The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-02-21
TROUBLES OF
A CITY EDITOR
Life of C.. E. Not as Excit-
ing or Rosy as Pictured
in the Movies.
BETWEEN TWO FIRES
News Has Strange Way of Be-
ing Either Too Plentiful
or Too Scarce. -
nv Ernest F. Marlattl

(By Ernest F. Marlatt)
Seeing yourself as others see you is
not always pleasing proposition.
Consequently, yours Truly" usually
squirms a little when he goes to a
movie where a newspaper features IN
the story. He knows that when the
city editor appears on the screen he
will be a hard-boiled, fire-eatirg, turb-
ulent individual, who is either just
waiting to pounce on some poor hard
Pworked reporter or is scheming out
how he can use his newspaper facilities
to forward his selfish interests at the
expense of "an unsuspecting public"
The screen will emphasize. the diff
culties of the "cub reporter" who has
troubles getting his stories past the
desk of the troublesome city editor,
but somehow or other it will leave the
impression that this same city editor
has no troubles of his own.
No Troubles? Read This!
Thatrmay be true in the movies, but
in real life in city the size Of Keno~
sha, city editor Of a daily paper has
some troubles Of his own without
pouncine unnecessarily on the mem
bers of his staff to give him additional
worries.
News has a strange way of being
either too plentiful or too scarce and
in either instance the city editor has
his hands full If it is too plentiful
he must disappoint the reporters by
slicing their 'big stories; if 1t is
not plentiful enough he must see to
it that copy comes from one source
or another.
He learns that there are all sorts
of people to please in, the reading
public which the paper serves.
Learns to Expect Kicks.
One of his tasks is to receive COM
plants registered by the public. He
meets a friend down the street who
lust can't see why in the world he
ever prints "such rot" as appeared in
such and such a column on the front
page the night before. In the next
block he meets some one else who
thought that same story was great
one-just the kind that made a paper
interesting.
Here's person who wonders why
the newspapers must alwasy be harp
ing on the bobbed hair fapper, but
who readily admits that he or she
read the item in question with
avidity. Here's another who is sick
of reading about moonshine raids" or
the fight over the Office of district
attorney, but who asks in the same
breath what the latest developments
in these affairs may be.
Some one kicks because his name
was in the paper and the next man
kicks because his name wasn't, but in
both cases the kicks are registered
with the city editor. He must get
hardened to these.
Has Some Surprises Too.
He has some surprises along this
line as we'll. He learns that once in
a while a person who features in a
most sensational story does not want
to click the editor but is fair enough
to see that a newspaper must publish
news which does not always meet the
liking of those named in the stories.
Often the city editor takes solace
in the thought that "you can't please
all of the people all of the time" and
makes the most Of it.
Big Stories Least Trouble.
Those who gather their ideas u a
city editor from a moving picture
presentation must think that his CHIEF
trouble is the "big story"-the ribbon
for the day.
This, however, is not the fact, at
least not in Kenosha. Few readers
realize that the routine work on the
newspaper-the writing of the stories
that have little punch but which are
essential to the life Of a paper that
serves the community intelligently,
are really the source Of the most trou-
BILE to- the city editor.
These stories of the commonplace
affairs which must be reported mas
much as people will be looking for
them, are an unending source of con-
Germ to him. Every reporter will jump
at the task to cover mystery muir
der, thrilling chase of bank ban
dit but that same reporter will not
be so much on the alert fer those rou-
tine occurrences which must be record
ed to make an accurate report of the
: affairs of the day.
And the city editor must see to it
= that these things are not forgotten.
All in Days Work.
So goes the life of the city editor.
Ever on the alert for real sensations
in the community he must also keep
!. his fingers on the everyday life of
the city.
He has some compensations too;
he has splendid opportunity to study
human nature and can get much en-
joyment out of it, when he is well
broken in too he gets to the place
where a newsy paper is a source of
real satisfaction to him and like the
hound is ever eager fer the hunt, he
feels that he could not be satisfied
without the thrill of following a
nose for news"
CnNTnRTInNIST,a EEAT