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- Description:
- This 2-page letter was handwritten in black ink on both sides of a slightly yellowed piece of paper by Frank I. Cobb who signed the letter as the "Leading editorial writer, Detroit Free Press." His letter is entitled, "The Newspapers of Detroit," and the text of the letter has been transcribed as follows: "The Newspapers of Detroit. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century there are seven daily newspapers published in Detroit - five in English and two in German. Of the English newspapers the Free Press and the Tribune are printed in the morning, The Evening News, The Evening Journal and Today in the afternoon. The Abend-Post and the Volksblatt, German, are published in the afternoon also. The principal owner of The Free Press is William E. Quinby; of The News and The Tribune, James E. Scripps; of The Journal, William Livingstone; of Today, James Schermerhorn; of the Abend-Post, August Marxhausen; of the Volksblatt, A. Niederpruem. Of these The Free Press, independently Democratic in politics, is the most influential and the worst edited. Little attention is paid to the manner in which news matter is written for it. It is very susceptible to "respectable" influence, and always aims to voice the opinions of so-called better-element. It has no opinions of its own. It is eminently clean - and steeped. The News is the best-edited and most readable, but the least reliable - due largely to its habitual recklessness of statement, and its desire to be "clear" regardless of the facts. The Tribune is a colorless morning edition of The News; but better edited on the whole than The Free Press. It is without editorial influence. The Journal is statistically Republican in politics and is one of the few remaining types of the bigoted partisan newspaper. It is fairly well-edited, and is clean. It, too, is very susceptible to Detroit club influence. Today is a puny monstrosity, printed on cheap paper. It prints news in bulletin form under heaving black head-lines. It has no merit except cheapness. The Abend-Post is the "organ" of the German Republicans and the Volksblatt of the German Democrats. As the old German population dies off, their field is gradually becoming smaller. Detroit newspapers compare favorably with those of other cities of the size. If anything they are above the average. Like all newspapers published at this time, they are unreliable; but seldom maliciously so. Economy explains the maul of accuracy. Good salaries must be paid to good reporters; so as few as possible are hired. All reporters are so overburdened with work that they have little time to verify statements. None of the Detroit newspapers wields great influence editorially; but all more than they deserve. Being expected to prophesy, I venture to predict that the Twentieth Century's chief reform in newspaper making will be in the direction of improving the quality of the news - having it better written, more intelligently written, and more accurately written. If the Twenty-first century has newspapers and those newspapers are reliable - one who will these be dust, would wish to be resurrected long enough to glance over the head lines of one of them. Frank I. Cobb Leading Editorial Writer, Detroit Free Press."
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society