The Carbon County news., 1925-04-09
Reading Your Newspaper to Get the
Whole Truth

oil tnc country put out enough papers
TO enable each person in the land to
read the news of the whole world
said Prof. Joe Ashlock of the State
College of Washington journalism de-
partment, speaking over radio X F A
( the other right on "How to Read
Your Newspaper.
"You may read the news of your
home town, of the state, nation or
foreign nations. This news, coming
from round the earth, is tossed on
your doorstep morning and evening.
Since the earth is large, the news of
the earth, it's nations and people, is
vast in quantity and variety. No one
person can read it all. One who tries
is apt to become bewildered Dis
cousaged, he may quit.
"In almost every neighborhood a
few will be found who practically
never look at the newspaper Several
reasons for this might be suggested.
A prevalent one is that they have be-
come confused by the storm OF news
hurled at them every day. AS we shun
the task we can not perform, these
persons shun the newspaper.
News Gossigs
"Others try to cover the news
daily. They arc apt to read hastily,
merely skimming headlines. Such a
reader does not grasp the news.
Rather, he gets momentary impress
sions that, in the end, amount to
vague, contradictory rumors. He has
not read any one item well, hence re-
members nothing well. He has mere
ly heard about the news. Talking to
his neighbor, he guesses at what he
heard, thus becoming distributing
agent for gossiping and guessing
about facts that few hours before
were fully and truthfully told in the
paper.
The Bigot
another kind of reader hunts thru
the papers for the news or comment
that holsters his own views. If all
his own prejudices and traditions are
fayorably treated in the paper he likes
that paper fine. But If the newspaper
counters his personal beliefs, he at
tacks it for not printing the truth,
Such reader is apt to be narrow,
bigoted, intolerant of the news Of
Others. He votes the Democratic OF
Republican ticket because his grand
father voted that way. He belongs
to one church or another for the same
reason. He rails at the papers for not
telling the truth, when as a matter
of fact the papers are merely telling
truth that he does not like to hear
Discrimination
"There is another kind Of reader
whose number is increasing. He reads
with care and discrimination. HI
weighs what he finds in news and ed
itorial columns, not for its appeal K
his own views, but for the actual bi
of fact or idea. The display of from
page murders, suicides and prominent
divorces he passes with glance. Th'
presidents message he reads. HI
may skim the headlines on the sport
page, noticing merely the scores fol
this or that ball game, or who won th'
latest prize fight. He stops at the ed
itoral page and digests an analysis O
the Dawes peace plan, or of something
proposed by the tax league of hi
state. He notices the settlement of |
coal strike, or a trainman's strike
He sees that Britain has new prim
minister; that Europe is out with
new reparations scheme, that Japal
has launched new battleship.
Each bit of news he reads deal
with something he has been watching
He sees how these happenings ma,
affect his nation, his state, his owl
personal business or profession. Thi
man is well informed, can talk intel
Iigently about happenings of the day
knows how to vote-and not often d
we find him abusing the newspapers
Calm News Study
at is an odd fact that the man VIII
reads carelessly, or not at all, abuse
the newspapers for not telling tn
truth, while the man who reads care
fully and with discrimination is les
ready to condemn. Any one who wi
notice what is going on in his ow
neighborhood will find out that thi
is so.
"Studious reading is done with ei
fort. Much Of our newspaper read
ing is Of the effortless kind. No ef
fort is required to read what we like
We sit up through the night to fin
out what happened to the bearsifr
heroine, or the less beautiful villail
We let meal get cold to read tn
evidence in the last big murder case
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