When I was growing up in Hudson County, New Jersey there was a weekly newspaper that everyone read because it contained the quintessential gossip column. It was penned by the pseudonymous Mr. Snitch. His tagline was, “He’s Here…He’s There…He’s Everywhere.”
His column was graphically adorned with a silhouette of a man in a trench coat and top hat. In a sense he resembled the pulp hero The Shadow.
Both Mr. Snitch and The Shadow had one thing in common: anonymity. This gave them broad powers to invade and uncover nefarious doings around town. For my neighborhood, Mr. Snitch mainly alluded to political and community personages who were stealthily side-stepping the law or who were shameless desperadoes.
What I liked about Mr. Snitch was the fact that he had access to rumors, gossip, innuendoes that kept people guessing the identities of those whom Mr. Snitch carefully avoided naming. This created whirlwinds of controversy and supposition. In short, his was the most widely read column in the county. He even scooped the daily newspapers in respect to avid readers.
Today with the advent of the Internet, texting, Twitter, and a host of other broadband outlets, there are innumerable Mr. Snitches casting doubts and aspersions into cyberspace.
Unfortunately, no one will capture the mystery and the fanciful allure that cloaked Mr. Snitch in his open obscurity. He was our hometown home crier, an advocate for the downtrodden. In short, he was a hero for all the underdogs.
Only journalism can create such a persona.
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'Only Journalism can create such a persona'-
ReplyDeleteI don't completely agree with this statement. I do not think it's a matter of which media is being used but a matter of the time. As stated above there are innumerable Mr. Snitches out there through the internet, texting, twitter, and other broadband outlets. Back in the day of Mr. Snitch, there was no such access to such media and so not everyone could actually do what Mr. Snitch was doing so freely.
Now that we have the internet, a whole new freedom of media is given to the common mass that they can step into the shadows of Mr. Snitch. If Mr. Snitch was around today, still writing for a newspaper, I believe that his stories wouldn't be as read as they had been back then because now people can read hundreds of thousands of different stories written across the worldwide web. The days of Mr. Snitch allowed him one great advantage of the people today, he stood out. He was an anomaly; I believe that fact alone is what made him so popular.
Today, and I'm sure even in the past, people thrived on anomalies, for mysteries and for puzzles. The best example of today that I can think of as an anomaly was Micheal Jackson. Look at how much hype he had while alive, and especially when he had died. If there were several journalists writing in the same manner that Mr. Snitch was, it wouldn't have gotten so much hype.
This is not to say that Mr. Snitch is less of a hero than he was. My viewpoint is that Mr. Snitch represented a step towards free media. The ability for the mass to do the reporting rather then just simply take what they are given. If I were to interpret Mr. Snitch's work, from my understanding of what he was writing, I would say that his column seems to me like it could be translated to a personal web blog. Reframe from posting personal information on the blog and you can still remain anonymous and retain the sense of mystery. Of course, he would need to create some followers in order to gain as much hype as he would be competeing with many other bloggers.
I agree with Zach that, “Mr Snitch stood out,” not because of the media but because of, “a matter of the time.” The media was able to “create such a persona” because of the era in which he existed. I suppose it is difficult for us to imagine such mystery and delight. Our generation has witnessed numerous advances in technology, and accordingly new means of communication. I remember Sony Walkman being a big deal. Now we can get news on our IPods or cell phones. Having grown up in such a media oriented environment it is hard to imagine the, “mystery and fanciful allure that cloaked Mr. Snitch.” I believe, in the day, people delighted in Mr. Snitch’s because he was unique.
ReplyDeleteMy mother also grew up in Hudson County, and both she and my grandmother remember Mr. Snitch. My grandmother heard that he was actually a barber in North Bergen, where they lived. She joked that people just like to confide in their hairdressers. Mr. Snitch never disclosed his sources, so people trusted what he said was true. The column ran in the 1980’s in the Hudson Reporter newspaper, formerly known as The West New Yorker. David Cangi, the publisher, is associated with Mr. Snitch. He lived and worked in Fairview, New Jersey. “The Mr. Snitch column was a highlight of the newspaper,” states Debra Soriero-Cangi, David’s oldest daugther. “Everyone assumed my father was Mr. Snitch, but it was originally my grandmother,” according to Hudson Reporter’s Website.
Today we have the opportunity to speak our minds on the “internet and remain anonymous,” as Zach points out. We also have opportunities to speak at local levels with letters to the Editor, Community News, and Community Events, however most are not anonymous. One thing is for certain, people need to communicate. They are also fascinated by sensational news. Just look at the success of tabloid newspapers and magazines. “Sensationalism attracts an audience, and because media profits are based on large audiences, it has become a foundation of the commercial media: thrills build profits,” according to Tabloid Journalism's Web site. In the same way, Mr Snitch was “Sensational news” in the 1980’s for the Hudson Reporter. “Thrills build profits,” was just as true then.