The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-10-15
As Others See 1t
THE CHOICE OF NEWS
palm Beach Post.)

had of Florida as tropical country Of jinges with
snakes hanging out of the trees, rivers crammed
with crocodiles and alligators, and all sorts of
strange and awesome creatures prowling through
the underbrush. Thousands, especially northern
ers have had some such picture in their minds
eye obtained from inaccurate Biographies and
story book versions of tropical life. Many, if they
are honest will admit that when they first came
here they were astonshed not to find the trad
tional jungle with riot of orchids and other
exotic flowers to delight, Offset by the constant
peril of venomous and savage reptiles and beasts
of prey.
That is the fiction of Florida just as the fiction
of New York white lights wicked rich men and
dangerous women, and the fiction of Paris is
Apaches, extravagant dress and endless riot
of gaety, girls, and champagne.
To those who busy building the cities of
Florida and who never see snake or an alligator
unless they go hunting them way back in the
undrained Everglades or visit aquarium. it
comes shock to learn that there are intei-
gent and generally well-nformed people in this
country who still honestly believe that it is a
mon thing to find rattlesnake or moccasin coiled
up on the front walk in the morning and that ALI
gators are perpetual menace, common
house flies Nevertheless that is the report that a
responsible business man has just brought back
to West Palm Beach after visit to several large
cities He reports that important banker i'm
plored him to do something to end the popular
belief that Florida is chiefly famous for its rep
tiles, if this state does not want to keep hun
dreds of good people from coming here.
Specifically the recommendation was keep
your stories of alligators and snakes at home if
you do not want to scare people away"
Since Florida has an unfortunate reputation in
this respect to live down, the advice is excellent.
Other states have snakes, many more than Flor
ida, and other states have allgators, but they do
not herald the fact to the world nine days
wonder. Why should Florida, especially when
nine out of ten people reading the story of one
snake Immediately have their old superstitions
confirmed. and are convinced that the one is only
one out of millions within our borders? Why
give the outside world false impression OF our
state and then spend good money on advertising
and publicity?
Snake stories and alligator stories have lost
their novelty anyway. and they certainly do not
hit into the picture of thriving cities and farms
Only the people of Florida combat the dam
age they have done. Citizens travelling can help
by forgetting the stories of reptiles and telling
the people they meet about the attractive and
constructive side of life in Florida The press
can help by banshing all such copy to the waste
basket. 1t is not news in any true sense of the
word and the harm it does is infinitely greater
than any casual amusement it can afford readers
To practice what preach the Post hereafter
has no space to waste on snakes and aligators
and the like, unless they are in zoo or aquarium
or become news:
The Post is just as opposed any other honest
paper to the suppression of legitimate news, but,
while on the subject of adverse publicity there
are lot of disorder and petty criminal reports
frequently receiving damaging and unjustifed
prominence. As result Florida figures promi-
nenty in numerous compilations of a nature
highly uncompimentary and liable to leave an
impression that next to reptiles we have more
h1ghwaymen and desperate characters than good
citizens Police news and court news is news and
cannot be ignored but not one item in a hundred
is worth more than casual mention. If any paper
will watch for few days the amazing number
of items it receives in a week concerned with
petty bootleggng, fights, and misbehavior by
the rifraf of some community, it will readily be
seen that it is going to mean waste of white
paper to print onehalf of it and leave precious
little space for real news. No paper can print
all OF the news it receives and surely in applying
the scissors, the sordid and modifying should be
the first victims unless there is positive reason
to the contrary.
Crime may be big news, but generally it is
nothing of the sort By overplayng it, we sling
mud at ourselves without accomplishing a par
ticle of good. The press is obligated to supply its
readers with a report of the days happenings,
but it also has responsibility as a custodian
of the good name of the community that supports
it. The exercise of care and thought will take
care of both. Few realize how seriously news
paper weighs its news. All the news that is fit
to print and only the news that is worth printing
makes a pretty safe rule, and its universal ap-
'lication would be real benefit to Florida
The Post tries to practice what it breaches