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The Newspaper and the Historian

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The Newspaper and the Historian (1923)
by Lucy Maynard Salmon
3150275The Newspaper and the Historian1923Lucy Maynard Salmon


THE NEWSPAPER AND THE HISTORIAN

BY

LUCY MAYNARD SALMON

"Is there anything in the paper, Sir?"

"Anything in the paper! All the world is in the paper. Why, Madam , if you will but read what is written in the Times of this very day, it is enough for a year's history, and ten times as much meditation ."—Thackeray.

NEW YORK

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

AMERICAN BRANCH: 35 WEST 32ND STREET

LONDON , TORONTO, MELBOURNE AND BOMBAY

1923

Copyright, 1923
By Oxford University Press
American Branch

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MEMORIAE

A. J. ET H. J.

FILIAE PATRISQUE

PREFACE

Peccavi should be the opening word of many prefaces. A consciousness of much left undone that ought to have been done, and of much done that ought not to have been done, detracts from the pleasure that otherwise might have been felt in passing from one piece of work to another. But the delinquent and offender may at least be heard in his own defense, and state what his object has and has not been.

The object of writing this book has been to discover if possible the advantages and the limitations of the periodical press, especially the newspaper, considered as historical material, and thus to determine the extent of its usefulness to the historian in his efforts to reconstruct the past. It therefore attempts to give an analysis of the component parts of the press, with a sufficient number of examples to illustrate or to justify the conclusions that have been deduced.

It is not the object of the book to give a history, even a fragmentary one, either of the newspaper or of journalism. It is not to be considered a brief for the press, or an indictment of the press, ore a "presentation of both sides of the case"; in a sense, it does not concern itself at all with the press, since the person ultimately in mind has been the student of history. But while it shows the pitfalls the historian must encounter in his use of the newspaper, it may also incidentally indicate how unnecessary has been the alarm constantly raised through the blanket arraignment of the press, and how inherent are the dangers found in the general statement.

The present volume considers the essential characteristics of the newspaper as they affect the historian and as they are made known by the newspaper itself, unaffected by official control. It considers the press only on its esoteric side. If in the discussion of the relations of the newspaper and the historian the newspaper has occupied the foreground, it is hoped that it will be found that all lines have converged on the historian in the background.

Many extracts from the newspapers themselves have been given since the newspaper is both consciously and unconsciously its own best record of its aimsand its methods of attaining them. Since it is essential to the purpose of the book to consider testimony, to weigh evidence, and to arrive at decisions, it is necessary to hear the evidence given by the press itself. A large number of the citations have been taken from the New York City papers, in part for reasons of convenience, and in part because news-collecting associations have standardized news, and advertising clubs and fashion have in a measure standardized advertisements. Illustrative newspapers, however, from practically every state in the Union, and many from other countries, have been examined, and it is thus hoped that no undue basis will be found for the charge of generalizing from insufficient data.

A companion volume now in press is entitled The Newspaper and Authority. This considers the advantages and the limitations of the press considered with reference to external control. The questions of regulation of the press, all forms of censorship of the press, freedom of the press, libel laws, press bureaus, press publicity, and press propaganda suggest conditions where the press is limited by an authority outside of itself. This exoteric side of the press and all its relations to external authority must be examined by the historian as well as the limitations arising from conditions within the press itself.

My obligations to others seem out of all proportion to the results visible in the book. They include a group of colleagues and friends, V. Barbour, L. F. Brown, E. Ellery, I. C. Thallon, and C. M. Thompson, all of whom have read the manuscript wholly or in part, and have at all times lent a listening ear as each new interest in the subject has developed. A group of friends, M. L. Berkemeier, R. L. Lowrie, H. Rottschaefer, and E. M. Rushmore, have given untiring help in the collection of material. Friends have sent to the Vassar College Library special copies of newspapers from all over the world; they can not all be named individually, but special gratitude goes to K. B. Béziat for newspapers from France covering a wide range of in terests and localities during 1914–1915; to Charles Upson Clark for copies of Italian papers during the war; to Burges Johnson for the material collected for the Vassar College Library in 1918; and to A. L. Walker for many consecutive numbers and special copies of Greek newspapers. H. M. Bartlett and M. Newcomer have contributed copies of inscriptions in London in memory of British war correspondents. C. Saunders has been a friendly adviser.

