Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1909-08-26
THE REFORMING OF
NEWSPAPER READERS
The Public Largely to Blame
for the Presence of Sensa-
tional Publications.

Ihe Public Largely to Blame
for the Presence of Sensa-
tional Publications.
From the New York Evening Post.
The problem Of reforming newspapers
has been SO long discussed, with such
meagre results, that it is a relief to
hear of the reform of the newspaper
reader being undertaken. That is the
real home for this kind of charity to
begin at. First catch your newspaper
reader, and fill him with so deep a dis
gust at what Is trivial and vulgar and
sensational and indecent that he viii
make a powerful demand felt for better
newspapers. and better newspapers you
may have some hope of getting The
trouble Is that this demand is, in gem
eral, left so feeble and inarticulate,
That 1T exists at all, it sometimes takes
an unusually shrewd editor to discover
One such. in large city of the West,
who had been placed in charge of q
paper of the shrieking order. looked
about him and perceived that there was
large element of university trained
men In that town who might like to
be addressed as reasonable human be-
lngs. He urged the proprietors of his
newspaper to leave off believing, and
the result was a very gratifying in
crease of both prosperity and infiu-
ence Per contra, we know of another
newspaper, In city filled with cultured
people, which recently changed owners
ana lapsed into the yellow variety, with
the consequence of displeasing and los
Ing great many readers, to the con-
sternation of the new regime. These in
stances imply what could be done by
could only be reformed
"A beginning of the work has been
made on a modest scale in England.
The English press has not vet fallen to
our lowest levels, but is rapidly has
tening that way. The same effects of
journalism are observable there as here.
uhose interested In education and social
reform see the need of fortifying peo-
pie against the intellectual vacuity and
the moral disintegration which come
from steady and unwinking reading of
silly or coarse and reckless sheets. Ac-
cordlngly, first step has been taken
Uhis organization. located in the north
or England, has recently formed q
newspaper class for working girls.
Vhe object is to teach what papers to
read and what to avoid, and also what
parts of any given newspaper to give
chief attention to and what to skim or
skip.
The idea seems excellent. as driving
directly at the great lack In all this
business, which is the lack of discrimi-
0atlon To vast numbers of people all
newspapers look alike. Print is print.
IN Whatever guise it presents itself. and
IS thing sacredly to be received. You
"lll see clergymen and benevolent sill
Yer haired ladies turn from reading a
a nf
Devils Own, with no sense of Jar or
shock. In the universal fiux of iudg-
ment and tumble of opinions, the DOW
or of making distinctions seems to have
been lost. Long habit inures even
young girls to displays of newspaper
vulgarity which, in any other form.
they would think repulsive. ut is only
those ridiculous newspapers" they say.
NOW, the first aim of education is to
seek to give the ability to discriminate.
10 Know what is good and what is
evil and the responsibility of educated
readers, who go on patronizing venal
or demoralizing newspapers, is much
greater than that of the unthinkinR
and ignorant. The latter can, perhaps.
De taught to be little more fastidious.
put what of those who already know
and who profess to be select in their
taste and associations, yet who act as
u they cared not how soiled are tho
papers which they take in their hands :?
The discrimination which 1t NAV he
hoped the reformed newspaper reader
WIN exercise, goes further. 1t will deal
not alone with the choice of the journal
to read. but with that of what matter
In 1T to read. There is q great amount
OF newspaper reading which can only
be called slavish. People bury them.
selves In the pages and devour them
from the first headline to the last nor
sonal item. An appalling dissipation OF
energy and dulling of the mind cannot
Iall TO befall many in consequences
They exhibit an abject reverence for
the printed word that Is fairly Arabic.
Anything put into type must be both
true and valuable, they seem to think.
ana they pore over the intellect de-
stroy1ng columns with an intentness
that Is truly marvellous. A man ought
10 pc trained, or to train himself. to
look Tor his own in reading any news
paper He should chiefly consider. az
Coleridge did In reading the bible. that
which finds him. The proporttonate
amount or time to be devoted to mere
M news a, 10 discussion, to literary features.
10 financial report, to criticism in art.
or music or drama-all this is some
thing which intelligent readers ought
10 be able to work out for themselves.
Many or them, we suppose, do so; the
others, and the blankly ignorant. may
we'll appeal to the compassionate aid OF
reformers.
President Hadley, of Yale. was Quite
right In his recent contention that we
cannot make great progress In improy
ing the intellectual and moral tone Of
newspapers until newspaper readers
and patrons are improved Until thew
learn to discriminate journalism viii
ma 1t easier to be undiscriminating:
until they insist upon measure and rea.
aXlPYprltlnn al, an