Life, 1897-06-10 · page 3 of 20
Life — June 10, 1897 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page from *Life* magazine (Volume XXIX, Number 755) contains a satirical cartoon about newspaper practices. The illustration shows three men in an interior setting, with a caption where "Pater" (the father figure) complains that his father never gave him half the allowance he gives his son, asking if the son is satisfied. The son replies he is, then asks "Then why should he?" The accompanying article titled "SUCCESS" critiques how newspapers sensationalize stories. It explains that newspapers use prominent headlines to attract readers, often breaking up longer stories across multiple pages to encourage continued reading. The satire targets this manipulative publishing practice—using artificial drama and pagination strategies to boost circulation rather than serving readers honestly. The joke equates this to arbitrary generosity without principle.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XxIX TKHehne d aa] Pater (angrily): MY FATHER NEVER GAVE ME HALE AS MUCH AS ALLOW vou. “WERE YOU SATISFIED?” SUCCESS. ] T lies through swung to. The attendance is always full; Some by the door marked ‘* Push” get through, And the rest through the door marked “Pall.” Melville Chater. two swing doors ‘OF COURSE I Was." “THEN WHY SHOULD HE?" HEN the newspapers get their dues (awful thought!) some- thing very unpalatable will be served out to some of them, in consideration of the practice they affect of starting a story with a big head on one rage, breaking it short off, and directing the reader to see page 4, or page 9, or page 17, PartV., Section II, for the remainder. Amend this deleterious practice, val- ued contemporaries! Boil the stories down, leaving out especially all that is not so. To have to skip about a con- temporary news sheet to find the small end of a big story is much too vexa- tious an exercise to be tolerated. comicbooks.com