Saturday, March 24, 2018

Fake News and Feuding Editors



 

My March release, How the West was Wed, follows the story of two rivaling newspaper editors.  JOSIE LOCKWOOD is the successful editor of the town’s only newspaper until the very charming, very handsome BRANDON WADE moves to town to start his own newspaper. At first Josie welcomes the competition, but soon learns that readers prefer Wade’s bold hyperbole to her more serious type of journalism.
I especially enjoyed writing about a Victorian newspaper woman. Women editors date back to colonial times, and some edited publications in the east during the first half of the nineteenth century. Still, in those early days, the newspaper business was primarily a male occupation.
This changed somewhat during the westward movement. The late eighteen-hundreds saw some three hundred females editing 250 publications in eleven western states. California led the way with 129 known female editors. No doubt there were more, but some female publishers sought credibility by listing a husband’s name on a masthead.
Newspaperwomen covered everything from national and local news to household hints. Newsprint at the time also carried what today might be called fake news. Along with their morning cup of Arbuckle’s, Victorian readers were regaled with stories of mysterious creatures, flying objects, ghosts, extraterrestrials and other strange phenomena.
It’s not hard to see why the news business would attract female interest. Having control over editorial content afforded women the opportunity to lead a crusade, promote religious and educational activities, and bring a community together. Women still didn’t have the vote, of course, but some female publishers had strong political views which they were all too glad to share with readers.
Editorial disputes like the one between Brandon and Josie were common in the Old West, but not all had such a happy ending. Sometimes things went too far.  In some instances, the feud ended in gunfire.
Most feuds, however, were carried out with a war-of-words. Rival editors prided themselves on the quality and quantity of their insults. Typesetting was a tedious job. It took less time and effort to call someone an idiot or numbskull in print than to find a gentler approach.
If editors weren’t fighting each other, they were fighting readers. Any editor printing an inflammatory story could expect to be accosted at the local saloon or challenged to a duel. Things got so bad that an editor of a Kansas newspaper wrote: “What this community needs just now is a society for the prevention of cruelty to writing men, otherwise editors.”
 After one man was acquitted of killing the editor of the Leavenworth Times, the Marion County Record wrote, “That’s just the way with some juries—they think it no more harm to shoot an editor than a jack-rabbit.”
Fortunately, today’s disgruntled readers are more likely to drop a subscription than drop an editor, but one thing hasn’t changed; For more than a hundred and fifty years, the death of newspapers has been predicted.  It was once thought that the telegraph would do the ghastly deed.  Today, it’s the Internet. 


So, what do you think?  Are newspapers still relevant? 

  Just Released!

The only thing threatening their love is success.

 

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the informative post. I had no idea women editors had been around since Colonial times. Sad to say, I haven't read a newspaper in ages, other than garage sale ads. I prefer to hear the news when I'm in the car or watch it on tv. That's an awful thing for a writer to say, isn't it?

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    1. Vickie, I don't think that's awful. Newspaper aren't what they used to be. I used to cut out human interest stories for book ideas. Now my local newspaper is filled with obits, ads and AP reprints.

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  2. I think for the local news they are but for anything else all you have to do is get online.

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  3. Interesting historical post about editors. Newspapers are still great for local news, obituaries, school activities/honor roll, etc.

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    1. Marilyn, my local paper used to carry local news, but now reprints AP news. I find out more local stuff from my hairdresser.

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  4. I appreciate the local papers who are still struggling to stay afloat. In our area it seems common for really small papers to consolidate. So far we still have a local paper in our area.

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