Special acknowledgment must gratefully be made to L. F. Brown for the preparation of the Biographical Notes and to Henry S. Fraser for making the Index and reading the proof. My obligations to F. G. Davenport, M. Relf, E. Rickert, Frank G . Royce, A. Underhill, B. C. Wilcox, and President Henry Noble MacCracken have been great and constant.

The courtesy of librarians in arranging inter-library loans has made possible the use of books loaned the Vassar College Library from the libraries of Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, and Yale Universities, the New Bedford Free Public Library, the New York State Library, and the Library of Congress. Frequent use has also been made of the important collections of the New York Public Library. An abiding sense of appreciation for such kindnesses must remain with every one who has had similar opportunities.

All those to whom acknowledgment has directly or indirectly been made are absolved from all responsibility for errors of omission or commission; the ultimate liability for such errors must rest with the writer alone. The closing word must be peccavi.

L. M. S.

Poughkeepsie, New York,
April 23, 1923.

Contents
Introduction
Page
The use of periodical literature as an historical source xxxvii
Its legitimacy not yet unquestioned xxxviii
Demand of historian for authoritative material xxxviii
Standards of authoritativeness for other classes xxxix
No standard of authoritativeness for the press xxxix
Skepticism in regard to credibility of the press xxxix
Reasons for skepticism xxxix
Recent more favorable attitude of historians xl
How far can the press be considered authoritative xl
Analysis of press into component parts xli
Tests to be applied to separate parts xli
Importance of contemporary material xli
How far is the historian justified in considering the press authoritative material xlii
Chapter I
The Development of the Newspaper
Universal desire for news 1
Means of gratifying it in Greece 2
The Roman journal 2
The early Gauls 3
Les nouvellistes 3
Nouvelles à la main 4
The English coffee house 5
News letters in the provinces 5
The news letter in Scotland 6
Paper criers and caddies 6
Broadsides 7
Bulletin boards 8
The town crier 8
Plantation guests 8
News facilities in New England 8
Distribution of news on the Continent 8
Genesis of the newspaper in England 9
Renaudot and the Gazette de France 9
Creed of Renaudot 10
Development of modern newspaper 10
Accretion of new interests 10
Decline of "the scoop" 11
Undertakings abroad 11
Collective activities of the press 12
Activities of a single newspaper 12
Early activities of the Athenæum 13
Important expeditions financed by the press 13
A twentieth century daily 13
Activities of Renaudot 14
Early efforts to stimulate circulation 14
Prizes and medals 14
Effect of inventions on growth of the press 15
Manufacture of paper 15
Facilities for distribution 16
Increase in influence of the press 16
Growth of business management 16
Dangers feared from this 17
Increased circulation both cause and result 17
Newspaper no longer a personal organ 17
The press groups society and unifies groups 17
Specialized groups 18
Press exploits group hostility 18
Religious journalism 19
Lord Acton and the Roman Catholic press 19
F. D Maurice and the religious press 19
Orthodoxy and heterodoxy in America 20
Regroupings in the religious press 21
Problems of religious and of political press different 21
Similar tendencies in the political press 21
New interests demand new channels of expression 22
Society journals 23
Amateur journals 23
College journalism 24
Journalism of the trench 24
Early journals for troops 24
Early journalism of women 25
Labor journals 26
Foreign language press 26
Journalism of undeveloped groups 26
Prison journalism 26
Fluctuating interests reflected in the press 27
Widening interests recorded by press 27
Syndicated articles 28
Changes in character of the press 28
Undue emphasis on abnormal events 28
Mr. Dooley on the news 29
Personal journalism 30
The yellow press 30
Changes in relative importance of various parts of press 31
Connection of the newspaper with the past 32
Changes important for historian 32
The newspaper and expansion of interests 32
Party journalism 33
Appearance of the Times 33
The independent press 34
Effect of education on the press 34
Function of newspaper changing 34
Newspaper repeats experience of museum of natural science 35
And of public library 35
And of method of writing history 35
Newspaper records its own times 36
Historian must examine sources of news 36
Press in part records these sources 36
Records imperfectly governmental control 36
Increasing complexity of the press 37
Historian must consider these transformations 37
Different tests for authoritativeness for different classes 38
Difference between the press and journalism 38
Changing tendencies in the press do not lessen its value for the historian 39
Chapter II
The Newspaper as a Personality
