The border vidette., 1928-06-02
DON'T LAUGH AT "PERSONALS' S.
PAGE, SAYS EDITOR

Mempis, Tenn. May 90
! Pages of personals" in local
newspapers are nothing to be
laughed at by cynical city jour.
nalists. They representa- in their
own community, the same basic
interest for which all newspaper
! or magazine readers crave and
fundamentally that interest is
universally the same.
| This was the message deliver.
ed to the annual convention of
the National Editorial Associa
ton by Merle Crowell, editor of
| The American Magazine today.
i 'Themajor thrills of life aren't
many" declared Mr.. Crowell,
and so we have to pile up the
minor thrills whenever we can.
| One of the minor thrills always
comes from knowing any local
happening while it's still news.
! And, as far as that goes, it
doesn't make much difference if
we know the facts already. OF
course when we're reading our
local paper there is always the
chance that we may, see our own
names or the names Of some of
our relatives or intimate friends.
! And that's a thrill that never
grows old.
i My conviction is" continued
| Mr.. Crowell, that mentally we
are all pretty much alike in our
fundamental tastes whether we
live in North Newport. Maine,
or in Park Avenue, New York
City. By that don't mean that
the people of North Newport
and the people Of Park Avenue
/ read exactly the same things
Eany more than they wear exact
lily the same things. Overalls
and dinner coats are both useful
garments, but they are not in
Interchangeable. Their funda
mental purpose, however. is to
conceal the human frame With
the maximum of satisfaction to
the wearer-a purpose which, if
you ask me, overalls win by a
wide margin. But when it comes
to mOtivationrand basic interests,
peoples post Office addresses are
the least important things about
them. The same wheels and
cogs make them tick-t took
whether their mail is delivered
by a gold-braided hall boy or by
a r. F. D. man chugging labor
iously through three feet of
spring mud.
All human beings are ego
centric. They are not half as
much interested in you and your
ideas as they are in themselves
and their own ideas. That's why
good listeners are so popular.
People like to read about the
experiences of human beings
any where, provided that they
can translate these experiences
into terms of their own daily
life, their work and their recre
tions. You are fortunate, in
| deed, in serving those who, for
the most part live in small
enough communities so that the
worG 'neighbor' hasn't gone out
of fashion. In our rural reaches
every man, woman and child is
interested in knowing what every
other man, woman and, child is
doing.
THE late John M. Siddall who
lgave me the groundwork of most
| of the things I know about serv.
ing the public in print declared
that the only thing that inter
ests all human beings always, is
the human being himself.
i Newspapers be. said, are
read widely because the individ
ual reader sees himself constant
+ ly in the paper. I do not mean
that be sees his own name. I
mean that he reads about things
happening to individuals which
might happen to him, and be
keeps comparing himself with
what he reads.
Country newspapers have
enormous circulation in proper.
ton to the population they
reach. It is not uncommon for
half or three-quarters of the
people in a little town to take
the village paper. The reason
is obvious-the country paper is
personal to its readers. Its col.
umns are almost like q private
letter from a member of the
family. IT a New York news.