DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 61, 3 June 1927, Page 14

DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

BAD JOURNALISM (Copyright, 1927.) J RECENTLY read two articles which illustrate the difference between bad journalism and good. The poor article was by one who shall be nameless, and the good one was by Damon Runyon, a wellknown writer, and justly famous. Mr. Runyon was to report the Browning case, and in his first article about it he tells just what Browning’s real name is, and what the trouble is all about, and this not-withstanding the fact that everybody is supposed to know it. It shows that a good article in a newspaper ought to furnish in a resume all about a case, and not assume knowledge on the part of the reader which many readers do not possess. The poor article was one written about henequen. It goes on to tell all about henequen’s decline in Mexic* because of the great supply from the Philippine Islands. It discusses learnedly the whole matter, in which it says that every resident of Yucatan has a vital interest, and it is also of interest to the world. Notwithstanding there are thousands of people who do noi know what henequen is, the article never explains this matter. Of course, you can look up the word in the dictionary, and find out about it in the encyclopaedia, maybe. But newspaper readers do not have encyclopaedias and dictionaries handy always. The article should first have explained what It was all about. Too many newspaper articles are written oh the same theory that the negro barber had who once shaved Senator Mason, of Illinois. The senator had gone into a town in Southern Illinois to make a campaign speech during an election. He went into a barber’s! shop to get shaved and to change his collar. It was about noon. As the barber was shaving the senator, he said: “Senator, you oughta bin lieah this mornin’. Mr. Jones, of Kentucky, made the finest speech I ever heard He spoke for two hours. I could listen to that man all day. It was the most eloquenes’ speech I ever heard.” “Well,” said the senator, “I am sorry I wasn’t here: what did he talk about?” “Well,” said the coloured barber, scratching his head, “he didn’t just say.” Too many articles are written without justs saying what they are all about.