Personality eludes definition 40
Elements contributing to personality 40
External features of the newspaper 40
Beliefs and opinions of the newspaper 41
Business habits of the newspaper 42
Ideals expressed in mottoes adopted 43
Appeals made to readers 44
Daily observations 45
Creeds 46
Names of newspapers 47
Names indicating functions 48
Changes in name 49
Favorite names in different countries 50
Nicknames given to newspapers 50
Nicknames given by newspapers 50
Emblems used by the press 51
Headlines 51
Price 52
Sense of proportion 53
Changing standards of conventionality 53
Cartoons 54
Early discourtesy of the newspaper 54
The Covent-Garden Journal 54
Personal abuse common 55
Dickens on abuse in American papers 55
De Tocqueville on American journalists 55
Matthew Arnold on personality of American press 55
Walt Whitman on the press 56
Ill temper of newspapers 56
Provincial spirit 56
Independence of view 56
"Letters to the editor" 57
These characteristic of American and British press 58
"Answers to correspondents" 59
The Athenian Gazette 59
John Dunton and Defoe 59
Infallibility of the press 60
Omniscience of the press 60
"The Dogma of Journalistic Inerrancy" 60
"A saving sense of humor" 61
Charles Lamb and his "sixpenny jokes" 61
Professional humorists 61
"The colyum" 61
Personality seen in questions selected or omitted 62
Special editions 63
Differences in personality of metropolitan and of country press 63
Contrasts in personality of dailies, weeklies, and monthlies 63
Personality affected by personality of editor 64
But personality of paper independent of editor 64
Eccentric newspapers 65
Interest in such papers psychological rather than historical 65
Anonymity as an element in personality 65
Tendency towards signature 66
Signature favors pamphleteering 66
Explanation of change in tendency 66
Zola on signature 67
French law requiring signature 67
Effect of this in France 67
Effect of signature on personality of press 68
Advocates for and against signature 68
Schopenhauer on anonymity 69
Daily and weekly press accept signature in part 70
Monthlies and quarterlies accept signature wholly 70
John Morley on signature 70
Experiments of The Unpopular Review 70
Effect of controversy on periodical press 71
Authoritativeness as affected by anonymity or signature 71
National preferences 71
The press an organ or a forum 72
The "wegotism" of the press 73
Comparative merits of both systems 73
"Have Papers Souls?" 73
Efforts to determine personality by comparing relative proportions of subjects 73
Matthew Arnold and the personality of the Times 74
Historian must understand personality of periodicals used 74
Chapter III
Guarantees of Probability
General constitutional guarantees 75
Specific guarantees of federal government 75
Federal post office and the press 76
State laws affording guarantees 77
Federal government the authority for information 77
State governments responsible for information 77
Responsibility of local governments 77
Guarantees under normal conditions 77
Guarantees afforded by press itself 78
Regulations of press for protecting readers 78
Explicit guarantees given 79
Guarantees as a business enterprise 80
Guarantees given advertisers 81
Information guaranteed by the press 82
Guarantees afforded by business interests 83
The church responsible for religious notices 83
Responsibility of educational authorities 83
Health boards a source of information 84
Responsible organizations behind information 84
Permanent sources of information 84
Importance of guarantees in using the press 84
Chapter IV
The Press and Other Activities
PAGE
"No man liveth unto himself" 85
Expansion of classes of material used by the historian 85
Connection between press and government 85
Specific questions involved 86
Official patronage 86
Advertisements 87
Political office and the press in France 87
Political honors in England 88
Financial rewards for the press 89
Effect of government connection on authoritativeness 89
Party organs declining 90
General effect of connection between press and governmental parties 90
Relation between press and Church 91
Explanation of relation 91
Mutual dependence of press and Church 92
Compromise on disagreements between the two 92
Effect of mutual relation on authoritativeness of the press 93
Effect where Church is independent 93
Effect of an established Church 93
Effect of still different conditions in America and France 94
The newspaper and public health 95
Press supports certain conditions of health 95
Cautious on other sides of public health 96
Caution needed by historian 96
The press in the industrial world 97
May incur enmity of employers 97
Minimum wage for journalists 97
The press as a business enterprise 98
Its own difficulties 98
The press and social welfare 98
Its general social activities 98
Social activities among newsboys 99
Welfare work among its own employees 99
La Prensa 99
Object of welfare work unimportant to historian 100
