golden treasury of contemporary literature, not even, perhaps, an
exponent of political principles. Its primary purpose is to report
contemporary history--to keep us informed concerning the events that are
taking place each day in the world about us.

To this idea is added another. A newspaper must be interesting. In these
days of many newspapers few readers are satisfied with merely being
informed; they want to be informed in a way that interests them. To
this demand every one connected with a newspaper office tries to cater.
It is the defense of the sensational yellow journals and it is the
reason for everything in the daily press. There is so much to read that
people will not read things that do not interest them, and the paper
that succeeds is the paper that interests the greatest number of
readers. Circulation cannot be built up by printing uninteresting stuff
that the majority of readers are not interested in, and circulation is
necessary to success.

This desire to interest readers is behind the whole question of news
values. News is primarily the account of the latest events, but, more
than that, it is the account of the latest events that interest readers
who are not connected with these events. Further than that, it is the
account of the latest events that interest the greatest number of
readers. Susie Brown may have sprained her ankle. The fact is
absorbingly interesting to Susie; it is even rather interesting to her
family and friends, even to her enemies. If she is well known in the
little town in which she lives her accident may be interesting enough to
the townspeople for the local weekly to print a complete account of it.
However, the event is interesting only to people who know Susie, and
after all they do not comprise a very large number. Hence her accident
has no news value outside the local weekly. On the other hand, had Susie
sprained her ankle in some very peculiar manner, the accident might be
of interest to people who do not know Susie. Suppose that she had
tripped on her gown as she was ascending the steps of the altar to be
married. Such an accident would be very unusual, almost unheard of.
People in general are interested in unusual things, and many, many
readers would be interested in reading about Susie's unusual accident
although they did not know Susie or even the town in which she lives.
Such a story would be the report of a late event that would interest
many people; hence it would ha