Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-05-20
Dan Sweeney Tells How Ad-
vertisers Make 0pportuni-
ties for Skilled Artist


through the will OF man. ~
Art, discarded and disregarded, is
flung aside and trampled npcn only TO
turn up again in most unexpected
place-business r. .-
Artists. pushed from the editorial
rooms by the advent of the staff
photographer, take up advertising and
the goose hangs hign-their prices
higher. + ..~: .~ T..
Artists Make Their Exit.
How the pen and pencil men We're
kicked out OF one kind OF newspaper
publicity because a woman didn't like
their ideas; how another kind of pub
| lieity snatched the waning profession
back into the printing folds and hcw
said artists are now pulling down a.
kings tribute for Their work Is old
stuff in Bohemia-land, but to the lay
man it has decidedly new ring.
| A woman said: I'VE don't want
| those horr. BILE drawings In our news
! papers any more" . H..
| Good night" said Mr.. Artist, as
he packed his grip. -. "
at pays. TO advertise" wells com
| merce and industry.
| 'sYou bet" echoes the business
man, but how can we MAKE our ads
more effectiye?' 49,. :.
Make 'em stick out-ads you have
| to read-ad you want to read. Put
| kick in EN- Fill EN- with catchy
pictures and snappy sketches. Don't
stop at any price" says Business
| Judgment. s...
! invitation to Return. -
! well do it," declares Business.
Send on your artist" Ill.,.
Good morning" says Mr.. Artist TO
the newspaper. you see, I'm back
again" 49,.
/ All this and lots more is in the
yarn spun by Dan Sweeny, free lance
artist and newspaper man, who Is
visiting in Honolulu. Mr.. Sweeney
was with the San Francisco Examiner
for II years in the art department, but
for the last three years has been
1 playing his own game and likes IT,
too. He and Mrs. Sweeney are stay.
ling at the Seaside Hotel, swimming
\ much and taking lots of side trips.
| It's their first visit to the islands an6
| they are going back next week.
Were on our annual honeymoon,
/ says Sweeney.
MIR Sweeney was IN particular
reminiscent mood.
Sweeney Assigns Causes.
Have you noticed that in the last
| few years hand drawings have prac-
| tically disappeared in the better news
papers?'' he asked. Did you ever
stop to think why? Would you be-
lieve a woman was the cause of ii
all?"
Eyes. sir, and that woman was no
other than Mrs William Randolph
Hearst. Assisted by the photograph
ers, she put the erimp In the artist
line on the editorial end, but it came
back in the advertising, with bang,
too so we don't care.
''You see, Hearst set the pace for
all the fancy frills in drawings. 1t
used to be common thing for every
murder, divorce or foul play story to
be illustrated in detail That's where
our work came in. Such scenes as
Exhibit A-Tlfe burglar crouched in
the dark Just before he fired the fatal
shot or plunged the killing stroke;
Exhibit B-Cross shows where dag
ger entered body; Exhibit Clover
left hand corner Of upper left hand
window, where assassin ate his lunch
on week days were common to our
profession and the pages were full of it.
Why, in 1901 the Examiner had 10
artists and one photographer, now it
has about three of each.
Sensational Cravings Barred.
1T was about 1905 when Mrs.
Hearst decided such gruesome sights |
had no place in the newspapers. |
Young children and mothers could not
stand the shock on their finer sensi- |
bilities by these horrible facts,
Haunted before them in the legiti- |
mate press every day OF the year. She |
sad Stop and stop they did.
mot only did the sensational fea |
most others followed suit and grad |
ually cut them out. Hearst issued an
order that such words as Murder,
Blood Suicide and Scandal should
no more appear in heads to stories |
and as.little in the story itself. Even |
word descriptions we're moderated to |
avoid any revolving effects. That was
the beginning of the end of yellow |
journalism in the drawing game and |
1t looked like the end for the draw
ers.
Photography PIeases Better.
"Of course, Mrs. Hearst's change |
wasn't the only reason for the decline |
in hand work Publishers learned, as
photography advanced, that it was
much leasier, quicker, cheaper and |
more authentic to take photo of any
person or scene than to have it done |
by hand by an artist. Consequently /
today practically every illustration in |
the newspapers, outside Of the Sum
day features and comics, ttnes from
an actual photograph IN Iefs know
that what a snap SHOWS 5 so, but
they were not always 50 sure of what
an artist, whose Imagination was |
vivid, put before them.
when the pickings got slim in the |
news department. the bows naturallvi /