New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-02-07
NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR
MAKERS.

MAKERS.
Since the publication of an editorial
in these columns on Monday,-one
attempting to show the relative diff
ferences to be found between what
may be termed the little and the
big" newspapers,-this office has
teen the recipient of many letters,
congratu1atory and otherwise, setting
forth the laitys opinion of newspa-
pers and their makers. There are
so many diversified notions of news
papers and how they should be rum
that we must touch only upon very
few of the salient points suggested.
One correspondent makes the
statement that "It is through the Sc
lection and display Of the news 1t
features that the papers intellectual
the realm of newspaperdom the OPP
posite view Is held to be true. The
intellectual size of a newspaper,-its
real size,-is determined by it's edi-
tOr1al pOl1Cy anu ZIG 1IldHlei III WLlcL
that policy is carried out. There is
a difference between news and
views,-a vast difference.
If the care and selection and dis
play of news determined the intellec-
tual size of a newspaper, there would
be, and are. days when the finest
dailies in the country, in the world,
would be palpably remiss. News is\
usually spontaneous. although there
is what may be known as deliberate
news,-that which is worked up
thorough investigation. But, for the
most part, news happens without re-
gard to thought on the part OF news
gatherers Its place in the paper is
determined upon its Importance, from
a managerial as much as from an
editorial standpoint. A story that is
vastly important today, which has the
right of way over all others, would,
If it were held over until tomorrow,
undoubtedly be cast into the waste
basket or rem modelled. Human inter-
est is the guiding genius of determin-
ing news value. It is argued that
murder stories should not be played
up by newspapers; and when other
and more important news is at hand
murder stories, unless they are con-
cerned with extra ordinary cases, are
allowed to have unimportAnt positions
in the paper Here it might be men
toned that time plays an important
times "big'' stories come into the
newspaper offices too late to secuse
space commensurate with their i'm
| portance. These are RELOCATED to ar
inside page, the one held to carry the
"run-overs" from the first page. The
first page is not the last page to be
"made-up;" contrary to popular con
ception,-the last form to go to the
Press Room is one of the inside pages
Another criticism, which has to dc
with murder stories, is tbat "a Con
|
space to discuss in detail murder
| cases and court scandals in Penn
| sylvania, Georgia, Oklahoma and IL
Lnois, while dismissng a histor,
making event on the European battle
| field entirely or with few line.
tucked on the nth page Of the paper
The aforementioned explanation abou
making up the various pages ex
plans why sometimes important ar
ticles are tucked away in relativel,
Unimportant places. AS to discussing
murder cases Sin detail, THE biz
gest murder story that ever broke il
this self-same European war. Thost
who dislike reading sordid facts per
tanning to the murder of an artist
model in Philadelphia should hole
the same objections to reading O.
| the carnage and slaughter takins
place on European battlefields, his
| tory making though they be.