THE RECORD STORY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 294, 8 June 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE RECORD STORY

NKWB GATHERERS AND THE TITANIC. Not the least interesting feature of the grim sea tragedy which has plunged a large share of the world in grief (says the New York Herald of April 21), was the manner in which the newspapers of the country, especially the great metropolitan dailies, gathered every scrap of information concerning the greatest ocean tragedy of all time. For the first time in a week, thousands of newspaper makers are trying to catch up with the sleep lost since Monday night, the time when the awful truth about the fate of the Titanic became known. For five days the men on the staffs of the local papers have been on duty the greater part of the time, stealing away for a few minutes to get a hurried meal or a few winks of sleep, ana this same condition of affairs, in smaller proportions, existed in most of the newspaper offices throughout the country. Experts in handling big news stories say that no happening of the last 25 years made such great demands on the strength and resourcefulness of the men who serve the reading public with its daily news. Certainly 110 event Ims ever caused a greater demand for special stories of every character, the requests reaching this city from all parts of the United 'States and Canada. Newspapers in small cities and towns, publications that have never before had special stories, spent large sums of money to the end that their subscribers might have the benefit of a graphic description by skilled writers.

Men with half a century of newspaper experience behind them are unanimous in the opinion that the story of the sinking of the ill-fated Titanic'was one of the biggest and most important that the newspapers are ever called upon to handle. These are the men who handled the news of the Brooklyn Theatre fire, the Johnstown flood, the Martinque disaster, the Iroquois Theatre fire, the San Francisco earthquake, the burning df the steamboat General Slocum, and other catastrophes attended by great loss of life and property. Tn putting the Titanic's tragic talc ahead of all these famous disasters they point out the fact that they affected but one section of the world or country, while the sinking of the White Star line giantess claimed more than 1500 victims from all parts of the world, and sent the messenger of grief to millions of hearts on both sides of the Atlantic. In the noble band of martyrs that went to the bottom in the shattered hulk tff the Titanic were a score of men and women whose names have been well known in all parts of the world for years, owners of immense fortunes, captains of industry, merchant princes, authors, artists and men prominent in the higher professions. The pomp and ceremony which marked the launching of the monster vessel, the dramatic circumstances surrounding the collision, and the superb courage of the passengers were just a few of the things which made the wreck of the Titanic°a happening which touched the high-water mark in tragic events. Any incident connected with the maiden trip of the world's greatest steamship would have been worthy of record by the newspapers, the local .papers having made extensive arrangements to get the news of her first voyage long before she weighed anchor on what proved to be her first and last trip. When the first flash last Sunday night warned the telegraph operators in newspaper offices throughout the land that the Titanic had met with a. mishap, the men behind the pencils and typewriting machines got ready to round up a big story, but when the announcement of her sinking was verified, every editor, reporter, artist and photographer realised that the busiest hours of their were at hand. They guessed light, for the week just closed lias been one of the hardest in the history of the newspaper business.

P>eginniiig Monday night, newspapers outside tlic metropolis began beseeching tlie local papers and Press Associations to send them every word, and to let 110 details go by that might add to the completeness of the story. Tuesday these outside papers started whole staffs toward this city in order that their own men should be on the scene when the Carpathia arrived with its cargo of grief and misery. At least 500 reporters, photographers and artists came from Baltimore. Boston. Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinatti. St. Louis. Cleveland. BulVaV Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and points as far off as Minesota. to supplement the army of men who gathered in the details and pictures for the local papers. Many of these out-of-town men brought along their own telegraph operators, in order that nothing should prevent their papers from having the best of service. Oil arriving here these men had to obtain credentials from the Federal, municipal and police departments before they could get to work, a task that entailed considerable hustling oil their part. Scores of reporters lived in ocean-going tugs along the coast for the better part of last week, every one of them willing to risk his life if necessary in order to get any additional scrap of information to his paper. An army of photographers found little to do. this being one of the few stories in which they failed to circumvent the elaborate preparations made to thwart them. Outside of getting photographs of the Carpathia as she came up the North River, or of snapping nn occasional survivor, they did not get a chance at the scenes of the piers, all of which would have made prize pictures. The work done on the Herald was, of course, typical of all the metropolitan papers. Something like 1,500,000 words were sent by telegraph during the week to the 'Herald itself and those using its news services. Four tugs were employed to ply between New York and Newport looking for news. Reporters were stationed at all ports to pick up wliat--1 ever .scraps were going.

To the million of readers who have no idea of the manner in which a metropolitan newspaper is made, the editorial department of the 'Herald on Thursday night would have furnished an object lesson of the tremendous amount of brains and energy required to whip a storv of world-wide interest into shape. in all its long history the office never has known such a busy night, yet with all the nerve-racking, heart-breaking pressure of the race with time there was no trace of confusion. The human machine —the machine that has played an honorable part in the events of the- last 70 years or more—never worked more smoothly, albeit it has never before been keyed up to such dizzy speed. Three hours before the Carpathia was warped into her berth on West street the men who were to receive the avalanche of news from the men outside on the firing line were at their posts. From the time the Carpathia reached Sandy Hook the news began to filter in over the wires and telephones, the tide of detail rising steadily until it reached its flood about 10 o'clock, remaining at that altitude until long after a new day was born. Reporters who had been stationed at every point in the territory between here and the scene of the disaster either reported in person or got in touch with the office bv wirt.

By half-past nine the news-gathering machine was going at top speed. Every inch of space in the big room was occupied, the exception being the passage-

ways left open for the copy boys to carry, out their instructions. Men worn out by long vigil, faces white and tense under the strain, but eyes aglisten at the- thought of participating in the preparation of such an epoch-making story, I.bent low Over their typewriting machines, the stead)' click of hundreds of Hying fingers against the, keyboards harmonising with the clicking of scores of telegraph instruments in an adjoining room. Sheet after sheet, freighted with the tragic tale of the sea, was passed on to the city editor, to be transferred by liim to one of his subordinates, the work being distributed to ensure accuracy as well as speed. All this eye-dazzling speed, and not a trace of disorder! Directions issued in a conversational tone, and none of the uproar and noise that might very well be a part of such a night. Upstairs in the composing room and down in the press department, there was the same orderly condition of affairs. One, two, three, four editions were sent away with the story of the century, and then, as the morning began to grey, the men who prepared it filed out into th<j square and home.