Imperial Valley press., 1939-10-09
MEMBER

Governor Olson has proclaimed this
Newspaper Week in California. The pub
fishers Of the state got him to do it,
and the editors and reporters of the
state grumbled because he did.
There is no institution in the life of
American business more democratic than
the newspaper organization. A demon
stration whirled about the desk of the
managing editor (who is writing this)
when Publiher Paul Jenkins stepped out
of his office Saturday.
"Whatll we do about newspaper
week." he asked
Before anyone else could reply, re-
porter blurted out:
ignore it"
"You," said the managing editor, ARE
just lazy You're afraid you'll get the
assignment there is one
The reporter, who'd worked until y
o'clock the night before and reported
for duty at Z 80 that morning, grunted:
"That'd be just my luck He ignored
the crack about laziness.
The conversation which ensued-one
which might have transpired in any one
of thousand newspaper offices in the
United States-proved why wild eyed
Hollywood script writer's and haywire
away with giving the American public
distorted, exaggerated picture of news
paper men and their methods.
The average newspaper man is so busy
gathering, sitting or editing the news
he gives to the public that he hasn't time
to "sell' himself to that same public
He is, in his own eyes, unimporant in
comparison to the task of getting at the
truth for the sake Of the people who read
his paper.
Unfortunately this passion for anony-
nifty, which was cloak for most news
paper men before ever President RooSe-
welt thought of the phrase, has left not
only the reporters and editors, but their
papers as we'll, vulnerable to attack by
politicians Sef-seekerS and propaganda
mongers who, to serve their own ENDS,
want to discredit the papers. 1t has nap
pened not once, but thousand times,
that a reporter has written story quot
ing some prominent person IN a oltter
attack against newspapers, and his paper
has published it, without ever an answer
by either the reporter or the paper
Thus the paper in its own columns
carries a story intended TO discredlt
those very columns, and because the
newspaper men are so intent on report
ing what others are doing and saying,
they forget to provide an ansWer-eVen
when it would be news.
Publishers have realized these things
for long time, but it is only now they
have begun to do something about 1t.
Newspaper Week in California is one
result. And, though the first reaction
of reporters, editors and even publishers
is to ignore it, they realize that the
only way to combat misrepresentation
of news men in pictures, fiction and ra-
dio is to tell the truth.
Why is it necessary to present true
picture of a newspaper man in order to
get true picture of newspapers before
the people?
Because, of all the institutions in Am
erican life, the newspaper is most 'hu-
man.. Its course more nearly follows
the course of life 1t has its triumphs
and depressions. 1t makes its errors, and
suffers thereby. 1t brings JOY to some,
and misery to others. 1t is loved by some,
tolerated by some, and hated by some.
1t has a personality that transcends
business. 1t has code of ethics as rigid
as those of any professional man. 1t IS,
in fact, living entity.
And the newspaper is human" be-
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