North Dakota State College of Science - Agawasie Yearbook (Wahpeton, ND)

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UJSeaLi . Lw - • ‘ - » - Ik . • THE 19S0 AGAWASIE PAGE S New York Editor Cites Serious Newspaper's Importance in America The serious newspaper—the one that seeks to inform its readers rather than solely to entertain them—is an essential adjunct to our democratic system. Those comments by Arthur Hays Sulzberger. publisher of the AVie York Timex, In a letter to the 1950 Ago-(Mtfe. not only point out an important phase of the newspaper's role in America, but describe the AYii’ York Times, itself. No newspaper in the world rivals the famed Times for complete reporting of the news. Its far-flung system of correspondents throughout the world provides it with top-notch coverage of the news. It is a newspaper of distinction. and although it is not the most widely circulated of the American newspapers, it is probably known and respected in more places and by more people than any of its contemporaries. Mr. Sulzberger's full comments on the role of the American newspaper in the development of our country: .-Is people mature, they have the choice of being followers or being leaders, tf they choose the former role, chance alone determines what leader they will follow. It may be a Stalin, a Teron. or a Franco. If. on the other hand, they choose to be leaders, then they must be informed for only an informed electorate can make wise judgments. The serious newspaper—the one that seeks to inform its readers rather than solely to entertain them—is an essential adjunct to our democratic system. Without these serious newspapers, without readers who hare the intelligence to comprehend them, democracy as we know it is doomed. That's why think newspapers are important. ☆ ☆ I • »; . n r jc ... »»» | W.N-M ..... !• - • i MU in’ -m» u m i ir—l - M kl •IsXtH '« « « m mutliuis I »• • L .. v ■ vu. ] Mt I OK . vr “A'fiWSPAPERS — KEY TO AMERICAN FREEDOM ☆ ☆ i . ☆ North Dakota Congressmen Praise Press For Freedom Protection Role Continued from page 3 From earliest recorded limes, since man first began to scribble on care walls, the communication of information and ideas has gone hand-in-hand with man's progress. After the invention of the printing press, it is not entirely coincidental that man began to advance himself more rapidly through the more efficient interchange of progressive ideas. Newspapers, from the very beginning. have been much maligned by governments. Some newspapers, indeed, by their irresponsible tactics. have deserved criticism. The lighting editors of the early newspapers of this country did much to promote and encourage the formation of a new empire in the North American wilderness, and the early settlement of lands that were to become what we now know as the United States. One well-known chain of newspapers has a slogan, dive light and the people will find their own way. It is significant that newspapers in some countries of the world today, under iron government control and censorship, are unable to give that light, and so it is not without cause that the people of some of those countries are having trouble finding their own way. The responsibilities of a free and unfettered press are great in a liberty-loving country. It is to be hoped that the American press will continue in the great traditions it began to establish during revolutionary times. Sincerely yours. I'sher L. Burdick There are many institutions in this country which we have come to look on as a pari of our way of life without fully realising their importance and contributions. For example, our newspapers fall in that category, and even though they have effectively disseminated truth and knowledge for years, we oftentimes overlook this singular contribution. It should always be remembered that an enlightened electorate is democracy’s strongest hope. In that great challenge, the newspapers of America have had a leading part, and for that reason freedom of the press” and all that goes with it should be preserved and strengthened. Sincerely yours. Milton II. Young ☆ ☆ Freedom is not always free. Even when once acquired it must be guarded by vigilance and some personal sacrifice. The freedom that we acquired when we threw off the British yoke is still ours because it was guarded by freedom of speech and defended by a free press. That freedom is threatened today by governmental bureaucracy. If we are to continue freedom of speech, then we must never surrender the right to say what we think. If the free press is to continue. then it must not permit its policies to be dictated by governmental agencies nor by advertisements. The individual must never permit his lips to he sealed, nor must the press surrender its independence. Sincerely yours. William Lemke

