The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1915-07-08
YALE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION
OF AN ideal NEWSPAPER
Paul Jacob Banker, Of Midd|ebwn, Ohio, Glass Of
1915, Wins Prize Offered by New York Even
ing Post for the Best Essay on'- The Ideal
Newspaper" Fifteen Essays Were Submitted.
Taken From Neao York Evening Post.

heads of our leading newspapers.
In this respect, the newspapers are
of more than mere contemporary
value. 1t is often supposed that the
newspapers are Of the day, the hour.
then valueless, but they are a record
of events as they occur. In them
all the sounds of the battle, the ejac-
ulations Of the combatants, the cries
of hate and pain, the clash of hard
steel, the accusations and denials of
unfairness, the hymn of victory and
the vanquished's lament are all faith
fully recorded. These things are
all OF vast Importance to the hist
orian in bis study of a given period.
James Forde Rhodes, one of the
foremost American historians, once
said that in his study of the history
of the United States since 1850 he
had found the newspapers of almost
indispensable value. The position
OF the seeding states was most clear
ly outlined in the Charleston papers
the Mercury and the Courier, and
the Reconstruction period could not
rightly be understood without the
light which current newspapers
threw upon the conditions of that
time. Thus it is to be seen that
the newspapers are Of importance,
not only as contemporaneou
influences but as permanent records
of history.
Now our ideal newspaper will be
such an one as b e st to per-
form these functions which have
been pointed out as belonging to
newspaper, namely, to form public
opinion, TO educate the public, and
also to serve as permanent histori-
cal records of the time. What
qualifications paper must possess to
fulfil these functions efficiently and
we'll will be the theme Of the fol-
lowing lines.
The newspaper as we know it is
modern product. A little more
than fifty years ago papers rarely
had more than six or eight pages,
where they now have from sixteen
to twenty-four on week days and
from sixty to one-hundred on Sun
days. The evolution of this complex
species from Its embryonic form in
England to the present, with it's
corresponding growth in power and
usefulness in the community, Is an
interesting and enlightening chap
ter. 1t is unnecessary to relate here
how the first American newspapers
were sporadic in the intervals of
their appearance, being usually pub
lished by the postmasters of the
colonies, who were doubtless enabled
| through their contact with the post
riders to secure tue latest news from
the other colonies. These first
American journal have their rise in
the latter seventeenth century, anG
continued with slight Interruptions
up to the outbreak of the Revolu-
tionary War, when there were thir-
ty-seven newspapers published reg
larly in the colonies. Of these, TWEEN
ty-three were Whig organs, and
seven or eight supported the Crown,
and together they played a most
important part in the making of
sentiment for separation from the
mother country.
! After the Revolution, the news
papers were remarkable principally
for their political influence. the fail
ure of the Confederation and the
forming of the Constitution furnish
ing abundant food for discussion in