The Newspaper Revolution

From the Rockford (Ill.) Register.] "The era of cumbrous blanket-sheets seems coming to an end, and newspapers like the New York Sun and The Chicago Daily News are the prominent journalistic successes of the period. The papers that give enough reading matter to fill a good volume in each daily issue are going out of favor with many people who have some other employment for their time than the search through mountains of straw for kernels of news. The sheets that give the news systematically and amply, and without unnecessary padding, are taking the lead in the great cities." 

Forty years ago the chief duty of an editor, in view of his limited facilities, was to gather all the news he could and print it. Intelligence was transmitted slowly ; many occurrences of interest were never heard of beyond their immediate locality; ocean mails were long in transit, and the overthrow of an European dynasty was not known here until long after the event. Suddenly there came a change. The railroad and the telegraph superseded old methods, and the newspaper literally flooded with news. The death of a petty ward politician in San Francisco, the result of a Presidential election, the accession of a sovereign, the outbreak of a war, and notice that a shanty had been burden in Texas, all were hurried over the wires into the newspaper offices, and there being no idea of discrimination, all were printed.  Thus originated the "blanket sheet." The publisher who could send out the biggest blanket for a nickel was the most enterprising; the biggest paper was the best; it was a period of bigness. But after a time the very excess of the evil brought the remedy, and there began an era of discrimination, during which arose such journals as the New York Sun and THE CHICAGO DAILY NEWS. That the public appreciated the new departure is best evidenced in the fact that the Sun reached a circulation of  150,000 a day, and The Daily News 175,000. The wonderful and constantly growing popularity of the condensed, low-priced papers has so far brought the cumbrous and high-priced blanket-sheets to their senses, that they have now somewhat reformed both as to size and price, but they are still too far removed from the true ideal of American journalism to meet the needs of the great majority.

 In the west The CHICAGO DAILY NEWS has been the first to appreciate and meet the situation, and it now enjoys the results of its twelve years of pioneer work in a daily circulation averaging over three times that of any of its contemporaries, and considerably more than the circulations of all other Chicago dailies combined.  It is hardly necessary to say that such circulation could not be attained, much less maintained, except by a paper of high grade of excellence, as well as one sold at a popular price.  To win such recognition the cheap paper must be as good a newspaper as the best of the higher-priced competitors.  And this, THE DAILY NEWS certainly is.  It is a member of the Associated Press, and is the only paper in Chicago which possesses a franchise which secures it to it both the day and night dispatches of the Association.  In the general field of news-gathering it represents in the highest degree the progressive enterprise of American journalism: as a news-paper it challenges comparison with any in the land.  In its editorial columns THE DAILY NEWS speaks from the standpoint of the independent newspaper, and thereby escapes the temptation of impairing honest and honorable influence by condoning or defending the questionable under the pressure of party allegiance.  It is not an organ, neither is it a neutral in questions of principle. It has the courage of its convictions.  The organ of no party, sect or interest, it voices the united demand of all those better elements of society in behalf of purity, honesty and decency in all the relations of life.  By just so much as it thus commends itself to the regard of the truly "best people" of the community does it voluntarily renounce any community of interest with all others.

So conspicuous a success must have its imitators, and THE DAILY NEWS has the endorsement such initations always bestows.  However as it is the only one-cent  paper in Chicago or the West which is a member of the Associated Press -- all other imitation must continue, so far as news giving value is concerned, to be but imitation,  THE CHICAGO DAILY NEWS is "the original," "the best".

 Sold by all newsdealers at ONE CENT per copy, six cents per week. Mailed, postage paid, for $3.00 per year, or 25 cents per month. Every farmer can now have his daily paper at little more than the cost of the old time weekly. Address VICTOR F. LAWSON, Publisher THE DAILY NEWS, Chicago