"No Tabloid"

When Scripps-Howard established the five-column Washington News ten years ago the publishers had no squeamishness about having the sheet called a "tabloid." Only because of the Manhattan Daily News and Boston Record did the U. S. reading public know that such things as condensed newspapers existed. But in the ensuing decade the tabloids of Hearst, Macfadden, Patterson & McCormick performed startling exploits, created for the word "tabloid'' a special meaning of loudness, blatancy, sexationalism.

Lately the Washington News surveyed the field of U. S. metropolitan tabloids, decided it was in bad company. National advertisers were slighting the News, its publishers feared, because they did not realize "it is not a picture paper nor does it emphasize crime or sex."

The News offered a $100 prize for a word that applied to the News better than "tabloid." Shrewdly, the offer was addressed not to the public but to a list of several hundred national advertisers, of whom 270 submitted suggestions. Some samples described by Editor Marlen Pew of Editor & Publisher as "appropriate and nifty":

Micro-News, Recap, Nuzator, Newsinbrief, Concenewper, Synopsinews, Kompact, Reportette, Neatgram, Pithee, Boiledown. Omniparoid.

All contestants were asked to vote on the list. Last week the prize was awarded to "Newsogram." submitted by Copywriter Alvin E. Frifield of Lord & Thomas and Logan, advertising agency.

Beyond paying the $100 prize, the News planned to do nothing at all with "Newsogram." was well content with the attention attracted from advertisers.

"Animated Annette"

In his Whiz Bang, magazine of washroom humor. Publisher Wilford H. ("Captain Billy") Fawcett used to refer often to "the henna-haired heckler," meaning his wife. Antoinette Fisher Fawcett. Of late such references have been absent. Publisher Fawcett last month got a divorce for infidelity "on occasions too numerous to separately cite." Last week the "heckler"--who prefers to call herself "the red headed dynamo" or "Animated Annette" found a new way to heckle her ex-spouse. With her first alimony checks she bought a neighboring bawdy joke-book called the Calgary Eye Opener, prepared to compete with Captain Billy's Whiz Bang. Both magazines are published in Minneapolis.

Eye Opener was founded 20 years ago as an iconoclastic review of British and Canadian politics by the late Robert Chambers ("Bob") Edwards, M. P. who resided in Calgary, Alta. Three years after Publisher Edwards' death in 1922, Eye Opener was bought by the late Harvey Fawcett who had broken away from the publishing business of his brothers Wilford and Roscoe. Brother Harvey changed Eye Opener to its present form, ran it's circulation up to a claimed 200,000. When he died in 1928 the magazine was bought by one Henry Myers who in turn sold it to Mrs. Fawcett.

Except for the name on the cover there is little to distinguish Eye Opener from Whiz Bang. Most jokes and pictures in the July and August issues are based on: 1) girl walking home from automobile ride; 2) burglar under old maid's bed; 3) husband surprising wife with male visitor; 4) iceman (plumber, repairman) and complaisant housewife.

Upon taking over Eye Opener, Mrs. Fawcett (who claims credit for having "planned the creation of Whiz Bang" with her ex-husband) hired as editor Wilkie Mahoney, one-time ace "gagman" for Publisher Fawcett's Whiz Bang, Smokehouse Monthly and Hooey (TIME, Dec. 29, 1930; Dec. 14, 1931). Also, it was reported, she issued orders to correspondents to put less smut, more gusto into their work. There will be a colyum (corresponding to Captain Billy's "Drippings from the Fawcett") in which she will identify herself as "Happy Divorcee," "Animated Annette," "Happy Hostess," "Torrid Toreador."

Star's Nuisance

Publishers used to wonder how the St. Louis Times, least able of the city's four dailies, was kept alive. Founded 1907 by the German-American Press Association for St. Louis residents of German descent, the Times has been regarded as a consistent money-loser for a decade. Its latest circulation report was only 55,000. Last week the Times was bought by the noisy, up-&-coming Star (circ. 140,000), presumably for its nuisance value. The Star is published by Elzey Roberts, archfoe of Radio, whose father bought it in 1913. Few months ago Publisher Roberts boasted that in 1931 the Star overtook 28 U. S. dailies in yearly advertising lineage.

More "Plain Talk"

Some magazine publishers nowadays behave like pamphleteers. They cup their ears to catch the drift of public conversation, whip together magazines on most-discussed topics--liquor, unemployment, crime, politics, sex--launch them as "one-shotters." If the first issue sells, subsequent issues are published; if it does not, the venture is dropped.

Two Manhattan publishers have decided that Public Discontent is the topic of the day. Simultaneously this week appeared two magazines of the straight-from-the-shoulder, "let's-get-down-to-cold-facts" type. Each magazine is remotely related to the original Plain Talk* One, issued by H. K. Fly Co., publisher of old Plain Talk, is named Brass Tacks. The other is National Spotlight, published by George T. Delacorte Jr., edited by muckraking Walter W. Liggett, onetime editor of Plain Talk. Apparently on the theory that the reading public is like a sick man who enjoys talk about his ailments, both magazines dwell lingeringly upon the nation's ills.

In its first issue National Spotlight announced as its function: "To focus the spotlight of publicity and searching comment upon each successive act of the . . . national revue. . . . There are no sacred cows in our pasture. . . . Spotlight promises to deal honestly--though humorously --with all the vital topics of our times."

How effectively and originally Spotlight undertook its debunking program is indicated by the following features of the August issue: a cartoon showing Dry politicians stampeding for seats on a Wet bandwagon; a lengthy leading article about the Bonus Army's march to Washington, which occurred in June; an article by Congressman La Guardia telling why he fought the Sales Tax last April; a refutation of the theory that all bankers are all-wise; an estimate of Clarence Darrow ("Portrait of a Great Actor") by Louis Adamic; an account of the witlessness of book publishers; a behind-scenes political review by Robert S. Allen, one of the authors of The Washington Merry-Go-Round; a dispassionate report of Harlan, Ky. mine disorders by Eve Garrette Grady; a sketch of California's Governor James ("Sunny Jim") Rolph; bits of verse; an estimate of the late Ivar Kreuger; a revelation that cowboys on dude ranches sometimes make love to attractive feminine guests; a review of the wrestling racket.

Spotlight was printed on rough stock, illustrated with pencil sketches and wood blocks, with headlines in heavy, modernistic type.

Brass Tacks was comparatively dowdy in dress. It had a plain red-bordered cover bearing its table of contents. Typography was commonplace. Prime feature of Brass Tacks was the first instalment of Oklahoma Oilman Ernest Whitworth Marland's story of how he lost control of rich Marland Oil Co. to the "money trust," by which he meant J. P. Morgan & Co.

*In new form Plain Talk is currently being published in Washington by Morris A. Bealle, who bought the name from the original publishers after they let the magazine die two years ago.

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