The Detroit times., 1915-01-28
PRESS MOVING
TO HIGHER PLANE,
ASSERTS HARRIS

(Continued from Pare Onel
song in Gilbert and Sullivan's famous
ioid opera, "Pinafore." II was:
Things are seldom what they SEEM"
He pictured the readers of newspa-
pers as sitting In the pit" watching
the finished production. while the
newspaper actors and producers view
things from vastly different angles
and under different lights.
"A large number, ] am sure" said
he, "think Of the newspaper princi-
pally as an organ of social uplift
which is forever failing in Its mission.
They specify their charges as fol-
lows: First, they say the literary
standards of the newspaper are low;
second, its ethical standards are low.
or at best represent only selfish OPP
lportunism; third, II Is yellow; fourth.
| 1t Is subject to control by improper in
Ifluences.
"As to the first charge, that the lit
erary standards of the newspaper are
low, let US stop q moment over the
word literary II by literary you
mean presented in language best
serving an intended purpose who
pier, less fiorid style OF the newspa-
per, yes, OF the written books OF to-
day, style that avoids the sesqui-
pedalian In words. circumlocution in
method, Is not more truly literary?
In Kipling's phrase the newspaper
style of today Is marked by straight
flung words and few The newspaper
truly Is not literary in the older, more
conventional use of that word, but l
believe 1t to be better written than
ever In its history.
"That brings us to the essence OF
lpresent-day journalism. The newspa-
per is not primarily an organ OF liter
ature. 1t Is an organ Of news. The
first newspapers began as collectors
| of news items only. Such was the
Daily Courant, perhaps the first daily
paper. But the early newspaper grew
| In scope and gave to its readers the
work OF many illustrious men. Steels
and Addison In The Taller and The
Spectator discovered the world OF
women as readers. They added the
| literary quality to the news-giving
character of their journals.
"The daily paper is not primarily q
literary product, and newspaper men
are primarily not literary men. They
are fact CATERERS, fact sifters, fact
merchants. They have even been &C
cused Of being fact makers. The real
working newspaper man does not con-
slider himself as Of the literati. Colby
says: II q newspaper man should
ever feel inside him what certain lit
erary characters sometimes call their
muse" he would see q doctor and
take something for It,
80 the body of lay opinion that
persists In regarding the newspaper
press as primarily for the literary and
Iethical Improvement of its clientele Is
wrong. Primarily the newspaper press
| Is for the dissemination OF informa-
tion. Fortunately or unfortunately.
the newspaper that operates on any
other basis will bring on sheriff's
sale in short order.
"The newspaper has first the enor-
mously important practical business
OF being useful. socially serviceable.
That is its main reason for existence.
| II II be also OF high literary quality
SO much the better. The newspaper
primarily is not literary. Yet II does
great literary work The newspaper
lis not primarily ethical. Yet II does
great ethical work. Its literary and
ethical products are. as It were, by
lproducts.
at was not until after the invention
OF the telegraph that the American
newspaper took on it's presentday as
pect and character, The FIRST copy of
| the New York Herald. for instance.
founded In 1885. has al It's leading ar
ticle, covering nearly all its first
page, highly exciting essay entitled:
Biographical sketch of Matthias the
prophet The headline of the Her
aids news account of the assassina.
ton of Lincoln was simply the word.
important A copy reader who wrote
such a headline today would hold HIS
| Job about minute. r
"The Civil war made of our Jour.
nails newspapers. II was seen that
news appealed to thousands where
the editorial appealed to tens. Cheap
ening the cost did the rest. and the
newspaper became the daily need of
millions. No other time has seen 20
many newspaper readers. And the