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Page 13 text:
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tion, the American press entered into a period of unprecedented prosperity and political influence. Freedom of the press is one of the main reasons why the United States, which has five per cent of the popu- lation of the world, has forty per cent of the newspapers. It seems to be felt that the press is declining: in political influence. The editorial page is, indeed, less prominent than in the last decades of the nineteenth century and its tone has changed. The thunderous editorial has given way to a quiet discussion of facts, which apparent- Iv leaves the reader free to draw his own conclusions ; in reality, how- ever, the subtle methods in use to- day are far more effective than the blunt, empirical attitude of a gener- ation ago. The modern editor is v ell acquainted with human na- ture : he is an expert in applied psychology. In other words, he knows how to “kid’’ his public along. One of the interesting features of a newspaper is the relation of the editorial policy to the news columns and feature section. Ostensibly, the news is strictly impartial. In reality, it is the editor’s most power- ful weapon. Countless instances might be cited of careers ruined by scandal or other unfavorable pub- licity in the daily press. On the other hand, nothing is so helpful to a man in public life as the kind of publicity a newspaper can give, if the editor desires. Some time ago. President Cool- idge, at a press banquet, asked the press of the country to be Ameri- can. Some papers declared that the president was trying to curtail the freedom of expression of opin- ion, whereas he was merely protest- ing against the policy of the “yel- low press” — those papers which ob- tain a large circulation by catering to popular desires, regardless of the personal convictions of their editors. There are very few who are con- cerned about these publications, as most of them are a negligible factor in politics. The bulk of power is wielded by the middle class papers, not large from the standpoint of circulation, but very wealthy be- cause of their advertising revenues. The vital relation of the press to politics is very apparent but there is another way in v hich journalism has been of even more essential ser- vice in the progress of humanity. It has been the strongest ally of the cause of popular education — neces- sarily so, since such education makes possible the greatness of the press. Previous to the i nvention of the printing press, there was no induce- ment for the great majority of peo- ple to learn to read, for the very obvious reasons that books were not within the reach of their pocket books and, furthermore, nothing was vmtten that they cared to read. Journalism has removed the first of these causes for illiteracy by scientific methods of publishing and by depending upon advertising for eighty or ninety per cent of the enormous revenue required. As to the second cause — that little in literature appeals to the common people — journalism has ac- complished a great deal, not only in informing the world of news events, but on every conceivable subject we may find articles in the daily papers. The average person can truthfully say, with Will Rog- ers, “All I know is just what I read in the papers.” As the papers have come to take their place as the average man’s university, a new profession has grown up. Special feature writing, it is called, and it covers a wide field. A special feature article is any article in a newspaper or other periodical that cannot be classified as an advertisement, editorial, news story, or fiction. However, it may be, and usually is, closely related to one or more of the others. Special 11
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Page 12 text:
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has advanced. The modern news- paper is connected with every hu- man activity. Dir ectly, or indirect- ly, everything contributes to the progress of journalism and every- thing in which the press takes an interest is assured of success. The help science has rendered in the development of newspapers is obvious. When all reading matter was copied by hand, large circula- tions were naturally impossible. The invention of typography first stimu- lated interest in the possibilities of newspapers. For thousands of years the Chinese have used hand- engraved, v ooden plates, but it v as not until the fifteenth century that printing was introduced in Europe. Gutenberg, one of the pioneers of this art, used movable metal char- acters, setting up his type by hand. In 1840 the “London Times” began to operate its presses by mechanical power, enabling it to turn out a larger number of papers in less time, and at greatly reduced cost. Two decades later, competition in the paper trade, improved methods of manufacture, and cheaper trans- portation from the forests to the presses resulted in a reduction in the price of paper and a great im- provement in the quality. . The paper now comes in rolls weighing over half a ton, is fed into the press at the astonishing speed of a hun- dred, or more, miles an hour, and comes out of the machine printed, folded, and piled, ready for distri- bution. A single press is capable of printing 36,000 copies an hour. Methods of tvpesetting have im- proved, as well as the process of printing. A single linotype oper- ator can set as much copy as ten hand compositors and the machine does not reouire that the charac- ters be put back in the fonts, as this is automatic. Stereotvping is another means of increasing speed. Solid metal castings af each page are made, in semicircular form, and