The Bossier banner., 1908-08-13
TIE COUNTRY NEWSPAPER.

TIE COUNTRY NEWSPAPER.
Paper prepared by the and read by Mr.
G. C. DeGrafenried President of the Louisiana Press AS
socaticn the recent meeting of that body, held IN
Baton Rouge.
It is often asked ''What is News?'
Each man answers it according to his way
of thinking. What one thinks is news,
another condemns as nonsense! My answer
is: "News is Something Worth Telling
And here, again, the question occurs,
"What is Worth Telling?' answer that
It is something that will interest, and even
benefit the reader! The greater part OF
he happenings printed in the papers Of to-
Law is not news, because it neither inter-
asts nor nstructs. What is news in one
,ountry, or even section of country, is
,ot news in another. Busy and intelligent
)eope are not interested in the doings OF
ne 'ssharp set" in New York, nor do they
:are anything about the adventures of
mpecunous foreign vagabonds generally,
Who are in quest of booty, and especially
he Boni de Gastelaine and Hellied de Sagan
breed of hybrids. Such spicy gossip is
aead by the idle and unthinking classes,
out is not news. The daily papers give
considerable space to this stuff, as many
Of their readers have taste for it, and
they must pander to that vitiated taste.
Or, rather, they do it, in order to increase
their sales, for, daily paper in this day OF
rush, aims to print something to reach
every taste, no matter how vitiated. The
publication Of reports of brutal prize fights
and nauseating scandals, especially of the
''Four Hundred" class, supports this state
ment In the frenzied race for g the largest
circulation many of the daily papers
have turned yellow, and in thus pandering
to diseased taste, have about reached the
lowest ebb of journalism. The editors, or
perhaps the business office, claim that this
is news! 1t is not news, as it neither in
structs nor benefits-nor is it worth telling
to anybody.
The managers of the papers state that
they ''give the people what they want"
That is no argument. They give all their
readers what a few of them want, and thus
they gradually corrupt others. There are
some readers who want what is unprinta-
bic, but fortunately, the postal regulations
prevent its publication. Only few papers,
the yellowest of the yellows, have gone to
the limit in catering to the very lowest.
That they are ''giving their readers
what they want is an erroneous state
ment. The better class do not want this
stuff, and it is forced upon them. They
take the paper, as it is styled, in order
to get the news-something that will en-
tain and instruct. The unthinking "take
the paper" not for instruction, but for it's
gossip, scandal and reports of prize
fights. They do not think, and conse-
quently, do not read to be informed or
benefited.
So much for the daily papers-especially
the yellows! But, there can be no excuse
for the country papers. They have not
the same class of constituents-that is, not
such large per centage. | have said
"excuse." There can be no excuse for
degrading journalism Rather let the
paper die an honorable death, than to
pander to a morbid sentiment.
The country paper is not so much under
control of the counting room as the daily
paper in the city. Therefore, it need not
print little of everything for everybody" I"
Mostnf them print only thatwhich interests
their immediate section, and some of these
print only the news that is fit to print. And
some of them print which is neither news
nor worth printing. The business men,
whose advertising supports the paper, are
not interested in the highly important
statement that Miss Kerjones will give a
pink tea, nor are they moved over the in
telligence that Sammy Smitten is hitching
his mustang at Mr. Blank front gate
every Sunday. These paragraphs may be