Welfare work through correspondence columns 100
Social workers apparently indifferent to press 101
Mutual relations of press and education 101
Interest of press in education 101
Interest of education in the press 101
Embarrassment of the press in dealing with education 102
The press and literature 103
Early dependence of press on authors 103
Change in press interests 104
Change in literary style of the press 104
Crude form does not necessarily vitiate material 104
Opposite literary tendencies seen 105
Important literary works in the newspaper 106
Disadvantages of collecting newspaper articles into book form 106
Differences between journalism and literature 107
Effect of headline on English language 108
The headline and spelling 109
Catling on the headline 109
Headlines and the historian 109
Services of the press to language 110
The newspaper and the library 110
Press records library development 110
Library interested in the material newspaper 111
W. C. Ford on preservation of newspaper files 111
Early indifference of library to newspaper files 112
Concern of historian with these questions 113
Interdependence of press and all human activities 113
Chapter V
News-Collecting and News-Distributing Organizations
Ben Jonson's "staple of newes" 115
Bureaux et pelotons 116
Edward Cave and his exchange 116
Alaric Watts and Blackwood 116
The "partly-printed newspapers" of Watts 116
Organization of the Central Press 117
The Press Association 118
Reuters 118
Importance of news collecting agencies 118
Beginnings of news collecting in America 119
The Journal of Commerce 119
Development of the Associated Press 119
Its plan of organization 120
News collecting agencies and the historian 121
Criticisms made of the Associated Press 121
Examination of these criticisms 121
Charge of "suppressing the facts" dismissed by Court 124
Infallibility not claimed by or for the Associated Press 124
Associated Press not responsible for changes made by others 125
Precautions and preparation of Associated Press 126
Errors redressed 126
Other co-operative associations 126
Different forms of news collecting agencies 128
Proprietary associations 128
Organizations controlled by a single paper 129
Agencies controlled by government 129
Co-operative associations 130
Difficulties encountered by news agencies 130
Court decisions on property in news 131
Complications due to war 131
International misunderstanding due to war 132
Responsibilities entailed by war 133
News-distributing agencies 133
"Boiler-plate" and "ready-print" service 134
Character of material used 134
Dangers possible 135
"Ready-made" book notices 135
Newspaper distributing agencies 136
The Times and the Napoleonic wars 136
Central distributing agencies 136
Relation of historian to newspaper distribution 136
Importance of news collecting agencies to historian 137
Chapter VI
The General Reporter
Parts of the newspaper affording guarantees 138
Tests for authoritativeness applied to local reporter 139
Sources of information available for reporters 139
Regular recognized sources 139
Occasional sources 140
Special sources 140
The "story" as written out 140
Dickens as a reporter 140
General criticism of the reporter 141
Analysis of his errors possible 142
Ignorance explains many errors 142
Sensational ignorance 143
Wilful ignorance 143
Errors due to jesting 144
Errors due to carelessness 145
Love of sensation 145
Errors of advertisers 146
Proof-reader shares in errors 146
Blunders of the reporter 146
Exigencies of publication explain errors 147
Variations between headlines and reports 147
Errors by telephone 148
"Tricks of the trade" 148
"Temperament" of distinguished men 148
Deliberate errors of reporters 148
Incorrect impressions 149
Imaginative reports 149
Absence of proportion in reports 149
"Only the rich man is interesting" 149
Forehanded reports 150
Dangers of 150
Reports of Coronation of Edward VII 150
Variations due to weather 150
Mistranslation a source of error 151
Trials of reporters 151
Interest in reports varies with conditions 152
Reporter between two conflicting types 152
Other handicaps of the reporter 152
Emphasis on his work given by schools of journalism 152
"The man higher up" 153
Influence on his work of general press conditions 153
Specialization improving his work 154
Changing social status of reporter 154
The reporter as he is and as he is believed to be 155
The local report a fertile source of error 155
Legislative effort to reduce errors 155
The cheerful reporter 156
His errors many but their importance unduly magnified 156
Number of errors of reporter explains distrust of press 157
Errors of local reporter need not disquiet historian 157
Chapter VII
The Official Reporter
Development of the official reporter 158
Sir Symonds D'Ewes and his Journals 158
The Commons Debates for 1629 159
"Separates" and news-letters 160
News-letters in great demand 160
Edward Cave and the Gentleman's Magazine 161
Beginnings of parliamentary reporting 161
