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St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, May 10, 1896, Image 4

Image and text provided by Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059522/1896-05-10/ed-1/seq-4/

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li MAKING A MODERN NEWSPAPER ||
JSjS Sketchy Story of How the Globe Is Prepared for the Public. gjg
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THE EDITORIAL ROSTER.
Editor—J. O. PYLE.
Managing Editor—G. F. GIFFORD.
Associate Editor—P. J. SMALLEY. |
City Editor—A. R. FENWICK.
Night Editor—A. E. VERITY.
Telegraph Editor—F. E. CRAWFORD.
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ROOM OF THE EDITOR IX CHIEF.
Literary Editor—MlSS C. A. PRATT.
Political Editor—J. J. RYDER.
Exchange Editor—MlSS B. E. THOMPSON.
Society Editor—MßS. LOUISE CHURCHILL.
Sporting Editor—W. G. McMURCHY.
Court Reporter—J. F. CRONIN.
Dramatic Reporter—F. G. HUNT.
Railroad Reporter—F. L. SEIXAS.
Police Reporter—A. W. VANCE.
Cartoonist—GEOßGE REUSE.
Special Artist—B. SMITH.
Long-time subject for the jokelets of
the newspaper humorists has been the
Impatient call of the printer for
"copy." Sometimes a sketch pictured
the sense, or nonsense, of the para
graph. Generally it showed a frayed
and run-down editor of disordered mien
grinding out stuff which an ungraceful
"def^il" was rushing away with to the
composing room, where Slug 'Steen
was bawling for "copy" over the top
of an old-fashioned wooden "frame."
It is different now, and the once fa
miliar funnyisms are fading away into
the realm of forgotten things. The
newspaper of today is made up for
public perusal on a most perfect sys
tem. There is no friction, no chance
for mistake, practically. Editors, re
porters, copy cutters, printers, proof
readers, make-ups, stereotypers, press
men, mailers, clerks and carriers all
work in unison. What the tireless
newsgatherer has picked up and put
In shape during the day, is put into the
hands of a waiting public all over the
Northwest by the news-distributor
Within a very short time after it has
been brought into the office.
Let us go up and down the line with
an issue of the Globe, and we will get
a clearer understanding of the many
processes which are necessary to turn
It out for public inspection.
The editor-in-chief directs the policy
of the paper at all times. Besides, he
exercises a general supervision over the
conduct and management of all the
different departments outside of the
business office. He it Is who governs
the utterances of the editorial page
and lays out the work for the associate
editors.
The managing editor has general di
rection of the work of preparing the
news for each Issue of the paper. He
consults with his subordinates as to
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re-, i ,i tl THE CITY EDITOR'S ROOM.
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quantity and kind of news to print
and how best to present it to attract
attention. Having control over several
departments, he does not have time to
go much into the detail of the work
of each. Each day he has a talk with
each of the heads of departments un
der him. To his city editor, for in
stance, he confides a lot of "tips" he
has secured on important events, ex
presses a wish as to how much space
should be given each, perhaps ad-
Vises that a certain member of the
force be assigned to look up one of
them, says a kind word about some re
porter who has done a particularly
bright bit of writing or detective work,
calls attention to the fact that some
other member of the local staff has,
through carelessness or otherwise,
failed to secure a piece of news, or
has written it up in a slovenly or in
complete manner. With the night ed
itor or news editor, as he is called in
some offices, he discusses the news of
the outside world. Perhaps he learns
that there has been an accident of a
serious nature on some railway from
50 to 100 miles from St. Paul. If there
has been considerable loss of life or
other sensational features, he sum
mons the best descriptive writer on the
paper, and the latter is directed to
proceed at once to the scene of the
wreck, write one," two, three or more
columns about it, telegraph It to the
paper, secure photographs of the wreck
if possible and return to the home of
fice without unnecessary delay. Per
• haps the night editor has on his desk
schedules of half a dozen great political
gatherings .and three of four of other
character. The managing editor runs
over the list, decides that not one
fourth of the matter can be used, di
rects that one or two of the articles
THE SAINT pACL'DArLY GLOBE:SUNDAY MORNING?* MAY T67~189Q.
