Omaha daily bee., 1913-10-19

every night when the major leagues and
State league games are ~ swing.
And base ball is must news too. IL
must go promptly and go ahead Of every
thing except markets. OF coutse, in case
of a national disaster 1t would be super
seded but II is sidetracked only for news
happening OF worldwide interest. The
paper must have their market reporta:
the market pages are inside pages and
are made up early, For this reason the
markets are sacred. Sporting pages are
also made up early but base ball is
must copy chiefly because II is base
ball t,ya kW tt@ 80.
| This is the news association side OF
the base ball burden from a morning
paper standpoint The. afternoon prob
lem is less serious because. while re,
suits are bulletined 20 all afternoon
papers. the wire time consumed Is COM
lparatively brief. Now let's go behind
the headlines and talk things over with
the newspaper owner or managing
editor. r.1
! His first desire Is TO give his readers
what they want, at the same time main
tanning a decent average with proper re-
gard for news values. in order that his
paper may not be topheaYy In one thing
or shy in another. How many editors
have held TO this idea7 Very few. The
base bali mania has upset all standards
of news proportion Nothing In the his
tory of newspapers. or In tho history OF
the world for that matter. has no caught
tho public fancy as 10 call forth spe
cial editions daily devoted 10 one thing
exclusively. But the afternoon base ball
extra now runs through three editions
up TO the ''F1nal;' and. deprived OF II
the "fan" would howl like q man who
had lost leg. f.
In advertising. base ball pays a news
paper practically nothing. When the
home team IL on homo grounds. you win
find a small announcement of the game
on the sporting page; seldom more than
this. But. although base ball Is strictly
a commercial proposition. the news
paper owner finds no complaint because
of lack OF advertising. 1t is a good
clean sport, his readers want Il. and ne
Ia willing and anxious TO give them all
he can within reason. II he were tc
estimate from an advertising standpoint
the value OF the publicity given base
ball. the figures would be staggering
THE space simply could not be bought
Where will II end? Pans are being
born faster than p. T. BAInum's pro
verbal suckers, and each succeeding sea,
son finds them more familiar with the
game. and demanding more and better
news OF H. Any old account OF an or.
dinary news event. such as the Balkan
war or the assassination OF a Mexican
president. will do; but base ball. good
ness mel we want that written by an
expert. We want his picture at the
head or his column. embellished, n DOS
siole with a facsimile Of his signature
We would also like a page OF cartoons
depicting the home team IN some gentle
lpostuTe. say. walking on the face Of the
nearest rival for the pennant, or per
lchance seated triumphantly in a soaring
,aeropiane, waving a fond farewell 10 a
small grunting bear or tiger wearily
trundling on the dusty road below 3
Tickety wheelbarrow filled with lemons
All this costs the newspapers money
Special base ball writers receive big saI.
aries, usually larger than editorial
Writers-the moldsrs of public opinion
Cartoonists also come high. Most OF the
big newspapers keep stAff eoFrespondents
travelling with the major league teams
Throughout the circuit There are usu.
ally ten special writers with the New
York Giants every season
Any way you put II. base ball Is an
expensive commodity for the newspaper
TO handle II IL true that fang are
readers. and that without readers there
would be no newspapers. II is likewise
possible that many fang would ceass
TO be readers II deprived OF base ball
news. But Whistler. from a newspsps'
standpoint. base ball actually pays. Is q
problem for the psychologist. Similarly
IL u question whether the fan" clam
oring for more and more base bail. has
brought base bali news 20 its present
state OF elaborateness. or whether the
editor himself, keen TO outstrip his fel-
lows. has slowly fastened the burden on
his own shoulders.
The base ball extra, as one would nat.
lurally suppose, is read almost solely for