Opposition of Parliament 161
Circumventing Parliament 162
Dr. Johnson as reporter 163
His debates 164
Their limitations for the historian 164
John Wilkes and parliamentary reporting 166
Present theory of parliamentary reporting 167
Difficulties of reporting 167
Position of provincial reporters 167
Development of organization of reporting 168
Social status of reporters 169
General limitations of reporting 170
Difficulties with speakers 170
Variations between Hansard and collected speeches 170
"Reporting speeches which never were made" 171
Verbatim reports 172
Comparative merits of different forms of reports 172
Decline of interest in verbatim reports 173
Explanation of opposition of Parliament to reporters 174
Parliament accepts reporters 174
Reporters in Congress 174
Right of the public to know the business of the public 174
Three general systems of reporting 175
Reporting in the hands of the press 175
Official reporting 175
Contract system 175
Parliamentary reports on reporting 175
Press reports and parliamentary records 176
Comparative advantages 176
"Man always to be blest" 176
Objections to reporting at first general 177
Kossuth and reporting 177
Reporters and court trials 178
J. G. Bennett and court reporting 178
Reporters not alone responsible for unreliable reports 179
Real service may be rendered justice by reporters 179
Chapter VIII
The Special Correspondent
Many forms of special correspondence 180
The Letters of Junius 180
Cramped opportunities of early papers 180
Material often contributed by prominent men 181
Development of reporter into special correspondent 181
Function of special correspondence 181
The correspondent in time of peace 181
At foreign capitals 181
J. G. Bennett on qualifications of correspondents 182
The special correspondent on himself 182
Lord Salisbury on the special correspondent 183
Correspondents of the London Times 183
Question of authoritativeness of correspondence 183
Sources of news 184
Multiplicity of sources a possible handicap 184
Disadvantages under which the correspondent works 184
Expansion of skeleton messages 185
False impressions created by correspondents 185
Labouchere and foreign correspondents 186
International controversies from foreign correspondence 186
The expelled correspondent 186
Responsibilities and opportunities of foreign correspondents 186
Prone to magnify their office 187
Difficulties of the special correspondent 187
Bismarck and the Pall Mall Gazette 187
Royalty as special correspondent 188
Attitude of governments towards the foreign correspondent 188
The special correspondent in South Africa 188
A. H. Layard and the Constantinople correspondents 189
"Letters from Europe" 190
"Letters from the trenches" 190
"Truth tours" 191
Limitations of special correspondence 191
Restrictions through official relations 191
Censorship and special correspondence 192
Special correspondence "for home consumption" 192
The free lance correspondent 193
"Inspired" special correspondence 193
Insidious temptations of work 194
George Borrow on foreign correspondents 194
General high type of special correspondents 194
Chapter IX
The War Correspondent
Early war correspondence 195
Development during the Thirty Years' War 195
Functions of early war correspondents 196
Predictions of his disappearance 196
Difficulties of war correspondent 197
Opposition of Military Officials 198
The Duke of Wellington and war correspondents 198
W. H. Russell and the Crimean War 200
Opposition of War Office 201
Opposition of governments 201
Lord Wolseley and the correspondents 202
W. H. Sherman and war correspondents 202
W. H. Russell in the Civil War 203
Reasons for opposition of authority to war correspondents 204
Climax of opposition in 1914 204
Vacillating regulations applied to correspondents 205
Reasons for dislike of correspondents by War Office 205
Reasons for dislike felt by army 206
Drain on resources of the press 207
Strictures on war correspondent 208
His speedy disappearance again foretold 211
Side of the war correspondent 211
Difficulties he meets 211
Lack of appreciation of his work 212
His own pride in his achievements 214
Rebels at needless entanglements 217
But appreciates opportunities 217
Correspondent often victim of conditions 217
External difficulties 218
Responsibility of the public 218
War correspondent faces an impasse 219
Changing direction of correspondence 220
Charges brought against war correspondence 221
Charge that enemy profits by news sent 221
Examination of charges 221
Denial of them by war correspondents 221
Personal equation of correspondent 222
Golden age of war correspondence 223
Advantage of social neglect of war correspondent 224
Disadvantage of his social importance 225
Efforts to improve correspondence 226
War correspondence of recent war 227
Development of war correspondence 227
Generalizations concerning it impossible 228
Difference in war correspondents 228
Different types of wars 228
