The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-03-15

cover the entire journalistic field,
but just give few ideas on the
operation of a large metropolitan
newspaper, as it covers very
large territory and [ would not be
doing it justice to try to put it in
such few words as l have here.
Besides being profession, Journal
ism is an opportunity for public
service. The road to the highest
places in the newspaper world is
barred to the man whose training
and experience are limited to only
two or three phases of the work.
1t requires more knowledge than
ability to write, and run a news
paper successfully. In order for a
newspaper to be a success, the me-
chanical, editorial and business
management must conform to a
certain standard. Business man.
ayers come from different sources:
banks, brokers' Offices and other
business establishments.
But most of the greatest and
we'll known newspaper men of to-
day have started in at the bottom
and worked their way upwards to
where they are now. To begin as
a reporter on a newspaper and
work your way up is one of the
most interesting and exciting occu-
pations of the present day.
Upon the editor, who is next to
the business manager in authority,
falls the dual responsibility of
gathering the news and seeing that
it is properly prepared for publ
cation, besides handling a large
body of men. To do so we'll, he
must know more than all of them
put together. The right kind of
an editor must be a cross between
a steel-trap and an encyclopaedia.
He must know everything and ev-
erybody. A name must suggest
personal history, incidents and the
past. He must understand the
meaning of moves in all walks of
life, know politics, Wall Street,
police annals and the records of
courts. There are many people
who labor under the impression
that the reporters. in whose ranks
many of the editors have started,
merely carry the information they
collect to the Office, and there turn
it over to the editor for the story
to be written. But the impression
is false one. The reporter who
investigates an occurrence, writes
about it, unless he transmits his
news to the Office over the tele-
phone. then the editor writes the
story. The stories written by the
reporters must be good enough,
too, TO be published as soon as they
reach the Office.
The word story is used by the
newspaper man in variety of diff
ferent ways. The reporter who is
sent out to report on a fire, being
asked on what he is engaged, re-
plies that he is after or covering
fire story" On returning to
his office, he says that he has a
story about fire, and the editor
to whom he gives his outline of
information tells him to write a
story a half column or column in
length, or whatever he sees fit.
When a newspaper prints story
that all it's rivals missed, the edi-
tors say they scored ''beat" or
SCOOP" In all large cities the
newspapers keep watch on about
the same class of places for news.
The City Hall, where they get a
good share of the news having to
do with the government of the
city, city courts, Federal courts,
all government buildings, police
stations and fire departments, are
only a few of the places under con.
slant watch. The reporters who
do this watching are called de
partment men," and each one o1