The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1921-03-09
THE FIRST GREAT
AMERICAN EDITOR.

Two centuries ago a 16-year-old boy
was editor of Boston's newspaper.
Stranger still. this position had been
thrust upon the boy by the force OF
circum stances. He was the prentice
81 his brother, who owned and ran
the paper, and who had made so much
fur fv by the sharpness OF his articles
that he had written himself into JAIL
The brother was James Franklin, and
the little bov. Benjamin. who combin-
ed in his person the entire mechahi-
"a, staff of the paper He even, by
ucking his own articles under the
office door, became valued contri-
butor." quite unknown to his orother
Tbe name of the paper was the lou
rant but it might better have been
called the Hornet, for it had sting
whenever one touched it
BENJAMIN Franklin's career as d
postor journalist was brief, but very
fruitful His brothers methods taught
hin, what not to do, and when, SIX
wears later he took hold of the Penn
svlvania Gazette he became the pio-
neer of what is best in American
Journalism today.
The story is we'll told in Scenes
From the Life Of Benjamin Franklin
sent TO the Globe through the cour-
tesv of Director Walter B. Russell
OF the Franklin Union, the celebrated
BOSTON institution founded by the be-
quest left by Benjamin Franklin HIM
self
American journalism in its 'ar'>
DAYS devoted much space to personal
abuse. Franklin made it different and
tells how in his OWE story:
Whenever was solicited to insert
anything OF the kind, and the writers
pleaded as they generally did, the lib
ertv OF the press; and that a newspap-
er was like a stagccoach, in which any
one who would pay had right to
place; my answer was, that wouid
print the piece separately II desired
and the author might have as many
comics as he pleased to distribute him-
self: but that | would not take upon
me TO spread his detraction; and that
having contracted with my subscrib-
ers to furnish them with what might
be either useful or entertaining.
could not fill their minds with private
alteration. in which they had no CON
Germ. without doing them manifest
injustice"
He fulfilled his agreement with his
readers. The Gazette contained the
freshest advices, foreign and domes-
tic" and when there was not enough
real news to fiji out column, the
editor, who was not above setting
type, would compose little squib OF
his own as he filled out the form
The result was that the padding.
which in many a paper is the poorest
part, was the best feature OF the
Gazette.
Franklin's newspaper was as nearly
everything as the size OF its edition
would permit-newsy, vital instruc-
tive, wise-and it was never dull. The
quiet humor of the editor found its
way into every line. 1t made people
laugh, and never because it was hurt
ing any one else. Franklin believed
that in order TO use irony and satire
effectively, the sting should be ex-
iracted before using.
What people want from a newspa-
per in the long run is exactly what
the Gazette gave them. They may
prick up their ears for a time at jour
nalism which hays men alive breaks
into closets and exposes skeletons to
public view But human nature is es-
sentially decent, and therefore the
Franklin method, always purposeful
but never violent, wears better, for it
makes friends and keeps them,
1t was not strange that the Gazette
played an important part in building
up the comfortable fortune which en-
abled its editor to devote half of his
life directly to public service. Frank
Inns editing made it sell, and because
the paper had large and constantly
increasing circulation, it became the