be given display heads and that the
others be given small space and small
headlines. If the night editor has re
ceived dispatches of a scurrilous or
salacious character, he refers them im
mediately to the managing editor, who
decides whether they shall be thrown
away entirely, held for verification,
"toned down" or run in full. A news
paper office is constantly receiving by
mail or telegraph libelous letters and
telegrams, and everybody connected
with the news department of the paper
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THE MANAGING EDITOR'S ROOM.
is instructed to see that none of these
get into print. All matter that Is con.
sidered libelous Is referred to the man
aging editor and by him to the editor
in-chief.
Of the telegraph editor, into whose
hands there come every day from
20,000 to 50,000 words of dispatches,
the managing editor inquires as to
the size of his report and its contents
and makes suggestions as to what
portions of it should be thrown away,
what portions condensed and what por
tions run in full. The managing ed
itor of the modern daily newspaper
usually has under him a corps of
artists, who must be kept busy mak
ing pictures of one kind or another.
The cartoons that appear in the paper
are, as a rule, made from suggestions
given the artist by the managing ed
itor. The papers of today, especially
the morning papers, issue every Sun
day morning a large edition of many
pages, a feature of which is pictures.
The direction of the making of pict
ures, together with their selection, is
a part of the work of the managing
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THE REPO RTERS? ROO&t< v
editor. He has daily consultations
with the foreman of the composing
room as to the quantity of advertis
ing in the next issue, and, after "siz
ing up" the situation as to news in
prospect, a decision is reached as to
the number of columns that can be
devoted to the news of the day. A gen
eral idea of space is communicated to
the city editor and night editor and
each is expected to keep within that
allotted to him. The managing editor
keeps an eye on all his departments
and sees that each does its work with
promptness, intelligence and spirit. Be
sides these matters the managing ed
itor of a large Minnesota daily has to
look after several hundred correspond
ents in country towns, sleep with one
eye open and let nothing escape him
that will help him to keep his paper
in the front rank of American journals.
At 1:30 each day the staff of local
reporters shows up for assignment to
duty. The city editor is the man they
report to. He has what is called an
assignment book. In it are listed all
matters which need immediate atten
tion, and also the events scheduled
for the future, so far as they can be
ascertained. As a rule, each reporter
has a regular "run," which he covers
all the year round, and with which
he necessarily becomes entirely famil
iar. In addition each man may get
one or two special assignments; but
these are generally covered by special
reporters, especially if they are of
great public importance.
Regular "runs" on a great newspa
per like the Globe are: The hotels,
the courts, the city hall, the police
stations, the county institutions, so
cial events, the railroads, the capitol,
the schools, base ball and other sports,
politics, the federal building, real es
tate and insurance. Besides these mat-
ters of daily routine, there are special
features to be prepared on the drama,
music, secret societies, noted people or
great public events, and, in fact, any
thing and everything whichthe editor
in-chief, the managing editor or city
editor may consider of general inter
est.
Having his assignment, the reporter
goes out to secure all the news there
may be In any particular case. The
city hali man will visit all the city
officers, from mayor to market master.
He will attend committee meetings
and council meetings, afternoon and
evening, and Is expected to use his
nose for news incessantly as he goes
his rounds. Oftentimes matters which
appear to the casual observer of little
or no Importance develop "hot stuff"
for the trained newspaper man who
keeps his wits always at command.
This is true no matter what assign-'
ment he may be covering.
The court reporter Is expected to
keep close and vigilant watch of all
cases in the district, the probate and
the federal courts. He will familiarize
himself with every cause, small as well
as great, and follow them from the
time of filing until they are finally
disposed of. He must exercise good
judgment in treating every case, be
cause the courts are jealous of their
dignity and honor, and will not view
with favor partial or undignified treat
ment of their proceedings.
