'Up to date and newsy' still the ideal for the Southeast Missourian

Fred and George Naeter vowed in their first edition of the Daily Republican to bring Cape Girardeau residents an "up-to-date, newsy newspaper, one that will be a credit to the enterprising city it will represent."

The concept of "newsy" news has changed over the last 100 years, from a front page peppered with obituaries and advertisements to the sleek color photos and in-depth stories that bring life to today's Southeast Missourian.

The newspaper still strives to be a credit to Cape Girardeau, though the nature of the news and how we gather and write about it have undergone numerous transformations.

The first years of the 5-cent newspaper saw more advertisements than actual stories on the front page, offering readers everything from insurance and shoes to invitations to the World's Fair.

By the early 1920s, ads had disappeared from 1A, replaced by United Press national stories and local news from throughout the region.

There were no bylines to indicate which reporter wrote those early stories. There were, however, special maxims published on either side of the newspaper's flag each day, including this one from July 2, 1924: "Our idea of looking out for posterity is taking care of the part which has already arrived."

The type of news reported in the newspaper has changed over the last 10 decades, adapting to the changes in lifestyle of Southeast Missouri residents. The amount of importance placed on news items such as real estate transfers and obituaries has been downgraded to make way for stories that affect and interest a greater number of readers.

Front pages of newspapers from the early 1900s were almost certain to carry exciting headlines. "Test Powder Car: Five Badly Injured, One is Dead," "Vault Found Open But No Cracksmen," "Murderer Caught: Find Blood Bespattered Garment" and "Senator Davis in Street Fight: Doctors Patch Him Up" were just a few of the eye-catching headlines written for the April 1, 1908, front page.

While other newspapers in the state focused on state and national news, the early editions of the Southeast Missourian usually devoted two pages to local news.

State and national news came to the Missourian via telegraph or other newspapers that arrived on boats traveling the Mississippi River.

Local news came from an even larger coverage area than the newspaper has today, with regular reports of happenings from as far away as Poplar Bluff and Fredericktown.

Crime, from murders to theft to public drunkenness, captured much of the front page.

The small size of the population during the early 1900s affected the way stories were written. Often, public officials such as the mayor, sheriff or postmaster were identified in the newspaper by their title and last name only.

By the 1930s, the Southeast Missourian's presentation of front-page news began to transform from the former seven solid columns of small type broken up only by advertisements to an updated layout that included more graphics and photographs alongside stories.

The number of stories packed onto the front page also declined, from around 20 during the first few decades to between six and 10 during the 1960s and 1970s.

Today, the Southeast Missourian generally carries between four and five stories on 1A.

Despite the many differences, the focus of the Missourian remains the same of that which the Naeters' described in their first edition, "an up-to-date, newsy" newspaper.