The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-11-05
Filling Up the NEWSPAPERS

Filling Up the Newspapers
An editor hears so often the express
sion Il suppose you want something
to fill up your. paper that we decid
| ed to give bit of information of
what comes in days work. We
| took the matter in the mail awaiting
us as we began work in the morning
We found this much that the senders
desired to have published From
| the Conference Committee on Nation
al Preparedness, 261 inches of solid
news matter; from the War Depart
ment regarding aviation, seven in
ches; from the Department of Agri-
culture, 20 inches; from the Balboa
amusement Producing company free
advertising), 40 inches; from the Ma
tional Association for the Study and
Prevention of tuberculosis, 16 in
ches; from the Research and News
Department OF the Board of Tenn
| perance of the Methodist Episcopal
church. 100 inches. This contribu-
| ton did not contain an iota of news
hobby Of the organization and If used
would fill five pages Of the Caledon-
ian with solid reading matter. 1t is
little amusing, isn't it, to see how
| much these organizations hope to
work the newspapers? Perhaps there
| would not be quite so much matter
every day. but 1t is safe to say that
I the editor Of Vermont paper has
from two to three pages of such stuff
to throw into the waste basket nearly
| every working day.
The above from the ST. Johnsbury
| Caledonian accurately describes a
| condition, OF which the general public
has little conception. There is deep
seated and widely spread belief that
| to find something to put in the paper
| Is the hardest kind of a task and that
I therefore. II is an act of mercy to fur
| nish as much free advertising as the
\ yawning columns will hold. This ac-
counts for the benevolent manner
with which the gentle CRATER ap.
| proaches the publication office and
| tenders ream or so of matter of no
| interest. very likely, TO any one but
| himself, His hurt surprise when the
| offering is not received with enthusi
! astic demonstrations of JOY, and his
| towering wrath when the same has
| to be regretfully declined on account
| of a lack of space, are both pathetic
| and diverting. II is trying to have
| ones well-meant efforts to be help
| ful SO little appreciated, and it is
| quite strain on ones powers of
| credulity to accept as fact that a
| paper Is ever really troubled by lack
OF space.
| Yet it is fact. although reporters
are forever hunting for something
ito fill up the paper and the con-
tents OF the sheet may appear to the
casual reader more all-embracing
than the mincemeat. into which the
1 cook has stirred about everything in
| the house but soft soap--an ingredi
| ent not to be despised in the manu-
| factnre of any journal The kind of
| filing country weekly wants and
| for which 1t can always find space is
| live local news items concerning peo
! pie and things of community inter
| est. This does not mean repeated
| notices OF church suppers, public
| entertainments and money-making
enterprises, which are no more en-
titled to free advertising than an
| auction, but to which are usually ex
tended the courtesy of one unpaid no.
| tice. 1t does mean those happenings
that affect the life and have a place
| in the annals Of the most quiet neigh
| borhood. A two.inch account of some
social doings Is worth more TO the
| country weekly than a column of
| stuff presenting one.sided view of
subject that may be Of paramount i'm
portance to one or two individuals. A
| three-line personal, trivial as IL may
seem, has more real news value than
long-winded article on soy beans.
The country newspaper is not
magazine and does not pretend to
venture into the profundities of lit
erature; neither is 1t journal devot.
ed to the promotion of agriculture,
knitting work, moving pictures, irish
crochet, Liggett tobacco products, au.
tomobiles, Chautauquas or any of the
thousand and one things. for which
the use of its columns is persistently
sought. Its field is the humble one of
publishing the town and county
news, in the collection and presenta-
tIbit VI NiiiNu ~ CduiiOl nave lOO
much help. Whenever you come
across a bright newsy country paper
you can make up your mind that the
town it represents stands squarely
behind 1t, and the inhabitants of the
place have a certain pride in it
and take pains to bring to it's knowl-
edge the information it could not 9TH
erwise obtain without the gift OF clair
voyance. II they have news of some
absent son or daughter OF the local.
ty, they share 1t with the paper and,
so, with the rest of the neighbors,
whom it interests perhaps as much |
as it does them. They are not so |
bashful or scornful as to conceal a |
Legitimate news item concerning
themselves and then wonder why it |
was overlooked In the chronicle OF |
weekly events. They do not wait UNI
til a child is about old enough to go |
to school before announcing his or |
her birth, nor do they send in reports |
of weddings deaths. family reunions
and the like fortnight after their
occurrence.
No; they are on hand with some
thing besides free ads and appear to
realize that If the home paper isn't al
together what they would like to have