New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-31
WOMAN may change her mind, hair

n or husband a chameleon its color
and salesman his wares, but press
agents reputssiS IS as immutable as the
Eighteenth Amendment. No matter what
camoufagc of tie is employed, whether he
be a secretary, director of advertising,
sistant to the President or what not, in the
eyes of those nc deals with he is just COM
mon. ordinary, truth-hating press agent.
TheSe aye many varieties Every Gig
business has at least one and many smaller
concerns can boast Cor admO the partial
services of some individual whose work con-
sists largely in giving to the public only that
information of benefit to the good name and
business of the house.
The most interesting specimen of this
Varied family is encountered in motion pic
6res. Here the press agent has a swarm of
Elties. He not only discovers new stars, pre-
Aerves present and assists in the de-
= e,~ture of old ones, but he is also called upon
n sell the pictures made by these stars.
Perhaps it's bit unfair to refer to the
j. A. as "he,' for the profession is by no
aneans filed with men. What would the fan
magazines do without the skilled services O,
she gallant and devoted women whose rapid
sFgers are in constant demand turning out
yards of interviews, style talks and beauty
fHlts believed to be the work of the actress
under whose name it is printed?
No, since woman's place ceased to be the
home the movies have found her invaluable
in the role of publicity agent. So she has
come to be one of the most important factors
IN this part of the business world But even
she, with all the respect that still is given to
woman, is unable to escape the stigma of the
profession. She is also a press agent.
Of course the P. A. is but part (although
an important one) of the bureau or division
OF the publicity, advertising or news depart
ment. To him falls the task of presenting
the truth in it's most attractive guise And
when, for business reasons, that is impossible.
he must invent a brand of near-truth which
is usually as close to fact as near-beer is to
its defunct namesake
In all times of industry he must be an
optimist; in the movies he is required to be
more than that When it comes to his stars
and pictures he must see only the best, and if
that best is far from good he must refine the
dross by the alchemy of his imagination I'm
like the little child he cannot chant "Twinkle.
twinkle, little star, how I wonder what YOU
are!' 1t is his duty to know what she is
and to keep her twinkling right merrily.
While the salesman can go from door to
door II his wares be books or vacuum clean
ers, or from bank to bank if he sells bonds.
the press agent cannot be so direct He must
sell his pictures and stars without letting peo
pie know what he is doing. Therefore, he
works through magazines and newspapers and
his sales talks are "news'' items and pic
lures.
The pictures ("still' they are called in the
parance of the profession) consist of i'm
portant scenes from current productions and
carefully selected Studies" of his stars. They
are distributed to newspapers, magazines and
other publications, through which he hopes to
reach the picture-going public They carry
distinct news value, else editors would never
use them3 and they equally valuable to
the press agent.
AS Tor the written matter, that is another
'hlng. 10 land good publicity story de-
mands much more care, caution and WORRY
tnan the outsider can easily imagine. The
poor press agent must write material that
Will please two distinct classes of people. He
must abide by the policy of his company-a
nerve stralning task-and he must convince
tne editor to whom he takes or sends the
stuff that it will be of vital interest to his
readers
AS nearly everybody knows the picture is