Signifying Nothing

Where is our journalism going? The popular mode of answering this question is at present to compile by area the percentage components of newspapers. A comparison of such figures was recently made in Editor and Publisher, trade journal of journalism.

Professor D. F. Wilcox ("wellknown franchise and public utility expert") prepared a table of the percentage content of the newspapers of 25 years ago. He based his figures on the examination of 9,000 columns of reading matter in 110 newspapers from 14 cities. His results: War news 17.9% Foriegn 1.2 Politics 6.4 Crime 3.1 Business 8.2 Sport 5.1 Society 2.3 Miscellaneous 11.1 All News 55.3 Editorials 3.9 Letters 3.2 All Opinion 7.1 Illustrations 3.1 Literature 2.4 Advertisements 32.1 The Newspapers of 1899 100% One Paul W. White then made a corresponding analysis of present-day journals for Editor and Publisher. He examined 19,200 columns of mattter from 110 newspapers in 63 cities. His results : Foreign news 2.3% Politics 6.5 Crime 4.9 Business 7.9 Sport 7.5 Theatre 1.5 Society 0.8 Radio 0.9 Miscellaneous .. . 8.2 All News 40.5 Editorials 2.2 Letters .. . 0.5 All Opinion 2.7 Illustrations 5.7 Literature 5.3 Advertisements .. .. 45.8 The Newspapers of 1924 100%

The percentages after being all set out seem to prove very little except the obvious. Advertising has increased. Radio has made its appearance. Sport has picked up. But in general the analysis fails to prove anything. It is only by getting at the figures of the actual quantity of news retailed that changes are really apparent.

The quantity of news printed has increased about one-tenth. But this tenth includes a tripling in the volume of foreign news; a round half added to the volume of political news (this must be discounted since this is a Presidential year) ; about two and half times as much crime news; about one and a half times as much business news; about two and a third times as much sport news. The only kind of news which actually fell off in volume was society news, which was cut almost in half.

Editorials fell off more than an eighth and the space given to letters fell off by more than three-quarters. Illustrations almost tripled. Literature more than tripled. Advertising more than doubled.

On the whole the comparison is not unfavorable to 1924. But it still is greatly lacking in significance. Here is quantity. But what of quality and kind? It is in quality and kind of matter that the newspapers of today must really prove their progress.

The Pearly Gates Out, out, brief candle! The International Interpreter, "The World-Wide News Weekly," closed its doors. Two (Continued on Page 25)