632.
THE NEWSPAP
ER
AND THE HISTORI A
N
name is affixed to articles which the reader sees to be the work of a different hand . So far, indeed, as it is obeyed , the object of those who framed it, the diminution of the influence of the newspaper press , has been effected . The oracle loses half its force by losing its mystery . The world is glad to see weakened a power which
has been so much abused . Many writers, too , are pleased to see their names in print.” 56 While the “ loi Tinguy ” has now become obsolete, in the opinion of many the blight it brought on the French press still remains.57 The tendency towards signature and away from anonymity has evidently been to weaken the personality of the press, but it is less clear how far this weakening of personality has affected the authoritativeness of the press. Governments have sometimes
compelled signature in order to regulate and therefore to weaken the authority of the press. Newspaper proprietors have encour aged signature for the sake of increasing circulation through the éclat given by distinguished names and to this extent they weaken the authoritativeness of the press. Journalists have
almost unanimously come to favor signature but their reasons
have apparently been very diverse . The early advocates of signa ture urged in its favor that in every other field anonymous infor
mation , counsel, or judgment was disregarded ; that the press
itself rejected anonymous communications; that the part taken
by the press had come to be that of a judge rather than that of an advocate ; 58 that it fostered a greater sense of responsibility on the part of writers; and that anonymity simply prolonged
“ the reign of the mighty 'we'.” 59 Its later advocates have apparently been influenced by a desire for personal recognition
of their work, but this very desire has carried “ its besetting temptations of personal vanity ” and has led journalists like
56 Journals in France and Italy, I, 273, written from Paris, October 26 , 1850 . 57 M . Biré says that the greater part of the French press vigorously opposed a law that they believed " blessait la presse au coeur.” — But the law was defended by M . Nettement in L 'Opinion publique where he first
signed his name, July 25, 1850, and thereafter many times in each number. - E . Bire, Alfred Nettement, sa vie et ses oeuvres, p . 388.
68 J. B . Kinnear, “ Anonymous Journalism ,” Contemporary Review , July ,
1867, 5 : 324 -339. 69 T. Hughes, “ Anonymous Journalism ," Macmillan 's Magazine, Decem ber , 1861, 5 : 157
