The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-07-31
THE NEWSPAPERS
AND The FIGHT
More Space Given Battle at
Ring Than Death of
Lincoln.
DEWEY VICTORY HAD MORE
COMPARISONS SHOW HOW PUB
Lie WANTED NEWS.

New York. July SO-An interesting
illustration OF the change that has
within the last COUPE OF generations
overtaken the big New York dalrS
newspapers In their Judgment OF news
values wa afforded By the recent
JOhuson-Jeffries fight at Reno.
Seven Of the principal metropolitan
newspapers and five OF the press asso-
Citations had approximately 100000
words teleEr-Dhed TO them from their
special correspondents and expert
writer's sent 10 cover the melee be-
tween the negro and the California
printed 121 columns OF the fight in
their issue Of July .. an average OF
umn each. the story easily dominat-
ing every other news feature Of the
day.
only one newspaper-The Evening
Post--ignOred u as a subject OF COM
handing news value. limiting its ref
erenCe 10 the fight TO four inches on
the sporting page.
The total space given 70 the descrip-
ton OF the battle OF Gettysburg. the
most momentOus and important battle
OF the Civil war. in which 10000 men
were killed and wounded. by four OF
these seven newspapers was but IS
columns. or less than one-Quarter Of
the reference given 70 the Nevada
fight.
II IS interesting to note that the
story OF the assassination OF Lincoln.
one OF the greatest tragedies OF mod
ern times. occupied approximately the
same space.
Papers Not ~ Large.
The fact that newspapers We're not
as large in those days as they now
are and that the use Of the telegraph.
an every minute necessity Of the big
newspaper today, was regarded then
as q newspaper luxury may account
for this seeming lack Of the sense Of
proportions. To those who have Of
late been deploring the conspicuous
pioits OF the professional prize fighters
the Overshadowing prominence ac-
corded to the JOhnson-Jeffries meet
ing. may be accepted as significant
ment. which, despite the ethical de-
velopment of the human race. IS still
partial to pugilism.
In extenuation OF their attitude to-
ward prize fights. IL may be recalled
that the seven New York newspapers
printed from three to four pages each
concerning the destruction Of Admiral
Montojos Spanish armada by Dewey
in Manila harbor May I, 1888. and gave
a like amount OF space to the wiping
out OF Admiral Cervera's fleet off San
same year by Schley and Sampson.
When Colonel Roosevelt and the
Rough Riders made their famous as
cent Of San Juan hill into popular IA
vor and helped to rake the Spanish
trenches each OF the newspapers
printed from three to four pages and
a half OF the battle Most OF the large
newspapers OF the country followed
their Judgment as TO It's appealing
news value and interest.
More recently. when Admiral Togo
and his gallant captains scuttled the
Russian armada under Admiral Ro-
iestventsky. in the Japan sea. the
newspapers recognized IL as the great
est achievement In naval warfare in the
history OF the world. devoted from four
TO six pages in describing it. Consid-
ering that a good part OF the news
represented cable tolls from the other
end OF the earth. the cost OF the serv-
Ice furnished by the newspapers to
their readers was enormous For a
single dispatch the New York Herald
paid more than $4,000 I'm fees.
The strenuous activities in the field
OF the intrepid little Boer generals