fastened onto rollers. The rotary motion, thus made possible, besides being very fast, causes a minimum of strain on the paper and length- ens the life of the machinery. It is not merely in the printing of a paper that journalism is indebted to science. Telegraphy, telephony, radio, railroads, automobiles, steam- ships, and airplanes are used to gather nev.’ s, almost instantaneous- ly, from all parts of the earth and by photography it is presented in an attractive form. The railroad and motor car have enlarged the radius of circulation of a newspaper. In colonial times Boston papers would be a day old before they reached Ipswich ; now they are sold throughout New Eng- land on the dav of publication. In return for the services ren- dered by science, journalism popu- larizes science. Let a discovery or invention be announced before a re- rearch society and it may never be of value to the world or the in- ventor. The public cannot under- stand technicad language and does not demand the invention. But the newspaperman, understanding both the language of the laboratory and of the man in the street, indernrets new discoveries in a Avay both non- technical and interesting, creatmg a demand for the product, resulting in a higher standard of living for man and fame and a pecuniary re- ward for the inventor. To take another example of a field in which journalism has plaved an important part, let us consider politics. One of the basic principles of American government is freedom of the press. The early settlers were people who came because in the colonies they could enjoy priv- ileges not allowed to Europeans. The early papers reflected this de- sire for freedom and boldlv dis- cussed political problems of the day. It is true that, bef ore the rev- olution. the royal governors, to a large extent, curbed this spirit, but with the adoption of the Constitu- 10
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Page 14 text:
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feature stories range in subject matter from cooking recipes to es- says on philosophy. These stories are not often of much value to the expert, but the general reader likes them, because they present interest- ing facts in an easily understand- able way. Many men, now promi- nent in their fields, began by read- ing articles on their special hobby in the newspaper. For example, many radio engineers, a few years ago, were trying to construct their first crystal sets from the directions in the daily radio column. In enumerating the benefits de- rived from journalism, advertising should be given a great deal of credit. Everyone who has had oc- casion to place a small ad in a paner is able to realize hov effective newspaper advertising is. It seems significant that the United States, having two fifths of the world’s newspapers, and consequently doing an enormous amount of newspaper advertising, is the most prosperous nation on earth. It is easy to underestimate the importance of journalism to morals and religion. The press stands for tolerance and its influence is very largely responsible for the fact that the attitude of the church has changed from the narrow, bigoted one of the Middle Ages, when peo- ple were persecuted for religious opinions, to the broad-minded atti- tude of today. For all these reasons, journalism has been of invaluable service in the past and in the present. In the future, it will be the mission of the press to prevent our civilization from going the way of those that have preceded it. History furnishes several exam- ples of nations which obtained a considerable degree of culture and then fell back into obscurity. The Orient, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, in turn, dominated the world, and, in turn, became lost in the mists of antiquity. Is the civilization of modern times soon to reach its zenith and history to repeat itself? No, for it is built upon a different foundation. The older civilizations benefited a small aristocracy, which enjoyed wealth, luxury, and freedom, while the greater part of humanity was oppressed and ignorant. Inevit- ably, this exclusive class, because of luxury and inbreeding, lost the vig- or by which it had risen to its high position, and was overthrown by the lov er classes, which destroyed art and science, as well as the ty- rannical rule of the rich or noble. Then there would follow long cen- turies, during which humanity struggled to regain what it had lost. In the twentieth century, particu- larly in America, the benefits of cul- ture are widespread. Illiteracy is fast disappearing. All men are considered equal, before the la v. The standard of living for the ordi- nary man is as high, in many re- spects, as that of an emperor of ancient times. Aristocracy is a matter more of mental culture and ability than of birth or v ealth. It is inconceivable that our learning can ever be lost, since books are so cheap and numerous and so many people are highly educated. It is the newspapers that are re- sponisble for this popular culture and general welfare by reason of their efforts for education, for bet- ter government, for business pros- perity through advertising- and for countless other reasons. The press keeps civilization in a constant state of flux, furnishing a medium for the expression of new ideas. Journalism, therefore, is one of the biggest factors in the rise of our civilization, and in its present pros- perity and enlightenment, and it furnishes perhaps the chief reason why we may feel confident that hu- manity will never again fall back into a semi-savage state, but will continue to advance till the end of time. — Richard Durham. 12
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