Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-03
CLIPPING BUREAU CLIENTS
ARE TOLL OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON, Aug. S:-The Lee
viathan is getting more space in the
newspapers just now than the most
press ACCENTED human being in this
country. Yards of copy are being
written about this largest steam
ship in the world-its size and APP
pearance. its voyage to Europe, and
its passengers. For the time being,
King Tut and the movie stars have
considerably less space to their
credit than the featured liner of the
United States Shipping Board.
This statement is made by Irving
Upton, president of a clipping bur-
eau in New York City. Articles on
the Leviathan and on the latest
stunts of film stars represent news
to the reader, but they are of more
than casual interest to steamship
companies and movie stars. That is
why clipping bureaus keep count of
Them.
Mr.. Lipton's comparison shows
the unusual point of view from
which he measures fame. He sees
the press very much as an aviator
sees a city from an airplane. EN-
ployes OF his bureau can newspapers
from every corner of the country,
and trade journals and some maya
zines as we'll. They hunt for a re-
markable variety of items, and the
variety OF the persons who order the
Items is even more remarkable.
A clipping bureau generally sug-
gests an agency %patronized by actors.
stage stars are supposed to devour
the papers for any line of print
about them, and what could be more
natural than that they should in
sure themselves against eye strain
and the terrible chance of missing
some mention of their art? This
type of celebrity does get his press
notices served in convenient "can-
ned" form with his morning coffee.
He is a mainstay of the clipping BUS
lness. But many other, less obvious
types of clients come to a bureau of
this sort.
Mr., Linton mentions prize fighters,
society women, opera singers, bank
ers, noyelists, business men, lawyers,
and press agents as a few samples
of clients. They subscribe to the
bureau not so much out of vanity,
though the human ego greatly en-
joys the prominence of print, as for
practical reasons.
1NCAACAo AhSg cGtiGldIy Oh lttS
same bureau, is. a specialist in so
ciety" from the clipping business
standpoint. She tells you that society
women who eagerly greet every mem
ton of their names in local and out
of town papers do not preserve the
items merely as SO many trophies
of the chase. Many society editors
affect a gossipy style and their in
formally written comments are en-
Tightening to the woman who is not
quite sure of her social status.
Why Society Publicity Counts
The woman on the fringe of the
best circles is not the only patron OF
the bureau, however. The social
leader whose position in her hand
picked coterie is undisputed wants
te~ know what out of town papers
say of her and how they say it. Are
they ~obsequious, friendly, o. just
trife jocular?
Suppose some paper in Newperi
or along the Florida coast prints g
facetieus paragraph on her daugh.
ter's engagement to a very poverty
stricken title. She ma not need II
lose sleep worrying over whether
the great Mrs. X. will cut her of
her informal dinner lists, but she
does race the OF adopting
an attitude about her daughters en-
gagement. Moreover, she must know
what the attitude of friends anC
acquaintanees will be, and that will
be Influenced to some extent by thu
tone of the press. II the paper
think it funny, so, most likely, viii
the world.
The temperamental actor and
musician, who are supposed to livI
+ on publicity, also study their pres
notices for more than emotiona
stimulation. Whether they admi
1t or not, they pay attention to wha
. the public and the critics think o
them. This is true of most of tn
celebrities who follow every ap
pearanee they make in the publ
|, prints,
Organizations as well as indlyi
duals, sometimes want to know VIVA
! is written apout them, and som
! clipping bureau profits accordingly
Some automobile companies folloN
y closely all mention OF their ear'
we are told, II a prominent banke
: goes abroad, his banking Arm want
ito know how he Is received and whs
he pgsss ysgalet u, Many 81 n