Better Staffs and News
In the past, the editorial page has been the one redeeming feature of the average Negro newspaper. Today the papers are beginning to have well-balanced staffs, reporters, city editors, cartoonists, etc. News stories are being better written, copy is being handled more carefully, accuracy is being insisted upon, and make-up in general is being improved.
Sectional Differences in Development
Papers printed in different parts of the country vary quite significantly in their make-up and quality. The best papers are probably published in the Middle West and the East. The Southern press is still in the rear, although signs are evident that it is beginning to wake up. At the present four Southern papers have a very high national rating. They are The Afro-American, The Atlanta Independent, The Nashville Globe and The Dallas Express.
Papers Having Over 30,000
Seven papers have over 30,000 subscribers. The list includes the following papers in the order named: The Chicago Defender, The Negro World, The Indianapolis Ledger, The Atlanta Independent, The New York News, The Pittsburgh Courier and The Birmingham Reporter.
Twelve Leading Negro Weeklies
Any attempt to select the leading Negro newspapers of necessity must be more or less arbitrary, and dependent upon prejudices toward certain types of journalism. A probable list of the best twelve weeklies might include: The Chicago Defender, The Afro-American, The Cleveland Advocate, The Philadelphia Tribune, The New York Age, The Pittsburgh Courier, The Chicago Whip, The St. Louis Argus, The Indianapolis Ledger, The Atlanta Independent, The Detroit Leader and The Boston Guardian.
CHAPTER VII
DAILY NEGRO NEWSPAPERS
First Daily Cairo Gazette