The police reporter must keep in
constant communication with the cen
tral station and with all of the sub
stations. He must also cover the cases
tried in the municipal court, and his
work will be all the more thoroughly
performed If he takes the trouble to
become personally acquainted with not
only the heads of the department, but
with the men who walk the beats. Ac
cidents and fires must also be reported
by the police reporter, and he keeps in
touch with the coroner, the city physi
cian and the chief of the fire depart
ment as closely as he does with the
police officers. The personal history of
crooks, a knowledge of their haunts
and their methods is very valuable to
the painstaking police reporter, Fj>r
days at a time this run may not fur
nish much news of a sensational char
acter; but no one can tell what mo
ment there will arise something to
test the abilities of the reporter in
most severe fashion. He la on Buty
from 8 o'clock in the afternoon until
3 in the morning, and at any time
outside of these hours he is liable to
be called out for duty.^^vy^.
The federal building, official home of
all Uncle Sam's officers, be cov
ered carefully every.day fey the report
er whose duty it iSjto vteit it Cases
in the federal courts oftentimes fur
nish interesting reading; and the offic
es of the marshal and district attorney
are generally good for a story of some
sort ;- - .
From the state cap!tol, with Its small
army of officials, a clever reporter
brings in much that Is of importance,
not only to St. Paul readers, but to
the state at large. The supreme court
is a prolific source of legal news; and
the hundreds of politicians who visit
the capitol can always tell interesting
yarns of political planning or Intrigue.
Information concerning the schools
is secured at the offices of the superin
tendent and secretary, and sometimes
at the city hall. Hardly a day passes
when the reporter can afford to neglect
visiting these sources of information.
It is the duty of the hotel reporter
to make several visits to the hotels
every day. In performing his duty
it is almost absolutely necessary that
he should know, personally or by repu
tation, the prominent men of the state
and of the nation. When such men
come to St. Paul, the hotel reporter
Is expected to Interview them and ex
tract any news they may have that
will interest the general public. Dis
tinguished strangers from other lands
must also be seen and made to talk.
To meet such people and secure any
thing from them, the hotel reporter
muct keep himself well informed on
the live topics and latest occurrences
all over . the world.
One of the most important runs in
a city like St. Paul is that of the rail
road reporter. Several of the great i
railroad systems center here, and man
agers, magnates, receivers, railroad
lawyers, stockholders, shippers, all vis- j
it St. Paul mori or less frequently. The
railroad reporter must round them up
and secure pointers that will make ;
his work reflect all the movements in j
railroad circles, from a change in
freight rates to the purchase of a rich
system.
To the society reporter falls the task
of gathering in all the items that will
interest, not only the ladies, but the
gentlemen who participate In social af
fairs. Receptions, hops, surprise par
ties, weddings, the comings and go
ings of people who reside here and
elsewhere. All these must be chron
icled, elaborated and arranged for pub
lication by the society reporter.
The night editor handles all the copy
of every sort which is prepared for j
each issue. He scans it through and
sends it to the composing- room in
the order his judgment dictates. When
the bulk of the copy has been sent up, i
the night editor himself goes to the j
composing room to direct the make-up :
of the paper, and he remains until the \
last form has been closed up and sent !
to press.
All of the telegraphic dispatches are
handled, cut and edited by the tele
graph editor. He finds that the hard
est part of his task generally is the
"boiling down" of long-winded reports
of occurrences of small merit. Some
times it happens, though, that he can
not get enough of a good thing. Then
he gets into the kind of a humor that
drives a man to bicycling. Writing
scare heads is the only pastime the
telegraph editor can enjoy.
