Oregon Exchanges
For the Newspaper Men of the State of Oregon
EDITORIALS: "WHY ARE THEY NOT READ?"
A SUGGESTED EXPLANATION
“WHY are editorials
not read?”
asks an interested observer of
the American press. Though tempted to
parallel this question with “Why is the
weather not good?” the writer admits
he understands the drift of the question.
It is not hoped to offer here a satisfactory
and comprehensive answer. If the editors
who read this publication are moved to
consideration of the question, the purpose
of this article will have been served.
Before proceeding with this discussion,
another question needs to be asked:
“What is an editorial 1” Having decided
that the only definition that will cover
the case with sufficient breadth is “the
personal expression of an editor,” we
are brought face to face with another
question: “Who is expected to read the
editorials?” That, it may easily be seen.
depends on the subject and the treatment.
Few editorials can hope to claim the at
tention of all the readers of the paper.
Frequently the editorial least worth read
ing attracts the greatest amount of at
tention. This is generally due to a fluency
of writing style, a certain “glibness”
which often makes a better surface im
pression on the hasty reader than does
a thoughtful piece of work by one less
apt in the tricks of the writing trade.
And so, a frothy bit of work, if de
signed for the hasty reader, with no in
tent that it shall influence either his
actions or his opinions, comes clearly
under the head of entertainment, like
“Bringing Up Father,” in which no one
sees any special depth of purpose. Under
this head come breezy little editorials on
the weather, on wireless communication
with Mars, or on the social status of
Australian bushmen. These may contain
some mite of information; the observant
reader may think he detects a paraphras
ing of some news article, but he won’t
care much—he is in a “tired business
man” state of mind, not over-eager to
think. So, the reader probably got what
he wanted, and the writer accomplished
all he had a right to expect.
There's another class of editorials, de
signed for information, for the inter
pretation of some new discovery in sci
ence or some new achievement in the
arts. Interpretative articles on the nature
of insulin, its observed results, and what
it may mean to ailing humanity are not
designed for the fractional element of
the population who prefer to do their
reading in original sources, in scientific
publications; they are designed for the
public, to whom, practically, these works
are as closed as if they were still Pn
uritten. The descriptive article on the
great Betelgeuze, designed to develop
lay interest in the phenomena of the
heavens, is not intended for the astron
omer, who, it is presumed, has deeper