Different types of war correspondents 228
Relation of these questions to the historian 229
New directions of war correspondence 229
New interests of the historian 229
Adaptation of correspondent to new conditions 230
Archibald Forbes and his conception of the ideal war correspondent 231
Chapter X
The Interview
The interview apparently recent 233
Dr. Johnson and George III 234
Attitude of historian towards interview 234
Discredit attached to it as historical material 234
Interviews sought with persons momentarily prominent 234
Prepared interviews 235
Inspired interviews 235
Repudiated interviews 236
De Blowitz and Count Münster 236
The Emperor William interview and the Century 236
Emperor William and the Daily Telegraph 236
Edited interviews 237
Difficulties on the side of the press 237
Faked interviews 238
Impatience with faked interviews 238
Interviewing by intuition 239
Reversible interviews 239
The wooden interview 239
The stolen interview 239
The interviewer at the Second Hague Conference 239
Interview sought for definite ends 240
Von Bülow and the interview 240
Von Bissing and the interview 240
Interviews sought by officials 240
The politician and the interview 240
The interview for "domestic consumption" 241
The social interview 241
General lack of authoritativeness of interview 242
Distrust of form given it 242
National prejudices against the interview 243
Interview distrusted because of object 243
Interviewers often not specially qualified 243
Troubles of interviewers 244
Henry James on the interview 244
Opposition of medical profession 245
Difficulties put in way of interviewers 245
Prejudice against them 246
Interviews still part of newspaper 246
Improvement in interview 246
Advantages of interview 247
Interview of group activities 247
Collective interviews 247
Interview prolific source of error 248
Genera] reasons for questioning its authoritativeness 248
Chapter XI
The Editor and the Editorial
Development of the editorial 249
Defoe and the editorial 249
The early editorial in America 250
The Alien and Sedition Acts and the editorial 250
Is the editorial declining 251
Personal journalism 251
Decline of personal journalism 252
Uncertainty as to its reflection of public opinion 252
Identification of editor with community 252
Harvey W. Scott and the Pacific Northwest 253
Responsibility of such identification 253
Carlyle on the editor 253
Lord Acton as editor 254
"A soldier of conscience" 254
Social evolution of the editor 254
A. A. Watts on the editor 254
Sir Wemyss Reid on the press 255
Catling and the press 255
Changes in opinion of the editor 255
Bohemia and the editor 256
Titled editors 256
De Tocqueville on the American editor 256
Editorial omniscience 257
Delane and the Civil War 257
Lowell to Leslie Stephen 257
John Stuart Mill to Motley 258
Cobden and Delane 258
Division of labor in the sanctum 258
Corporate ownership supersedes personal ownership 259
Effect of change on editorial 259
Possible explanation of decline of editorial 259
Explanation seen in government relation to press 259
This debatable 260
Canning and Jerdan 260
The editor in Germany 260
Influences undermining power of editorial 261
Development of news-collecting agencies 261
The headline 262
Special articles by experts 262
The advertisement 262
Changes in business administration 263
Mutual relations of editor and owner 263
Early difficulties between them 263
Defoe's difficulties with owners 263
Jerdan and West End landlords 263
Murray and Blackwood and their editors 264
Macdonell and his chief 264
Opinion of J. A. Spender 264
Henry Watterson on the business manager 264
W. S. Robinson and conservative owners 264
Walt Whitman and owners 265
Incompatibility of temperament 265
Repudiation by owners of charge of interference 265
The London Echo 265
Defense of Thomas Frost 265
Brodrick and the Times 266
The New Republic 266
The Evening Post 266
Should an editor write 266
How far is his pen at service of owner 266
Different opinions 267
Editors and the Pall Mall Gazette 267
Owners and illustrators 267
Ultimate control of policy 268
Differences in different countries 268
The article de fond 268
"Sitting editors" in Germany 268
Change in editorial in England 268
Off-hand decision impossible 270
Many factors involved 270
Editors may change 270
Samuel Bowles and the Springfield Republican 270
The editorial and public opinion 270
Editorial influenced by opposing tendencies 271
Editors of the old school 271
Editors of the new school 271
Changes in the country editor 272
Changes in the editorial 272
Early types 272
William Leggett and his editorials 272
Collections of editorials 272
Circulation of editorials through other means 272
Improvement in editorials 273
Wider range of subjects 273
Improvement in facilities 274
Extension of newspaper plant 275
Freedom from errors of fact in editorials 275
Independence in treatment 276
The editorial impersonal 276
The editorial "we" 276
The deadly parallel 277