Mention has already been made of
the multifarious duties of the city ed
itor. He has a valuable assistant, how
ever, m the sporting editor. Base
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SOCIETY EDITOR'S ROOM.
ball is this gentleman's particular
meat, and if the city editor were not
a man that neither roast nor compli
ment disturbs there might sometimes
be trouble. The sporting editor ds
necessarily a Kodak fiend, but since the
abolition of boxing matches in St. Paul
he has grown a trifle rusty at this
kind of work. It is the duty of the
sporting editor to interview pugilists
and harpoon lazy or clumsy base ball
players. He occasionally says cutting
things about umpires, too, but as a
rule he is a very nice man to meet, not
at all of fearful mien or pugilistic bear
ing.
Real estate deals and Insurance news
are handled by a reporter who some
times finds his field quite barren of
startling news. Still there is always
something doing, and as real estate
dealers are in many instances insur
ace agents, the news of this depart
ment is quite easily gathered.
County officers and the Institutions
maintained under their care always
receive the attention of a reporter. He
attends meetings of the county board
and its committees, notes changes or
improvements in the public service and
generally shows uj> everything that is
going on.
Along about 5 o'clock the reporters
begin to come in with the news of the
day. Each man sits down to a type
writer, unless he prefers to use a pen-"
ell, and proceeds to elaborate the notes
he has gathered. As a general rule,
the manner of preparing the news Is
left to the judgment of the reporter;
but In some instances the city editor
lays down the lines on which the news
is to be written, more especially as to
•length of articles. He knows the space
to be filled by local news, and must
also have a good general idea of the
relative importance of what is brought
in. Each reporter, as he finishes writ
ing his grist of news, lays the manu
script on the desk of the city editor or
his assistant These read each arti
cle through very carefully, and often
change the wording, Btrlke out objec
tionable expressions, or rewrite some
part that does not suit them. It Is
the city editor who writes the head
lines on city matters that appear in the
paper. On the degree of importance
to which tne subject matter of any
article is entitle* depends the kind
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of heading it gets. Only the most im
portant matters are given display
heads.
After the copy has been edited and
heads written for it, the night editor
takes it in hani and notes the mat
ters which deserve mention in the bul
letin which the Globe prints on
the first page every morning. From the
night editor's desk tot- copy is sent
as wanted through pneumatic tubes to
the' composing room. On emerging
from the tube it lands on the desk of
the copy cutter. He cats it into "takes"
convenient for setting on the machines.
The various kinds of matter—editorial,
telegraph, local. Mini rapolis, miscel
laneous and Sunday features — are
marked by letter and number, to pre
vent any confusion in making up. For j
instance, if a piece of Minneapolis
hews is cut into six . "takes" it will
be numbered 1M to 6M. When the
matter is set up by the operators
they lay it in Its appropriate place
and put a mark alongside which cor
responds with the mark on the copy.
Thus the galley boy can tell at a
glance when an article is complete
and ready for proving. Without this
system of letters and numbers it would
be quite impossible to do expeditious
work in the composing room, because
each operator may be working on a
different kind of matter at the same
time, or they may all be working on
one kind, and it very frequently hap
pens that the last part of an article is
laid down first.
The galley boy mentioned above is
an humble but very useful factor in a
newspaper office. It is his duty to see
that the compositors place their mat
ter properly on the galleys, which hold
it temporarily. When a galley is full
or an article is finished he secures the
type lines by locking them with a
stick which tapers from an inch In
thickness at one end to a quarter of
an inch at the other. This is laid on
the galley, next to the type, and wedge
shaped pieces of wood are pushed tight
ly between the stick and the side of
the galley,,which is of brass, and very
strongly made» When locked up, the
galley of type lines is laid on a proof
press and the face of the matter is
Inked with a hand roller. A damp
ened strip of paper is laid on top of
it, and a heavy iron roller Is run over
it from end to end. The result is a
proof; and one or more proofs are
taken of each galley. One Is taken on
yellow paper, which is afterward cut
up and each operator takes the pieces
bearing his number. Pasted together,
these pieces make up his "string," for
which he is paid so much per 1,000 ems.
How much he makes depends solely on
the operator's adeptness and ability to
compose correctly from the copy fur
nished him.
Proof sheets, with the copy repre
senting the matter thereon, are taken
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- ROOM OF THE ARTISTS.
