The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1940-03-28
Movie Perturbation Of
Newspaper Life Is Terrible

we nave O1ten wondered why
movie producers persist in putting
before the public such a misrepre-
sentation of life in and around a
large newspaper as is usually found
in movie portraying the making
of modern newspaper
According to most of the pictures
of the Fourth Estate shown on the
screen, a city newspaper office is
a madhouse, all editors and report
ers are either drunkards or buns,
and most of them spend a great
deal of their time hanging over
some bar tapping up beer and whis-
key, recessing from their favorite
pastime long enough now and then
to pull off some wonderful scoop or
some brainy bit of news reporting.
Nothing could be greater misrep-
resentation or further from the
truth A modern daily is big bust
ness 1t has to be run with the
greatest degree of efficiency or it
soon passes out. Its editors and re-
porters are well educated, highly
trained executives And very few
news editors would long tolerate
reporter on the payroll who spends
most of his time around a liquor
bar When big story breaks, a big
newspaper wants brains that can be
depended on to run down, sift out
the news and report it.
An article right in line with this
criticism appeared in recent
Spokesman-RevieW. 1t was written
by M b." who said.
Hollywood's idea of a newspaper.
office is cross-section Of an insane
asylum that explodes madly in all
directions "a hours day. It's re-
porters are buns Its editors are
harassed old men who are told what
to do by the ace reporter Front
page forms are torn out and made
over every five minutes--in short,
bedlam, which in some mysterious
manner turns out newspaper,
To be sure, His Girl Friday" lat
est excursion into the newspaper
world, shown at the Fox last week,
was farce and one of the best of
the year. But even SO, its concep-
ton of the Fourth Estate was not
a great exaggeration of Hollywood's
average presentation of life on the
news front
When George Bancroft was at
the height of his career, he APP
peared in a picture of newspaper
life that Offered eight reels of bed
lam, wired with bombs that explod-
ed every five minutes-I have for
gotten its name. AS I remember,
there was no place in the eight
reels where | found a pause long
enough in which to catch my
breath.
AS ! entered the office Of The
Spokesman-RevieW late one after
noon while this picture was cur
rent, man who looked to be a
farmer stood in the doorway, his
arms akimbo with hands dug into
his pockets. As | waited for him
to move in or out, | heard him say.
We'll, I'll be d-nd."
Curious, | required if | could do
anything for him. He said.
No, | just saw that Bancroft
picture about newspaper and as
| have never been in a newspaper
office, came up here to see if it
was anything like the one in the
picture
He wanted to know If the office
never offered any more excitement
than that of q. lot of reporters at
work on typeWriters and when Il
told him no, again he said he
would be d--nd" and departed
Hollywood has built up such an
exaggerated idea of life in a news
paper office that the public would
refuse to believe presentation of il
as it is. Recently a newspaper man
was hired to supervise story of
the news front in production in
Hollywood. A, set of city room
its floors cluttered with papers, was
ready for the camera. The news
paper man objected to the cluttered
floor, saying that newspaper Of
fees were clean. But the director
overruled him, saying that the pub
lie demanded a cluttered office SO
cluttered it must stay.
As it happens, the newspaper
business is operated by publishers
and editors who have the fastest