MODERN JOURNALISM

Evening Star, Issue 20317, 28 October 1929, Page 12

MODERN JOURNALISM

A BRITISH EDITOR TAKES STQGK Mr H. A. Gwynne, editor of the ‘ Morning Post ’ and president of the institute of Journalists, at a recent conference expressed his views of the Press of the present day. “ The starting point, to my mind, of journalism as it is to-day was the Education Act ol 1870, under which every child in the land was obliged to learn the three R’s,’’ he said. “As a consequence in 1885 to 1890 there were a great number of young people who knew how to read, and found very little to satisty their wants. The popularity ol the weekly papers of that period and the immense circulation to which they attained were proof of the newlyawakened interest in literature—with the small L—among the people. “ Admirable as was their new desire to read, what was still more admirable was the fact that tho mental food offered to the masses was clean, healthy, and easily digested. Yet it had a somewhat unfortunate reaction, for, to some extent, it killed the enterprise of the pre-1870 workman, who was bent on educating himself at the cost of sacrifices which were truly astounding. “ Gradually the societies whose aim was the sell education and the intellectual improvement of the working classes withered and died, and only a very few survive to this day. The attractiveness of the then modern literature gradually tempted them from the stern and difficult path of self-instruc-tion. To-day vou will scarcely ever meet in England a miner who can discuss Herbert Spencer’s theories with know-!r-dg-> and understanding, or an artisan who never missed n Faraday or a Crooaes lecture. They were common enough in 1880. “ Th“ newspapers of the period which ended the last century were remarkable productions. I am not one of those who arc always pretending that things were much better done forty years ago, but I do affirm that journalists in this country from ISSO to 1900 were remarkably efficient. Tho spirit of the age however, demanded that important affairs should take precedence over the unimportant, and it must be admitted that important affairs are very often dull affairs. “ With an immense portion of the population only recently initiated into the delights of reading the printed word and seeking only easily digested mental pabulum as well as simple subjects, it is easily understood how eagerly they turned to the newspapers which interested them without making 100 heavy a call on their reasoning faculties.

“ Henceforth the success of the popular Press was assured, and the older and staider newspapers were obliged to face this new .situation as best they could. Some went under, hut a groat number survived the storm and are now going strong—bowing their heads in,the house of Rimraon, but convinced that the Lord God of Elisha is the true God. “ A new Press, unrestricted hy the traditions of the old, came into being. Its energy and enterprise were admirable. Politics, foreign affairs, and the graver aspects of our national life all received the attention that they deserved in the opinion of their directors —that much and no more. No journal ist looking back at this extraordinary revolution in the methods of their profession will deny that on the whole it was a change for the good, and undoubtedly did much to improve the lot of those engaged in newspaper production. “Now, as it seems to me, Mr Gwynnc proceeded, “ another change is imminent. The people of this country are becoming hotter educated, and this improvement has been reflected to a certain extent in the Press. Examine the popular newspapers of to-day and of ten years ago, and you will perceive a marked inclination towards the gia\er problems of life. This does not mean that the human interest ’ story is going to disappear. ' “On the contrary, the mind that is occupied with complicated and difficult questions is all the more eagei to ease the strain by turning to the lighter side of human nature. Our renders, however, will, I believe, exact as a result of their greater knowledge, gained through the improvement of education, that greater weight shall be given to graver issues. “ The trend of journalism is all the more positive by reason of the fact that politics as we understood them twentyfive years ago are no longer so simple as they were. To-day tho only problems facing our statesmen are economic problems. Gone are the purely politi cal differences of the past. Statistics, percentages, cost of living overhead charges, and the position of sterling in the world market hav' replaced the old heated and bitter controversies of Home Rule, Welsh Discst-blishmevo L~-‘ Government, South Africa, Aignanistan, and Imperial policies of Joseph Chamberlain. “It is impossible to get really excited about costs of production, as it is impossible to understand the economic questions of to-day without profound study The desire to understand them and apply the knowledge gained enforces profound examination of a host of subjects which hitherto were left to the experts. Tho reaction on journalism is apparent, and stuff that before the war would have been rejected ai being too dull for words is now used freely, dressed up to look interesting oy the industrious and admirable art of the sub-editor. “So wo move slowly forward—to wards a wider range of subjects and a deeper study of them. Yet, in my opinion, wo,shall never return to the dry-as-dnst methods of ’ the Victorian era. Readers must be helped to know ledge by display, tables, and exquisite summaries. Yet. on tho whole, j am inclined to the opinion that the import ance and possible consciuences of ant event will determine its place in the paper of the future ratiK-r than any-

tiling else. I'ht evolut’.m towards this state of things may be .'low of movement, but 1 cannot help think <>g that it will follow its full eo use Signs are not wanting that it las move 1 rather more rapidly than some of us have realised. ’ At tho conference of-the Institute of Journalists at Portsmouth Mr J. A. Spender, for many years editor of the 1 Westminster Gazette,’ quoted some extracts from instructions which ap peared in a certain American newspaper office. These read : “We have a natural tendency to place emphasis on matters which are ponderous, dull, and uninteresting. Let us resist these tendencies. We must consider that tho composite newspaper reader does not caro a hang about taxes, rates, armaments, public utilities, municipal improvements, and other subjects which might appear to be important. “ Newspaper readers are most interested in s rics which contain primitive aims,, such as self-preservation, love or reproduction, and ambition. Stories containing ono of these elements are good, those containing two are better, and those which contain all three form first-class newspaper journalism.” Mr Spencer added that murders, rescues, fights, and fads as to health came under the heading “self-preservation.” and lor j or reproduction accounted foi stories of marriage, scandal, divorce, human triangles, romance. . . .