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PAGE 4 THE 1950 AGAWASIE Local Editor, State Sigma Delta Chi President, Explains Weeklies Role Wahpcton is served by a paper that is highly representative of the Grass Roots Press . The Richland County Farmer-Globe is recognized throughout the country as one of the leading small city weeklies . E. Donald Lum. who. along with his brother. D. Eldon Lum. publishes the Fanner-Globe, has been particularly active in promoting cooperation among the nation’s small town papers. At a meeting of the National Editorial Association in Chicago not long ago. he was singled out as one of the men who has led in the development of that organization and in the promotion of high standards for the nation’s small town papers. This spring he added to his growing list of honors when he was elected state president of Sigma Delta Chi. national honorary journalism fraternity. He is also a past-president of the North Dakota Press Association. In a special article prepared for the I960 Agawasie. he has pointed out the important role of the Grass Roots Press in the development of America. The article- ☆ ☆ The dissemination of news is fundamental to a newspaper. And by its eery nature, that policy fosters an enlightened people and a progressiee community, ft is a moot guest ion whether editorial opinions or the unbiased news columns contribute more to public thinking. Hut. for a certainty, opinions are molded by the news in a newspaper. Questions are discussed intelligently. Geographic barriers are surmounted. Strangers become as neighbors when they read newsworthy events in a newspaper. I'eople who read regularly a newspaper from their own city or a neighboring town become affiliated with that city. The streets, the buildings, the stores, the institutions and social groups are their own. .-In attraction seems to focus their attention to that town whose newspaper they read. Farms and farm organisations look upon the newspaper as their” newspaper and expect it to be their ready source of information and publicity. When civic projects are undertaken the newspaper is the rallying place, . ewspaper publicity is vital, .t community with a good newspaper has a powerful agent for growth. A community without a newspaper tacks an essential for betterment. .-Is it becomes a part K. Donald Lum Grass Roots Publisher ☆ ☆ ☆ of the reading habits in the homes of the city and the surrounding countryside, a newspaper is a narrator of the present, the historian of the past and prophet of the future. It serves to knit an area together into a neighborhood at the same time attracting newcomers. To survive a newspaper must thrust its community, state and nation ahead in the paths of righteousness and progress. .•I good newspaper grows upon its readers. There is no need for them to study the logotype to identify the familiar publication, .-1 good newspaper belongs to and is of the community. It has a place in the homes of the community and in those homes it wields its greatest influence. .-1 newspaper can be a great power for good. A trust is placed in the hands of a newspaperman by his neighbors and friends. His fellow citizens expect him to be honest and fair. His newspaper must express opinions honestly arrived at. His news columns must present the news without prejudice and as completely as possible. The advertising columns, like the news and editorial columns. must be above reproach. And such a newspaper is part and parcel of the people whom it serves. Such newspapers h a v e helped and are helping to build the towns and teeming cities, the lovely farms and contented villages that make America a land of happy homes. E. Donald Lum Minneapolis Tribune's John Cowles Stresses Duty of Newspapers Newspapers ought ... to serve the highest common denominator of their readers' interest and constantly endeavor to raise that denominator.” Those are the comments of John Cowles, president of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. in a letter to the 1950 Agawasie. The papers published by the Cowles tamily in Minneapolis have long been recognized throughout the country as fine examples of newspaper leadership. Their service to the Upper Midwest area in which we live has likewise been widely recognized for years. Mr. Cowles full comments: Newspapers perform an essential role in a democracy. They have an obligation to try to make important news interesting so that a larger proportion of the people will read it and become better informed. They have an obligation to try to guide public opinion on their editorial pages so that their readers will come to have sounder judgment on the political and economic and social problems confronting the country. Newspapers ought also to try to serve the highest common denominator of their readers' interest and constantly endeavor to raise that denominator. It goes without saying that newspapers have an obligation to print the news, all of it. as honestly and fairly and impartially as they can. If newspapers try to do all these things, they are helping build a stronger United States. Sincerely. John Cowles ☆ ☆ One of the most widely respected newspaper editors of America is the New York Herald Tribune’s Whitclaw Reid. In a letter to the 1950 Agawasie he set forth an interesting digest of the role of American newspapers in the development of our country. Newspapers are a fundamental part of .-I m e r i c a n democracy. Without them people could be informed on neither candidates for office nor issues on which the health and life of the country depend. In my judgment newspapers serve the processes of government as yeast in bread. They help to briny alive the aspirations of our people; subsequently they are a force in seeing that these aspirations are enacted in legislation and that the taws of the land are administered in accordance with the nation's best interests.

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PAGE 6 THE 1950 AGAWASIE Magazine Editors Praise Newspapers; Point To Importance Of Free Press In This Country Probably no one commercial item has become a more established tradition in the United States than a publication founded in 1728 by Benjamin Franklin. Throughout the world the Saturday Evening East has long been recognized as an important part of America. Being editor of this American tradition , Ben Hibbs is in an excellent vantage point from which to survey the importance of the American newspaper in the development of our country. He has set forth his views on the subject in this comment for the 1950 .1 gaicasic: the importance of a tree press is so obvious, and lias been so widely recognized tor so many years, that anyone who sets out to pay his respects to America's newspapers is almost certain to end by offering a tribute that has been offered before. Consider, for example, the press as the great protector of people’s liberties. The events of recent history have clearly shown that the first step a Mussolini, a Hitler or a Stalin must take is lo throttle the people's newspapers. Their dread of a free press is. it seems to me. as fine a tribute as can be paid. Hut this tribute, too. has been offered before. It was offered by a man ivho spoke from experience and who phrased his tribute thus: “Tour hostile newspapers.” said Napoleon Itonapurte. “are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.'' lien Hibbs. Editor The Saturday Evening Tost V V i? One of the leading American magazines to develop during the lifetime of the average student of the Class of 1950 at the North Dakota State School of Science is Look. The picture magazine capitalized on America's growing acceptance of the old proverb. A picture is worth 1.000 words. Growing tip along with the members of the Class of 1950, Look is now read by approximately 20.000. 000 Americans every other week. Published in Des Moines, Iowa. Look has utilized some of the down to earth living that is I ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ typical of the Midwest in the development of its successful format. That same formula has been applied to other publications of the Cowles family such as The Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Des Moines Register-Tribune: and more recently, to Quick. Not only as publisher of the succesful Look magazine, but as a newspaperman, himself. Gardner Cowles is qualified to speak on behalf of the American press. In commenting on the role of newspapers in the development of America, he prepared the following statement for the 1950 Agawasie: Freedom is never won permanently. It must be worked for constantly. In this country a free and enlightened press has been one of the most powerful agents in working to preserve that freedom. It is no accident that in a dictatorship, the bulwark of a free press is one of the first things to be destroyed. This country owes an overwhelming debt to its newspapers with their great traditions of independence and courage. It should be clear to all by now that the preservation of democracy, and perhaps of civilization as ice know it, depends on an unfettered and responsible press. (lardner Cowles. Editor Look Magazine 1