Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-03-29

| world. Tramp wind tanners. taking
on the pilot after long cruise, ask
| for the papers before they ask. as
formerly, for fresh fruit and vegeta-
bIes. Whenever, in our late western
| advance, We Americans set up new
mining camp, an editor. his type slung
on burro-back. comes in with the mis-
sionaries. evangel himself of civiliza-
ton. says Will Irwin in Golfers Week
by Most dramatically the San Fran
cisco disaster illuminated this point.
On the morning of April 30. 1906. the
city's populati huddled in parks and
| squares, their homes gone, death OF
| famine or thirst rumor and a posi-
bility. The editors of the three morn
ings newspapers had moved their
staffs to the suburb of Oakland. and
three on the presses of the Tribune.
they had issued a combined Call
| Chronicle Examiner. When, at dawn,
the paper was printed. an editor and a
reporter loaded the edition into mo-
tor car and drove it through the parks
OF the disordered city. giving copies
away. They were nearly mobbed: they
had TO drive at top speed casting
out the sheets as they went, TO make
any progress at all. No bread wagon.
no supply of blankets. caused half SO
much stir as did the arrival of the
news.
- We need il, we crave it; this nerve
of the modern world transmits thought
and impulse from the brain of humani-
| ~ to its muscles: the complex organ
| ism of modern society could no more
move without il than a man could
move without fIlaments and ganglia
automatically, then, the quality OF
news, its freedom from undue bias and
faint, is Supremacy important. Could
one slant or faint all news at its source
| he would vitiate all public intelligence.
Could one raise the standard OF all
| news at its source, he would corre-
spondingly elevate public intelligence.
And since il is so vital. we must stop
here to consider what news is. before
we consider what in the ideal, should
be the attitude of writer and editor
toward his products.
1t looks simple at first sight. News
| is a report OF just what occurs in the
world. or rather what has just oc-
Cured But a million billion things
occur hourly in the world, from the
movement OI tHt IlnScE ny WHICH,
write this line to the surging OF the
crowd which is at this minute harry
ing strikebreakers along the Canadian
border. The movement of this finger is
not news. while the surge Of that
crowd is: and something more than
Importance divides them. Tell the
former fact to a man and he is bored;
tell the latter and he stops to listen.
That. then. is the basis of news.
The mysterious news sense which is
necessary to all good reporters rests on
no other foundation than acquired or
instructive perception of this principle.
together with a feeling for what the
greatest number of people will regard
as a departure from the established
order. In Jesse Lynch Williams news
paper play. The Stolen Story oc-
ours this passage:
ENTER Very Young Reporter; comes
down to city desk with air of excite
ment.)
Very Young Reporter considerably
impressed)-Big story. Three dagoes
killed by that boiler explosion.
The City Editor (reading copy.
Doesn't look up)-Ten lines. Continues
reading copy.)
Very Young Reporter docks sur
prised and hurt. Crosses over toward
reporters tables. Then turns back to
city desk Casual conversational tone)
BY the way. Funny thing. There was
a baby in baby carriage within fifty
feet of the explosion. but it wasn't up
set
The City Editor docks up with pro-
fessional interest)-Thats worth a
dozen dead dagoes. Write a half col
umn.
Very Young Reporter looks still
more surprised. perplexed. Suddenly
the idea dawns upon him. He crosses
over to table. sits down. writes)
Both saw news; but the editor went
further than the reporter. For cases
of Italians killed by a boiler explosion