The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-07-25
FREE PUBLICITY OR NEWS?

most liberal of Carolina newspapers IN
placing space at the disposal OF CORE
spondents. This matter is published every
day and generous space is given to 1t, but
in spite of this policy The Observer is fire.
quently criticised by persons whose actual
ground of complaint is that the entire
newspaper is not turned over to them to
be operated as they see fit. Touching these
matters, Editor Miller says:
ever and anon, somebody is writing a piece for
the paper and adding along with it that Now we
are going to see whether your Open Forum depart
ment is open or not
well, it is open, of course, to sane legitimate,
clean and constructive expression of the views OF
the public, whether these correspond with those
hold by the editorial management or not.
but Just because a newspaper offers to give the
public an allotted space every day for 1t to have
its saw is no warrant for the public to conclude
that it can get by with any manner of charge, ae-
cusation Hbelous insinuations against men and IN
stitutions which highly biased opinion might con-
jure.
after all, this department of daily newspaper
is not offered without some reservations and hmi-
tations and restraints.
Control will be retained by the newspaper to
prevent it from becoming hog-waIow and gen.
erous bid for action for libel"
The foregoing is more or less applicable
to the case of newspapers everywhere.
Some people do not understand that they
cannot get away with the stuff IN the col
umns of a newspaper that they may be
able to put over in street corner corVer-
sation. They are not only ignorant OF the
laws of libel, but also densely and hope
lessly ignorant of the principles and poll
cies necessary in conducting decent
newspaper.
Troublesome as these pests are in their
contacts with the newspapers, they are by
no means as numerous as the people VINO
do not know what news is-and when to
this number is added the larger number OF
people who do not want to know what
news is when they are seeking free pub
lefty, it is certain that the papers nave
more cause for complaint at this point than
any other.
Every daily newspaper in the country
expects to give each year to the service
of its community and field of operations
many columns of space and thousands OF
dollars worth of free publicity. This IS
done in a big and generous way by ma
iority of the papers. This policy, however,
does not protect and relieve the newspa'
pers from the attempts of individuals to
secure free publicity for personal and prl-
vate enterprises. .:.
Not a day passes that does not bring one
or several such schemes to the Times-NeWs
office; and this newspapers management
frequently succumbs to the pressure ap-
piled by dynamic (?) statesmen and more
or less accomplished manipuulators OF the
old hot air machine. The result is that this
newspaper every IL months gives space
worth thousands of dollars to persons ana
alleged causes not entitled to publicity and
The Times-News gets nothing for large
part of the chief commodity it has for sale
and upon the sale of which the continued
operation and success of the business de-
pends-
If The Times-News collected the cash
for all the free matter appearing IN Its
columns in year, for which it is justly
entitled to charge as advertising, because
the matter is not news and there is no pos
sible obligation resting on the newspaper
to clutter up its columns with the stuff,
there weaid be different story Of our OPP