The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1914-04-27

I
bought the Publishers Press and ANAL
gamated 1t with their own existin,
bureaus into the United Press. TIL
late John Vandercook took charge
Fame is not among the rewards O
daily journalism; few newspapermen
even, know what powerful fighter
for the public veal was this man Van
dercook. He managed the United
Press only year before he died; bu
by that time he had gathered in, with
the scripps papers as a nucleus, nearly
300 newspapers which had hitherto
been getting on without an adequate
telegraph service. Further, he gave
the new bureau its distinctive charac-
ter.
Service Open to All.
To begin with, he made it non-ex-
elusive. The subscriber to the Asso-
ciated Press had, virtually, the right
to bar newcomers from his territory.
Any newspaper capable of paying for
the service might have the United
Press report Vandercook and the as
sociates whom he gathered about him
were mostly young, Scripps-trained
men, tending to view the world from
the popular standpoint. They never
tried to make the news "colorless."
They iealized that it could not be done.
The correspondents of the United
Press were taught to write as fairly
as they could, but always from their
own point of view. That point of view
suited the opinions of the United Press
subscribers. For almost to Il man
these publishers were young, strug-
Cling and on the popular side.
Roy Howard Succeeded Him.
Soon after Vandercook died, Roy
became manager of the whole
service. Howard had not yet passed
his middle twenties. He began life as
a newsboy; he was reporting at an age
when most boys are in high school;
and he had already done nearly every
kind of editorial work. He, like Van
1ercook, held the popular point of
view. He uncovered a strain of first
class executive ability; and he expand
ed the original policy.
All Evening Papers.
The Scripps papers are all evening
and the new United Press
strictly an evening bureau with re
Use" for the Sunday morning edition
If afternoon newspapers. | must state
his more than causally if the reader
would understand the larger aspects of
he situation. Scripps grew great in
journalism at a time when department |
tore advertising had become SUI
important to the budget of a |
newspaper. For reasons too complex |
o enumerate here, the evening news |
aper appears to be better advertis |
ng medium with women than the morn |
ng newspaper. At least the depart |
nent stores say that they find it so.
he immediate profit of journalism lay
4 the evening field. The consequences
yas that not only Scripps, but those
Dung men who had started newspa-
ers in spite of the Associated Press,
nd who must now depend upon the
ew United Press for their very exis-
ence, were all evening men," The
nited Press decided not to wander
'om this field. 1t has never even con-
dered morning service.
Close Evening Wire Early.
Howard and his associates, knowing
lie special needs of their clients, dis
)vered at once a flaw in the rival bur-
III. The Associated Press had been
'unded mainly by morning newspa-
,rs. The most powerful members of
lie organization were still in this field. i
hey were jealous of their rights; LEY {
Id insisted that the evening wire"
lould. close at four o'clock-that any l
,ws which broke" after that time of G
W should belong to the morning t
This precluded those O
porting extras which have become
late years such prominent feature e
journalism, for almost all sporting Il
hol | n
lished after o'clock in the after y
'on Certain Associated Press news S
pers were getting out sporting ex- Il
as, but they had to employ for thar t
rpose a special service of their own. Il
lie United Press, with no morning a
ents to hinder their activities, in u
allied a sporting service running y
)m 4 to Z o'clock. AS time went on II
ey established the custom of includ- II
3 in this sporting service any i'm 81
rtant news which broke" late in L
} afternoon. The effect of this policy p'
obvious. Evening newspapers serv- u
by the Associated Press could not nj
blish extras on important last after Ell
on news. Evening newspapers serv- II
by the United Press could. The sc
tied Press in time forced the Asso- re
ted Press to establish a sporting II
re" in order to meet the competition pc
. before this happened, the United ne
ess newspapers had broken into TIC VII
sntele of the Associated Press. Ill
Covers the World.