Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-24
As ONE WOMAN SEES IT
Publicity and How Il 10 somst'mes
Achieved by Old Hands, With q
More or Less Apt illustration
BY SARAH d. LOWRIE

by SARAH ID. LOWHIE
A LMOST every new thing that 10 being
"A launched has as a booster what is
known as a publicity committee. Fart ot
to get some notice Of the coming event Into
the newspapers.
There are two ways to get into newspa.
pers. One Is In the form Of news; one Is
in the form Of an advertisement.
Space for an advertisement costs money,
and for the purpose of phi'anthropic or a
civic organization a good deal OF space Is
required, and that, too. on a conspicuous
page in order to catch the attention of the
ordinary citizen reader; for an advertise
ment for philanthropy must clamor little
for him to recognize its possible interest
to him.
There is nothing n philanthropic organi-
zat!on dislikes more than TO pay money for
an advertisement. As a consequence IL
generally decides to regard its information
for the public In the light Of news. and as
such authorizes its publicity committee to
get 1t into the newspapers.
DUT what is called news by the publicity
- committee of philanthropic orsaniza-
tion is not always news to the public. and
scarcely ever news to the city editor. Facts
taken from printed report that has been
to any one except the publicity chairman.
with the request that he put It into the
paper. The fact that the institution is very
much In need Of money, that 1t Is in need
Of equipment and that last years deficit
news to any of the subscribers, but 1t Is
sent to the city editor as news.
The fact that tickets are to be sold and
the price OF admittance to an entertainment
Is to he from 50 to 81. with reserved seats
fifty cents extra. is not newspaper news Il
fS 0Ivpr ri icnr hnt bo
licitv chairman calls 1t news and sends 1t
to tho city editor.
II the city etitor took the publicity chair
mans advice as to what is news and printed
the reports Of the fairs and rummagc sales.
and round table uncheons. subscription lee
lures and bridge parties with their prices.
and with their purposes to fill the Golfers
Of this or that, because Of this or that
deficit. ewing TO this or that phianthropic
enterprise. and IL he should at the same
time add details from the printed reports
sent to .im for the purpose. he would have
turned his paper into an advertising sheet,
pure and simple. hut. as the paid adver.
tisemcnts pay for being in a newspaper, not
In nm advertising sheet he would be keeping
faith neither with them nor with the public
which buys the paper.
A LII this goes without saying 10 most
a business persons. but apparently many
persons engaged in charitable enterprises are
not business persons. hence the nearly al
ways futile manning to get newspaper ad.
vcrtiSemeut free for ones own pet charity
and the thankless Job of being a publicity
chairman.
OF course. there is the other method
resorted to by some business organizations
and by some religious or civic or philan-
thropic organizations. There is the go.
between known as the publicity agent.
He IS generally q newspaper writer with
n sort of intermittent footing on one or more
newspapers and a good knowledge Of most
newspaper STATS in the town. For certain
sum per month or per year he agrees to
turn all the Information the organization
wishes gotten to the public into form Of
news that will be acceptable to the city edi.
tors. He makes ''story' out of some side
happening and with this as an open sesame
gets the real substance over to the public.
He generally prepares little Mt time and
depends on the recurrent impression to do
the work rather than all the facts at once.
\ good publicity agent gets anywhere from
$1,000 TO $40 O,COO year. and he is very
welcome man to the newspapers II he Is
really good. because what he tells Is news.
and news the public ought to know. But II
he Is never 80 good a writer. and yet Is
pushing q doubtful cause. he has great dif-
iculty in getting his stuff across.
TyIiERE IS Just one more way a publicity
i chairman may get the account OF her
organization plans into the daily news
without paying a publicity agent and with
out paying FOR advertising space. She may
know column writer and ask him to give
n contribution 10 the cause by writing somc-
thing that the city editor Will feel IS news
and be glad 10 print, or II the column is
on the editorial page then il must be some.
thing that the editor himself will PASS upon
as editorial news.
Now there are certain things that can be
turned into very legitimate stories for COL
umn writers and editors TO use. and other
things that don't belong no matter how
interested and sympathetic the news writer
feels. For one thing is certain: no staff
writer has the use Of column for personal
ends either Of blame or praise, boosting or
>watt.ng.
FTNHE other day, for instaLce, received an
l. envelope containing the following things
the author desired inserted in this column
for the good of the public and the satisfac.
ton OF his soul:
4 so.cnlled "Senate Bill" that has never
been reported and filed in the Senate.
An original poem written for Christmas
Day on long dead philanthropist.
An address by the same author on 'What
the Churches Need
A letter signed by the author bewailing
the fact that Mrs. Stevenson was dead, but
with the request that II it were published
his name should not appear.
A letter about French conditions In De-
ceulher.
Al these exhibits Of the writer's public.
spirtcdness interested me. and maybe they
would be very much more interesting to the
public than what ! have written tonight,
but they seemcd-be:ng oil past tense
natter to be deposited in cornerstone
rather than newspaper.
IN THE other hand report sent to me
~ by Coonel Brewer Of the Salvation
Army. giving a list Of the sums collected by
the army round City Hall at Christmas has
still an interest, though it. too. is past
tense. The interest les in lucrat!veness of
some corners rather than others, and in
| the cumulative value Of little gifts-pennies
| and nickels for the most part. Here Is the
| list:
| SALVATION ARMY
| Street Collecting for Christmas Dinner, 1921
stannS Amount
NaTtct ana l5th streets >. l.. ..... S664I
! MarHet ard Penn square, n W I3t on