaper, which must pay its
bills in order to accomplish ever so
little good. to suffer or perish in its
own assumption OF what is honor, at
the command of a few, while the
multitude chases elsewhere eagerly
for that which it denies That's a
pretty high concep ion of the mission
of the press-an impossibility in
=. realization.
Let some of our good people who
are so prone to condemn the press for
its shortcomings essay the task them
selves Let them establish a news
paper, and in its conduct print only
that which, in their estimation, is
! desirable to print from the altitude OF
e such lofty conception. But let
: them first capitalize or endow heavily,
e for they will surely need source OF
0 revenue other than can be COM
f manded in the ordinary way.
2 The newspaper is, first of all, bust
/ ness proposition. 1t prints what the
: public demands, within bounds of
: propriety Laid down-not by the pub
lsher-but by the public itself. As a
part of that public, the publisher acts
S in framing public opinion, but how
e ever important he may seem he is
- but mere atom of the whole mass.
and is necessarily swept along in the
J. curr ent.
s The law Justly and properly forbids
l. the publication Of indeCencies. The
d law is always rather in advance OF
e true public sentiment But public
i sentiment would quickly sustain
n prosecutions conducted to a successful
IS issue under this law. 1t newspapers
|, keep within the bounds of the law
,e printing the truth only, why ought
,. small proportion Of the public to de
r mand standard of its own from
9. themP Why, we ask, while the
grinding force Of competition fixes a
different standard, which, if not fol
lowed, spells business downfall !
Let the great American public reform