Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-07-10
PRESS HAS BEEN FORCED TO ADAM.
DON ITS STYLE OF AN
GENT TIMES.
GROW MORE ''AMERICANIZED."
Sweeping Alterations Are Due Largely
to the Gradual Awakening of the
Working Glasses.
NOW IN INTERMEDIATE STAGE.


and more "Americanized," says E. T.
Tandy in the New York Evening Post.
AS a matter of fact, remarkable
change is taking place in the English
journals. The English newspaper press
is in an intermediate stage of devel-
opment. 1t has been forced to abandon
its ancient style, and does not quite
know what new style to adopt
Ibis condition of uncertainty is due to
two notable circumstances. During the
past few years, consequent upon the
great influx of population from the
countryside into the towns, there has
been a remarkable awakening among
the English lower, middle and working
classes. hitherto intellectually lethargic.
A vast and entirely new field OF news
paper readers has, therefore, arisen. 1t
IS the people-the readers-Who have
changed; and the change being now
forced upon the newspapers is not really
an Americanization, but a natural step
in their evolution.
Ten or fifteen years ago the great or
gan Of the English middle classes, The
Daily Telegraph, a 2cent paper, owned
by the Lawsons, a wealthy family, at
the head OF which is Lord Burnham,
was proudly boastful of circulation OF
a quarter of a million daily. But at
that time if The Telegraph wished to
display an important piece of news by
means of a number Of lines in the head
ing to it, every line, even though there
We're dozen of them, would be in
exactly the same sized type; and the
PAPER was written in a howery style Ct
language all its own. When The Daily
Mail, 1-cent paper, owned by the
HarmsWorths, a family of brothers, the
elder Of whom is Lord Northcliffe, was
founded, the word was given that every
thing was to be written as one would
tell story over the breakfast table,
and, in consequence, the paper was soon
a BILE to declare it's circulation to be five
times that of The Telegraph. Then the
revolution set in in earnest. More recent
ly, another Harmsworth paper, The
Daily Mirror, a 1-cent paper devoted
chiefly to snapshots of the events of the
day, doomed to a daily circulation of
close upon 100000 copies. That started
every paper giving pictures, and set up
In England new occupation.
Some of the papers have struggled
hard against the change. The Telegraph
is trying to win by adding page after
page to its size, and it's reporters are
strictly forbidden to write in '"Telegra-
phese.' Even The Times, though it con-
tinues it's price at 6 cents a copy, has
been compelled to resort to eXtraneOuE
inducements, such as special supplements
and a free circulating library, with all
the up-todate literature on loan, and
much on sale at greatly reduced prices.
Hard Year for Papers.
Within the past year three old-estab-
lished London newspapers, The Sun,
The Echo, and the st. James Gazette,
have ceased to be. Somewhile earlier,
honorable records, The Daily News and
The Daily Chronicle, were obliged to re-
duce their price to cent. The Tribune,
upon which over $1,25O,OOO was spent
during the two years of it's existence,
failed utterly, because it was a reverSiOn
to the old form. The Standard, the great
Conservative 2-cent daily, previously one
of the strongest of properties, came into
the market. The Times was recently
and any day official word may come that
it has been really sold to the Harms
worths.
"Penny-a-Liners' Gone.
A few years ago as much as $500
day in the aggregate used to be spent by
the London papers on Lineage" among
"liners," men paid by the line, and scores
of broken down journalists, and drink
ruined members of other professions, too,
were able to pick up precarious living
in that way in Fleet street. But now even
that work is done by bureau. The con-
sequence is that the news editor" has to
find specials for his staff to cover, and
after, when he is hard pushed some of
them are of somewhat freaky charac-
ter.
Nor is the London ''news editor be-
hind his American confrere in enterprise
Not long since. a reporter was detailed
to climb a Welsh mountain IN Wld-Win-
ter. The expenses were 800 for single
column story of no Importance. Still more
recently a reporter with hired motor
car was set to watch the government
fying machine The machine did not fly
The hire of the car for waiting amounted
TO $3.50. In the last sensational murder
mystery two news editors" had special
Telephone wires laid for eighty miles. In
a recent jewel robbery, $500 was paid to
an officer for news of an arrest.
Steady Posts.
Each paper has, of course, it's special
sports staff, the chief of whom is usually
the racing ''tipster." Only one paper,
the Daily News, does not touch horse
ker millionaire. Each also has it's spe-
cial theatrical critic; and most of them
have experts for motoring, for cycling,
far fashions-even for Fashions for
Men," one of the most recent introduc-
tions-and for the games of chess and
draughts. Society news is mostly done
UN
each paper has also its expert who
writes Personal paragraphs Some of
fees also have special correspondence
editor, and The Daily News at least has
4 clergyman who is religious editor
Few now. except The Times, keep a
staff at Parliament. The commoner
course is to have merely a descriptive
man there, and to supplement his &C
count from one of the bureau reports.
Fate of Typewriters.
The use of schedules is an introduction
from America. but little else has been
directly adopted from this side. During
one of his visits here, Lord Northcliffe
saw all the reporters using typewriters.
ON his return home he ordered in ma
chimes for every man on his staff; but
within six weeks they were all out of
use. Another editor sent over his chief
engineer to pick up useful notions. Aft
or spending several weeks here the engi-
neer returned and as the sole result of
his visit installed new ''cease-work"