The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1916-02-21
LAKE COUNTY PAPERS.
The Personality of Newspapers.

The Personality of Newspapers.
To the observing reader every newspaper sno sn has d its own "FFsI personal S2
iy, and each paper wears its own famllar aspect Jay ""el us. &c
The front pages of American newspapers ae the mirror oil
American life. In them me sees reflected ven venus o. G "a fonn nei ts
epitome of the narration which follows Across their printed col
umns moves the panorama of human nature, in all It's various gulses
of grief. joy. lurid excitement and practical planning. AS til men
poa|oss ~ ntraein personalities. 50 the front pages of newspa-
pers vary as to type. headlines. arrangement and influence. ,o.as
containing concise statements of fact without sensational elements.
Their cartoons show a high order of conception and the arrange
ment has no spectacular features.
These papers m at one extreme of newspaper ethics and the
line curves through the intermediate stages o Tn seh h3oh snT
which uses scare heads, red print, freak cartoons n ~nieh piasS
Scanning then the great American journals, we observe then
particular characteristics. The paper containing probably the great
IN nercentage of reading matter in proportion to its advertising Is
the New York sun, which furnishes about threefoGrths reading mmo
ter, while the Philadelphia North American rs y te her eNu hanna
with about 80 per cent. its proportionately large ADVERTISING beng
campaigns Of reform. The third element in ewspapersmil ustra-
"0"' the Snn = cen called "Morgan's paper" and it has its back
ing in wall street. Though its policies have changed in the last few
intelligent. educated class. and it carries with it a literary flavor
The New York Times, founded in 1851. is a clean sheet when
publishes no accidents pr crime ! o speak Oh II na The Ts0l or V hst
example of the commercial view of a newspaper Its SATURDAY sup
upon new publications and it is subscribed for by many readers VINO
The New York Evening Post is the most interesting paper in
the country IT was founded in 1901, and for many y years nHr, numbered nered
newspaper in New York, selling on the street for 3 cents, and it has
a circulation which is country wide. 1t is dignihed and scrupulously
clean. and it's Saturday supplement, taking the place of a Sunday IS
Se aeot is as 70 f Fgpenc n e. Post is an institution which could not
change. Its offices are dignified. artistic n walls oSe req ~f fr
s nd iteratrr q read the POST. Its outlook is broad and compre-
boratyo dismissfn the ephemeral with a glance. Edforialy, the
POST is something of a scold, and by newspaper men is called TN
old woman" There is a saying among them mat Il o " . up
of the Post under the table it will growl all night
In startling contrast to a highbrow issue ne like nt the Post Is I the
fuses TO employ a man worth less than $40 a week, and who has
not already made good on another METROPOLITAN daily L j sau Una.
the best written and the least read paper to the worst written n
The Evening Journal is the rival Of the World. sensational; fun
of the gee whiz element. and with 100000 readers a day. When
Hearst bought the paper in 1895 he spared pare mo- 10 expense 9ri Put stars ar tb be
highest paid editor in the country, perhaps In the world. ne jour
nal is a kind of melting pot, and its editorials ae read and really
read by the masses of the laboring people. The New York American
is the morning issue of this paper and it is Hearsts eNpermentai
d denrn 10 tba re"rrp papt'S are "s'' -
The Christian Science Monitor is a notable example of a uni
versal newspaper. 1t Is constructive. caFelun4 ~llen pm n tntorna
crime or dstasteful news. and is accurate IL gel o ut an n mtr"t "a
tonal edition. Contrary to the idea of most people n Monltor Is
" u Coming closer home in our survey of papers we note the Detroit
News. dynamic. militant, and forever the enemy of corporation own
ership of public service franchises. The Chicago News IS a many
sided paper. a powerful influence for many years in Chicago jour
nalism. Unfortunately it is weak on editorials. In the Chicago
Tribune We find a paper different than any. the favorite newspaper
Of every newspaper man IT Is a tighter TX me Norh Amerran
but a much greater paper. 1t is more interested in the many sided
emf. using no reprint stun ~ u aes h"t pay up sa - -
torials are argumentatiye and its studies the people to find a way 10 TO
oussu ee,1ii oati Tbe Great effort of the Chicago Tribune
paper in America can it be IS truly said that Its readers paee mn
one often longs to select ideal portions to form composite
perfection. Could we Gull here and there for a ideal newspaper we
should model our front page after the Chicago News. handle our
big stories as does the Chicago Tribune. steal a paragraph writer
from the Columbia State. install McCuteheon and Cesare as cartoon
lists. use the SUMS charming method of giving literary form to me
events of the day, editorialize IS do the New YORK fst INC .e
What is your especial taste n need? Some paper has the pc,
culiar personality which will respond to yours II you love TO read
of high society. here and abroad, get the New York Herald. FOR a
tea table paper. ultra-conservatve, nothing approaches the Boston
Families If YOU want the market try the Sun. and a highly illus
trated sport page always graces the New Orleans Plcayune II YOU
enjoy keen. pthy paragraphs. get the Columbia State. The Monitor
is governed by optimism. and for a well balanced. sincere daily take
the Chicago Tribune. but if you ar t. b e stranded OF a desert Ei'no
~ o"' Os W '"'"' THE COMMENTATOR.