Life, 1927-12-22 · page 8 of 36
Life — December 22, 1927 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top section is a four-panel comic about a newspaper editor pressuring a reporter to commit violence for sensational news. The editor orders the reporter to "shoot somebody" to generate headlines, saying "the paper needs news." When the reporter reluctantly obeys (shown by the explosion), the editor criticizes him for not shooting someone "prominent" enough. This satirizes the ruthless sensationalism of early 20th-century newspaper competition—editors' desperate pursuit of shocking stories regardless of ethics. The lower section humorously lists reasons a wife might divorce her husband, including his newspaper obsession, poor taste in clothing, and controlling behavior. The final item, "High Time," depicts marital discord over trading in their car. The overall page mocks both journalistic excess and domestic frustrations of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Newsrarer Eprror: My gosh! murder in weeks! “Shoot somebody prominent. There hasn't been a decent “Here, you! The paper needs news!” Take this gun and shoot somebody.” Some Reasons (Which Won't Come Out in Court) Why I'll Divorce My Husband ECAUSE, when I ask him to mail a letter, he always says: “TL will if I don’t forget it.” Because, when the telephone rings, he looks over his newspaper and suggests: “You It’s probably for you.” Because, when Task him how he likes my new hat, he judgment until he much I paid for it Because, when he looks over a de- partment store bill, he invariably Vhat is all this thread and clastic and stuff? Did you really need it?” Because, when I ask him to call up some one for a table of bridge, he yawns and says: “Oh, I think of any one. Call any one you want to.” Because the cook babies him. reads the S. E. Post from cover to cover and rages like answer it, dear. reserves knows how inquires: can't Because he (If I Ever Do!) ¥ Under the mistletoe with the acrobats. a lion if any one touches the Current Issu Because, having read every story in the S. E. Post, he insists on tell- ing me the plots. Because he designates books by the or of their covers rather than the names of their authors (ice., “I'm reading the orange-covered book on the library table movies by the nights he , and w them The picture we saw a week » Tuesday with the Billings”). se I lose my temper asily than he does. Because he has the pity of most of our friends, D.J.K. more High Time RS.: Oh, Harry, about the car! Mr.: So am 1; if we don’t trade it in pretty soon we'll own the darn thing! I'm worried comicbooks.com