The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-07-19
Walter Winchell
 COaSt-tO-COaSt

publicity are transformed into spot light addicts. They are afflicted with a gnawing desire to view their monicker in print - so long as it's spelled right Horace Greeley came across that curious phenom- enon. His sheet matched the society reporting vogue j.. It pub licized the hoop-la of the chi-chi set with biting satire As . result Greeley received complaints from few swankyankees and mixed She feature. But in a few days an avalanche of mail descended on his office from indignant so- cietyites-reprimanding the paper for ignoring them!
 Courageous gazettes are monu- ments to liberty; faint-hearted rags are its tombstoneS The fol- lowing yarn underlines that point: About two decades ago a convict in & Florida prison was tortured and killed by sadistic guards. Local sheets there heard about the atro- city but pigeon-holed the story be- cause it was too hot One year later the news reached a N. Y. World reporter. He investigated and then made the facts public. Within six weeks afteD the expose the judge and sheriff in the case were removed from office, and one of the guards who beat the convict was charged with murder Not only that-but the publicity also forced Florida legislators to abolish abuses in the prevailing penal sys- tenn.
 Joseph Pulitzer'S N. Y. World set journalistic standards few newspa- rers have equalled. Yet Pulitzer arrived in America a poor, friend ieSs, semi -illiterate immigrant. He spent all his spare time educating himself .. His enlightened opinions on the subject of newspapers are always worth absorbing F'rixam- rle: What is everybody's business is nobody's business-except the journalists. It is his by adoption. But for his care every reform would Ee stillborn. He holds officials to their duties. He exposes schemes of plunder He promotes every hopeful plan of progress. Without him public opinion would be shapeless and dumb. Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together. An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is sham and mockery."
 Hollywood has depicted foreign correspondents as overgroWn Rover Boys |. It has created the impress sion that these newsboys have a glamorous occupation. Actually they have difficult, perilous task with few rewards O. D. Gal iagher, British correspondent, dodged bombs and bullets, and trav- eled 100000 miles in three years for his news stories, which readers for get five minutes after reading.
 Reporters aren't as hard-boiled as the legends would have you be- lieve When President Wilson made his grueling crosS-country tour Gin an effort to gain the sup port of Americans for his world peace plans) he was broken in body accompanied him were aware that he was sacrificing. his life for his ideals As Wilson made his final stirring plea for world peace, news men listening to his eloquent ad- dress openly wept.
 A sage has remarked it is easier to be critical than correct. How ever, it is quite feat to be both A Capitol correspondent once criticized President Teddy Roose- velt's railway policies. The Chief Exec jokingly challenged the news boy to back his words with deeds The reporter called the bluff. He gave up his news career and took job with Uncle Sam. His work solved many of the countrys transportation problems, and he was later commended by T. R.
 This is the wisest counsel for colyumists we have come across: Get around town-find out what people are talking about. Give your readers a little daily jolt on some thing they are gabbing about at home, perhaps, and can gab about some more. Controversial stuff SO they can argue. The big idea is this: Make half of them happy and half of them sore"
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