The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-28

interested now and would like to
know the real facts
We'll, your ideas. strange to say,
are somewhat common. The Associat-
| ed Press is quite generally misunder-
stood by people who do not under
stand it.
Let me disabuse your mind at once
and for all of the idea that the West
ern Union, or any other corporation,
controls the Associated Press, or, in
| the remotest degree, influences what
is sent over its wires
The Western Union control the
| Associated Press? Not on your life.
You have your wires crossed THE
Western Union is the servant; the
Associated Press is the boss. The AS
ISOLATED Press hires the Western
Union to transmit its news and the
i Western Union transmits whatever
news the Associated Press files with
it. Furthermore. the Associated Press
uses miles and miles of Postal Tele-
graph lines and more miles of tele-
phone wires. The charter of the AS
| ISOLATED Press permits it to transmit
news in any manner which it sees fit.
1t can transmit news by the Western
Union. by Postal, by telephone, by air.
ship, by wireless, by automobile. or by
! ox-cart, the latter in the Kenesaw or
Ozark mountains, or sparsely settled
districts"
Do you know that instead of the
great Western Union Telegraph Co.
being a dragon menacing the Asso-
ciated Press, OF disturbing a single
figure in its markets, this great drag
on with. it's wire tentacles reaching
everywhere ''eats out of the hand of
the Associated Press. and the Asso-
ciated Press is merely the organization
of the papers receiving its report;
about 500 of them.
In the next place remember, that
there is no such thing as an Associated
Press franchise" also, that a mem
bership, in town where no Associ-
ated Press report is taken, costs the
applicant nothing.
IF you want to start an Associated
Press paper at Junction City and can
satisfy the General Manager and the
Directors that you have the means to
conduct a creditable daily paper and
keep it going and can establish for
yourself a clean bill of health, you
can get an Associated Press mem ber-
ship at Junction City without price,
and you can quit on six months notice
at will by paying your current account.
eff you make your application the
Directors can act on it at their next
meeting, December 10, and I think by
December / you could get your paper
going, if you have everything else in
readiness.
1T is easier for a small paper to
join the Associated Press than a big
Low 0if
where an Associated Press member
ship has an accumulative value. the
old newspaper will hardly give it up
without remuneration, but often in
the larger cities an Associated Press
membership may be obtained for !
nothing for the reason that where |
one morning paper, taking the Asso- |
ciated Press, exists, if another morn |
ing paper should be given a member |
ship the expense would be nearly cut
in two for each one. If member |
would prefer to reduce his expenses |
and divide his news rather than have |
a single mem bership, he could very
easily arrange it so far the Direc- |
tors of the Associated Press are con- |
cerned.'
The Associated Press organization |
is probably the most democratic one
in the world Tt is purely partner
ship arrangement without any profit |
in view, organized under the New
York law, but with the sole view to |
the collection of the news at joint |
expense and the distribution of it by |
individual and joint expense.
Each Associated Press paper is re-
=.
money each week, but furnish
the money amount per week
based upon the size of the city, the
cost of the operator, wire circuit
charge, a fixed charge for member
ship dues running from IS to $12.5O
per week, depending upon whether
the paper receives the report by 500
or 1000 words, or by what is known
as the leased wire service. The
leased wire goes all day to the even
ing newspaper and all night to the
papers, that is. nearly all
day and nearly all night For in
stance, on Saturday the wires in the
State Journal office were busy from
1880 in the morning until after
o clock and the wires in the Capital
office are busy all night long up to
2 80 o'clock and sometimes as late
as 5 or or o'clock.
The Associated Press is one of the
very, very few associations which is
absolutely without any ex-
pectation, desire or ability to earn
profit 1t buys news and many other
things including the service of peo-
pie, news reporters and telegraph
operators, but never sells anything!