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Newspaper Death
The
Athenian
by Mike
Cox
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The
holidays do not always bring miracles, as an East Texas newspaper publisher learned
the hard way one December long ago.
When a newspaper dies, its competitor
may be rid of a pesky business rival, but its community has lost a voice. No city
in Texas has competing same-language daily newspapers, and most of the semi-weeklies
and weeklies operate with a full share of their local market. But that was not
the case in the 19th century, when, as the old saying went, a fellow could establish
a newspaper with “a shirt-tail full of type.”
Even so, market forces are
fickle. In mid-December of 1884, a competing weekly in Henderson County ran aground
on the rocky bottom line of lagging ad sales and poor circulation and sank beneath
the figurative waves of commerce.
However, the proprietor of The Athenian
did it with class. He published word of the demise of his sheet as an obituary.
Born Oct. 4, 1883, the newspaper died effective with that issue, Dec. 12, 1884,
“after a lingering illness of several months.... Aged one year two months and
fourteen days.”
Despite that, the owner remained philosophical and playful
with his puns: “The Athenian was weekly from the beginning, and some of the wise
ones knew beforehand that its existence was only transitory, and are consequently
not surprised, and we might say, not very much grieved at the death of their young
friend.”
Here’s the rest of what he wrote, too good (with the exception
of installing more modern paragraphing) to water down with paraphrase: “While
there are others who have the interest of the county at heart who will learn of
the death of their young but welcome guest with much sorrow, for they tell us
that The Athenian was always bright, telling them of the happenings throughout
the country, imparting to them just such information as they were anxious to hear.
Occasionally the little weekly thing would indulge in a joke, thereby making enemies,
but we don't think that their enmity went so far as to try to injure its existence
further than to refuse to give it their support. Yet with others these little
jokes were listened to with pleasure.
“The report got out that The Athenian
would die about the first of October, and a great many who had seen its advent
into existence with unfeigned pleasure stood aloof and would not come to its assistance,
saying that as it had been given up to die it would surely terminate its career
about that time. A few of them saw that it was still holding on to life with tenacity,
and came to its aid and gave it a little nourishment; but the great majority stood
bank and said: If The Athenian dies I will lose nothing; if it lives, then I will
assist it.
“But now it is past assistance, unless some public-spirited
party performs a miracle and restores it to life. But the days of miracles are
past, and The Athenian, we are sorry to say, has passed away without the hope
of a resurrection. Though it does not believe in the resurrection, may we hope
that it will be resurrected in the near future to a brighter and better existence,
as the poet says: |
“This
lovely bud, so young, so fair,
Called hence by early doom,
Just came to
show how sweet a flower
In Athens would bloom." |
The publisher
signed his self-obituary, “A Mourner.”
Not everyone had disdained the struggling
newspaper. A week earlier, a farmer from Willow Springs wrote the editor that
“we are sorry to learn that you have become dissatisfied with the printing business
and are going to sell out. We would like to have you remain with us and continue
your paper…. It is a good paper, and we want to keep it. How shall we do this?
Lend a liberal patronage. Let it not be said of the citizens of Henderson County
that they will not support a county paper, one that has worked for the good of
the people and the progress of the county generally…. Success to The Athenian.”
© Mike Cox
"Texas
Tales" -
December 27, 2004Column | |
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