The Ocala evening star., 1915-01-26
SURPRISING THE NEWS
"a. H. H. in Tampa Tribune)

yluudl OT group OI IlulsluudIS, QOSS
not come up. And many times, the
reporter has the same choice to make
regardless of the fact that the aver
age citizen knows that the policy of
newspaper is usually entirely indie
pendent of any member of the force
Frequently man, otherwise intell-
igent, appears at a newspaper Office
with the request that this or that piece
of news be kept out of print, As rule
his grounds for the request are that
some person, organization or locali-
ty will be harmed by it's publication.
How strange it is that persons believe
they have the right to ask such con-
cession in regard to news, which is
generally public property, and is the
result of carelessness of the rights of
others, or cupidity on the part of the
one making the request.
Time and time again in answer
ing these peculiar demands it is ex-
planned that if the paper were to do
as they asked, it would soon find it
self in position to grant the same
thing to everybody who had in any
way gotten into an unfavorable light
and wished the illumination quickly
extinguished. The usual form follow
ed in asking for the suppression of
news is that "the public would not
be interested, and it would hurt so
and-so, or this or that place, or this
or that venture" And another favor
ed argument is that, "you know how
you'd feel if situated similarly"
We wonder if these people ever stop
to consider that newspaper is in
the commercial field as purveyor of
news? That it has tacit understand
ing with its readers that it will pub
lish what happens in the community
and in the world, as far as it is able
to obtain these happenings and then
leaves to its readers judgement of the
case of circumstance after an unbias-
ed presentation.
il Men become involved in physical
i encounter, get drunk and create a
sufficient disturbance to be arrested
and brought to court, drive automo-
biles at excessive rates of speed and
knock down persons, and do various
other things which have subsequent
developments or not, as the case may
be, and then come to the newspapers
with the request that it be kept out of
print. And if the paper printed moth
!, ing of the happenings in case where
there was real news in the incident, it
; would not be long before it's readers
would begin to say that it played fav-
: orites, suppressed news for a consider
, alton, or was sound asleep-and their
subscription, would go elsewhere.
But one of the most irrational re-
quests along this line is that made
: by bodies of citizens or organizations
ito suppress news of character sup
!, posedly harmful to the community. Il
; has often happened that newspapers
have been threatened with boycott fol
) publishing the facts of the prevalence
of an epidemic, of business depression
of the presence of a great number Of
crooks and criminals, or other condi
: tions which lend themselves most har
t moniously to the very silence SO fool
: ishly demanded as a means of doing
) away with them.
t There is one newspaper, so called
!, in Florida, which has gone SO far il
!, this fanatic attempt to deceive out
siders as to real conditions in the plac,
= where it is published, that it neve-
j prints story of the killing of rat
j tie snake in it's environs, fearing tha
by doing so it will deter some possibl,
;. settler.
!. News is news, and newspapers mus
d Justify their name or become some
t thing else. Facts must be printed fo
J the reason that the public is buyin,
: the facts, and all the facts the pape
S can serve to them. Scandal, skull
n duggery and blackmail have no plac
in average American journalism, bu
facts have, and so has the exposition
of wrongful conditions regardless o
who is temporarily embarrassed.
And newspapers in possession o
facts of general interest, such sa Fl
nancial failures, bankruptcies an
other occurrences of like nature, whic
u they do not publish are dishonest an
: pursuing a policy of fraud by tn
/ omission, which is as great misap
! plication of the trust imposed upo