American Academy of Political and Social Science

“ The condemning of advertisements of doubtful decency is natural, and it is in this phase of advertising that probably the greatest advance has been made since the publishing of the Kansas Code. The so-called aristocracy of Kansas newspaper men, which makes up the most of the Kansas State Editorial Association, has contempt for the newspapers that publish doubtful advertisements and it must be admitted that an important reason for advancement in this line has been legal restriction. ”

“ Some of the greatest advertising in the world has been stolen through the news columns in the form of dispatches from unscrupulous press agents. Millions have been made on the rise and fall of stock quotations caused by newspaper lies, sent out by designing reporters. ”

“ In the matter of injustice in the handling of news, the Code has a comprehensive statement. I believe that the small-town newspapers have less of a tendency toward injustice in forming public opinion regarding a criminal than a large city newspaper. I believe it fair to state that the effect of the Code has been to call attention of editors to their responsibility in the matter of justice in a way that has brought favorable results. The con- demning of the practice of reporters' making themselves detectives in con- nection with criminal cases, is sweeping. ”

“ We condemn as against moral decency the publication of any advertisement which will Obviously lead to any form of retrogression, such as private medical personals, indecent massage parlor advertisements, private matrimonial advertisements, physician's or hospital's advertisement for the care of private diseases, which carry in them any descriptive or suggestive matter of the same. ”

“ Every individual has the right of the protection of the law of libel against injustice by a newspaper, but it is a commentary either on the high stand- ard of Kansas newspapers or the inadequacy of the law that libel suits are very rarely successful.
Individual planks of the Code from the standpoint of the editor are un- doubtedly violated; for example, re- porters, to the personal knowledge of the writer, are not immune from
special courtesies given by interested persons with selfish interests. ”

“ Whereas a view or conclusion is the product of some mind, or minds, and whereas the value and significance of a view is dependent upon the known merit of its author or authors, the reader is entitled, and has the right to know the personal identity of the author, whether by the signature in a communication, the statement of the reporter in an inter- view, or the caption in a special article and the paper as such should in no wise become an advocate. ”

“ We do not favor the es- tablishment of a minimum rate card for advertising which would be uniform among publishers, but we do favor a more thorough understanding of the subject of costs and commend to our members the labors of the American Printers Cost Commission of the First International Cost Congress recently held in Chicago. Let us learn our costs and then each establish a rate card based upon our investment and the cost of production, having no considera- tion for the comparative ability of the advertisers to pay, or the semi-news nature of the advertisement. ”

“ An in- terview or statement should not be displayed previous to its publication without the permission of the author.
Bounds of Publicity. A man's name and portrait are his private property and the point where they cease to be private and become public should be defined for our association.
The Kansas Code takes up a vital problem for every editor. As a general rule the Kansas editor has made favorable progress along the lines outlined by the Code. The whole matter of editorial views simmers down to the personal responsibility of the editor in charge to be the spokes- man of public interest. ”

“ We hold that the publisher in no degree be held responsible for the statement of fact or opinion found in an advertisement.
Freedom of Space. We hold the right of the publisher to become a broker in land, loan, rental and mer- cantile transactions through his want and advertising columns and condemn any movement of those following such lines to restrict this right of the pub- lisher to the free sale of his space for the
purpose of bringing buyer and seller together. ”

“ We should avoid permitting large institutions or persons to own stock in, or make loans to our publishing houses if we have reasonable grounds to believe that their interests would be seriously affected by any other than a true presentation of all news and a free willingness to present every possible point of view under signature or in- terview. ”

“ In dealing with the offenses against private morality we should refuse to print any record of the matter, however true, until the warrant has been filed or the arrest made, and even then our report should contain only an epitome of the charges by the plaintiff and the answers by the defendant, preferably secured from their respective attorneys. ”

“ We should not allow the Presumed knowledge on the part of the interviewed that we are news- paper men to permit us to quote them without their explicit permission, but where such knowledge is certain we insist upon our right to print the views unless directly forbidden. ”

“ The publication of the rumors and common gossips or the assump- tions of a reporter relative to a suspect pending his arrest or the final culmina- tion of his trial. A staff of reporters is not a detective agency, and the right of a suspect to a fair and impartial trial is often confounded by a reporter 's practise of printing every ill-founded rumor of which he gets wind. ”

“ We condemn the signing of contracts carrying with them the publication of any amount of free reading matter.
We condemn the acceptance of any exchange articles, trade checks, or courtesies in payment for advertising, holding that all advertising should be paid for in cash.
We condemn the giving of secret rebates upon the established advertis- ing rate as published.
Rates. All advertising rates should be on a unit per thousand basis and all advertisers are entitled to a full knowl- edge of the circulation, not only of the quantity but also of the distribution. ”

“ Position contracts should be charged a fixed percentage above the established rate of the paper, and no contracts should be signed wherein a failure to give the position required results in a greater reduction from the established rate than the position premium is greater than the established rate. ”

“ We hold that the freedom of space denies us the right to sign any contract with a firm which contains any restric- tion against the wording of the copy which we may receive from any other firm, even to the mentioning of the goods of the first firm by name. ”

“ We should not even by insinuation interpret of facts our conclusions, unless by signature we become personally responsible for them. Ex- position, explanation, and interpreta- tion should be left to the field of the expert or specialist with a full consciousness of his personal responsibility. ”

“ No re- porter should be retained who accepts any courtesies, unusual favors, op- portunities for self-gain, or side employment from any factors whose interests would be affected by the manner in which his reports are made. ”