Page:History of American Journalism.djvu/489



JOURNALISM OF TO-DAY 447

with Republican leanings presented the case squarely when he said to the manager of a Democratic press bureau who objected to the editorial policies of the paper in question : " Whom are you trying to reach, through your political advertising, those who are going to vote for Wilson, or those who are now thinking of voting against him? When you have reached your decision, remember this fact, our paper guarantees a larger circulation among those who are now opposing Wilson than any other paper in the city." To the credit of this Democratic press bureau, be it said that it used large space in the Republican sheet. Political advertising should be inserted not solely to reward papers for party allegiance, but to spread partisan doctrine where it will do the most good; it is for this purpose that people contribute funds to the campaign expenses of the great parties. It must be confessed that in the past much of this political advertising has been too personal and too bitter to be effective among intelligent newspaper readers. More and more, however, political adver- tising is being prepared on the same sound principles as those which govern general advertising.

EDITORIAL PROSTITUTION

Another so-called weakness of modern journalism is that edi- torial writers must on special occasions write opinions not be- lieved to be just and right because the chief -of -staff insists that these policies are those of the newspaper. Tiffany Blake, chief editorial writer of The Chicago Tribune, put the case in its proper light when he gave this justification of such work. He thought, when a writer was, on the whole, in sympathy with the editorial policies, he might, in minor cases, support certain measures with which he did not agree. Such conduct, Mr. Blake pointed out, was in keeping with the religious and political life of any in- dividual; a man in joining a political party does not necessarily imply that he supports every plank of the platform, but that he thinks that this party comes the nearest to agreeing with his views about the questions of the day; a man joining a church or religious sect may not agree with every article of the creed, but he chooses to become a member because this religious denomina- tion in its larger doctrines favors his views on matters of ethics