John Bright and The Times 277
Editorial dilemmas 278
Editorials in absentia 278
Editorial changes of manuscript 278
The Edinburgh Review 278
Carlyle, Napier, and Jeffrey 279
Dickens and Mrs. Gaskell 279
Hazlitt on editors 280
Delane and Henry Reeve 280
"Editorial tinkering" in Paris 280
Howells and the Atlantic 280
Blanchard Jerrold and Catling 281
Other difficulties between editors and contributors 281
Napier and Brougham 281
Napier and Dickens 282
Napier, Brougham, Macaulay, and the Whigs 283
Troubles of the editors of the Edinburgh typical 283
The editorial as historical material 284
"The Twelve Labors of an Editor" 285
To readers, the editorial is "the paper" 286
Chapter XII
Criticism and the Critic
Difficulty in using criticism as historical material 287
No agreement concerning functions of criticism 287
Absence of recognized standards 288
Theory of Matthew Arnold 288
The New Laokoon 289
Theory of Bliss Perry 289
The ideal critic 289
Courses at the University of Lille 458
Plan of de Blowitz 459
Sentiment against it in England 459
And in Canada 459
The Pulitzer School 460
Spread of schools of journalism 460
Present limitations 461
Suggested explanations 462
Future possibilities 462
The endowed press 462
General arguments in favor 463
Confusion as to nature 463
Technical journals 463
Goldwin Smith's plan 463
Lack of enthusiasm for endowed press 464
The Congressional Record 465
State and municipal journals 466
General tendency towards increasing authoritativeness of the press 467
Chapter XVII
How Far Can the Past Be Reconstructed from the Press?
The press enjoined to "tell the facts" 468
Inaccuracy of the press inevitable 469
Difference between accuracy and authoritativeness 469
Edward Dicey on the English press 469
Interpretation by the press necessary 470
Interpretation of the press 470
Parts of press most used in reconstructing past 470
Value of the editorial 470
Series of editorials 470
J. F. Rhodes on value of press 471
Value of illustration in reconstruction 471
Comparative freedom from authority 471
Punch, Harper's Weekly, and Life 472
Press called "anti-social" 472
Illustration enlarges horizon 472
Glimpses of luxury 473
Obverse of the shield 473
"The middle class" 473
Development of new interests shown 474
Permanent elements in society illustrated 474
Relative position of children 474
The woman's era 475
Accessories of life 475
Tendency toward specialization 475
Changes in character of illustration 475
Fashions in humor 476
Interest in health shown 476
Industrial conditions 476
Illustrations an aid to justice 476
Changes in celebrating holidays shown 477
Easter in the illustration 477
Reconstruction through foreign language press 477
The illustrated advertisement 478
Changes in character 478
Advertisement shows new demands 478
Reconstruction through advertisements of department store 479
Wide range of interests disclosed 479
But reconstruct only favorable conditions 480
Other advertisements record adverse conditions 480
Effect of a serious fire on advertisements 480
Strikes in advertising 480
"Out of work" 480
"Help wanted" 481
Effect of war on advertising 482
The seamy side shown 482
Miseries of war disclosed by advertisements 482
War and industrial society 483
Prohibition and liquor in advertisements 484
Parts of the press less helpful in reconstruction 484
The press in reconstructing social life 484
The country press 485
The press in high life 485
England in the Spectator 487
Frontier conditions in the press 487
Test of place of press in reconstruction 488
Limitations of authority 490
Importance of press in reconstructing normal life 491
Appendix I: Biographical Notes 493
Appendix II: Bibliographical Notes 517
Index 523

ILLUSTRATIONS

Théophraste Renaudot Frontispiece
From a statue in Paris. The pedestal symbolizes the Maison du Grand Coq where many of the activities of Renaudot were carried on.
Les Nouvellistes Facing Page 4
From F . Funck-Brentano, Les Nouvellistes.
The First English Newspaper, December 2, 1620 9
See Page 115.
The First English Newspaper, July 9, 1621 115
This shows the progress made in the arrangement of the paper since the appearance of the first number the previous December.
War Correspondents' Monument 213
Erected in the Blue Ridge Mountains in honor of the War Correspondents of the American Civil War. The photograph was secured through the courtesy of Miss Grace Terry, Washington, D. C.
The Ulster County Gazette 420
This gives the headings of sixteen of the twenty-four known reprints of a possible issue of January 4, 1800. The variations in type, paragraphing, and minor details indicate that they can not all be "an original copy."
Fetridge and Company's Periodical Arcade 474
From an unidentified periodical

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1927, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 96 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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