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to the .proof room, where three men are
kept busy all night reading them and
marking corrections. If the operator's
work is 'dirty," full of errors, a revise
copy of the proof is demanded, to make
sure that the proper corrections have
been made.
When the proofreader Is satisfied
the galleys are carried to the imposing
stones, where the foreman and his as-
MHflHHß''JSH^^^^^^H|H|^H^HHH^H ___________________________
ADVERTISIMG .DEPARTMENT.
sistants take them In hand and "dump"
them—that is, place the long rows of
type lines in the different forms which
make up the eight, ten, twelve or twen
ty pages of the Dally, Sunday, or
Weekly Globe. These "forms" are
In reality type-high and heavy frames
of steel. When filled they are locked
up by means of screws at the bottom,
and are rolled Into the stereotype room.
In passing, it may be stated that the
Globe is made up in such a way
that the different classes of news ap
pear on the same .pages every day
In the year. The first page Is devoted
to editorial paragraphs and telegraph
ic news of the world. Sometimes im
portant local news also appears there,
but the second page Is where St. Paul
news is placed. On the third page
the Minneapolis news will always be
found, and with it routine telegraph
mater. The fourth is called the edi
torial page. It also contains state
press comment, theatrical news and
purely literary matter. Sporting news
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EDITOR'S RECEPTION ROOM. 1
goes on the fifth page, except in the
Sunday issue. Railroad, financial and
commercial news occupy the sixth
page. On the seventh will be found the
people's wants, real estate and flnan
clal advertisements. The eighth Is
devoted to minor local news.
After midnight tne making up of the
Globe begins, under the direction of
the foreman. Shortly after 10 o'clock
operations are begun in the stereotype
room, and from then until the last
plate has been sent down to the press
room no livelier scene can be witnessed
in any workshop In St. Paul. Every
person, from foreman to galley boy,
is on the gallop every minute of the
time; yet no one interferes with the
other's work. Great handfuls of sil
very-looking type lines are rapidly
placed between the shining brass col
umn rules by the foreman and his
assistants. Almost as fast as the boys
can deliver the galleys at the stone
they are emptied and put away. Every
ten or fifteen minutes a completed
page is rolled into the stereotype room;
with a great clatter over the iron
covered floor. There the scantily-ap
pareled workmen seize the truck and
transfer the page to a hydraulic table
whose steel top can be quickly raised
or lowered. The type Is leveled with a
smooth wooden block, called a planer,
one or two motions of a practiced hand
oils the face of the type, another swift
motion places a damp sheet of papier
mache on top; then two great stiff
brushes with long handles are brought
into play. There is a muscular man at
the end of each brush, and they beat a
rattling tattoo as they pound the paples
mache into every crevice of every let
ter in the page. This done the truck
Is pushed over and against a hollow
steel table heated by steam. A pile
of woolen blankets Is thrown on top
of the papier mache, the form Is pushed
onto the steam table, shoved under a
press at one end and then a heavy steel
cover is screwed down onto the form.
It is left there from seven to ten min
utes to allow the papier mache to be
come dry and hard.
In the meantime the men in the
composing room have \een putting ia
some swift work themselves.and anoth
er page is rushed into the hands of the
stereotypers. The room is hot enough
to satisfy a congealed Hottentot, hut
the stereotypers keep right along a.s If
it were as cool as the city comptroller.
Every motion Is made to count, and
while one man takes a form off the
steam table and removes the dried
matrlce a second is working away on
the last page In. The rough sides and
ends of the matrice are clipped off with
a big pair of scissors, it 13 rammed Into
a concave casting box, fastened down
and covered. Then two of the men
seize an Iron ladle across a hot pot
full of molten metal; they dip the
ladle Into the shimmering mass, raise
it out full, pour the metal into an
opening in the top of the casting box
and let it fill. Almost as quickly as
they can get back from the pot where
, ] Continued oa Tenth Page*
3

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