Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 184, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1911 — Reporter Some Times has Difficulty to Get the News. [ARTICLE]

Reporter Some Times has Difficulty to Get the News.

The personal items which appear in the newspapers are eagerly scanned by nearly every reader. They are not items of importance, in a great news sense, and yet they are one of the most interesting departments of the country newspaper and a never failing source of supply of material for the alleged humorists on the city papers. Usually three or four lines suffices to tell the story, but those little personal items are sometimes a source of annoyance to the person who is trying to gather them. It is not infrequently that one has to apply the force pump something after this manner: , ■ ' . / “Who were your guests,, last Sunday?” "Oh, some folks from Beanville" “What were their names?” “Case.” “The given name, please.” “Emma.” “Mistress or Miss?” “Mistress.” “Anyone with her?” “Yes, her daughter.” More business of learning daughter’s name and whether married or single. Then you get another tip as follows: “We had some more company, too.” “Who was it, please “' —— “Mr. Jones.”

Then you go through the same performance to get the given name and address, and a dozen other questions that finally elicit the information that Mrs. Jones was there also, and the additional fact that their daughter and her husband were also of the party. Occasionally it happens that some of the party have done something worth while, or have had an adventure, or met with good luck or misfortune that lends interest to the simple announcement of the visit, but it takes a lot of pumping to get the facts. Those items are a necessary part of the paper each week and a great many persons are very obliging regarding s;uch information and in a straightforward way give the essential -'details without hesitation. But there are enough of the other kind to almost give the reporter the blind staggers at times.

Don’t be backward about giving information to the newspapers. If it happens that for the best interests of all concerned an item should not be printed there are none more ready to keep the fact in confidence. But when you can help a bit, don’t force the reporter to use the force pump.