[...] I may explain my attitude to your paper briefly as follows: What I longed for was a political newspaper, of a soundness hitherto unknown, firstly for its own sake, secondly for the sake of the important influence which it would exercise, thirdly so that I might myself have a paper in which to discourse upon my artistic tendencies in a broad sense, without having to descend to a level upon which any serious-minded and decent person exposes himself to defeat. Accordingly, two years ago, I asked the King if he would summon you to set up such a paper. Now you have received the call from another quarter, and the King is ready to assist in establishing your paper for the specific purpose of advocating my views on art. This assistance would lead, practically speaking, to stipulations for the setting up of a separate editorship on the artistic side, and here our perplexities begin. You offer my artistic views the liberal allowance of a half-sheet daily. Who is to fill this space? I know no one from whom I would care to read so much printed matter daily upon the tendencies of my art, more especially if the high standard of the newspaper is to be maintained in full. I agreed to Porges's being summoned, because on general grounds I thought it the just and handsome thing to rescue this honest, diligent, good and sensitive young man from the constraint of his situation in Vienna. He wants to embark on the career of musical conducting, and consequently his future demands very particular attention. The very fact that I could only get him summoned in the first place to do journalistic work, is an admission of a strange condition of affairs. Should it turn out that your paper must needs have all the usual edifying journalistic makeweight features, which are the very life and soul of all our modern newspapers, we shall be obliged to look round for further help, and a second colleague, whom I could highly recommend, would be one Herr Richard Pohl, now in Baden-Baden, a very adroit, very practised and withal a very devoted man. I should much prefer it if your paper, as far as my artistic views are concerned, contained no trace of the trivial and degrading Jewish touch so popular everywhere else, but on the contrary, on suitable occasions, good sound teaching were given on this matter. My idea, therefore, is that the King's contribution should be expended in organising the paper particularly on its political side on generous and genuinely independent lines, and not to prejudice the whole by too extensive, and consequently too shallow, plans for the artistic side. To a paper such as we may expect under your independent editorship, I will gladly contribute myself—and this will cost nothing but the printing. Porges can set himself more regularly and more thoroughly to elaborate the details of subjects which I have initiated. The shorter notices which will be necessary may well be supplied by the late correspondent of the Bayerische Zeitung, Dr. Grandauer, who will pluck up courage now to adopt a firmer attitude. We shall in time find the right people to represent the other branches of æsthetics. [...] There you have my simple editorial programme, which consists mainly in the strengthening of the newspaper on the political side by the use of the Royal contribution. All good will come of this—for my artistic views as well!—You know, my worthy friend, from my memorial at the time, what consideration brought me to the establishment of a political newspaper. Everything stands or falls with—Germany. Accept my thanks for your most excellent programme. I am with you in it, body and soul. A thing which has become an affair of the heart with me through my love for this utterly wonderful young King will become in us two together an affair of pure humane patriotism. Your recognition of the incomparable importance of Bavaria, is a challenge to you, as to me, to expect great decisions from this last great homeland of the German race, so happily preserved, and to give it strength to make them by our encouraging calls. [...] It must be our chief aim to discover how this people, still so strong and sound, is to be rescued from the neglect brought upon it by the nurture of priests and bureaucrats. No doubt I have rightly understood [...] that you look for salvation not simply—and indeed only momentarily—in the foreign politics of Bavaria. And no doubt we are at one when, in the face of every question as to our foreign politics, we say that our method of making Bavarian influence felt in Germany would be to make Bavaria the most envied land in Germany. You believe that everything at the moment favours just such an independent and model development of Bavaria, and that this development has an urgent impulse to move on ideal lines, with practical consequences closely analogous to the German renascence after the Thirty Years' War, and it is right that by wise encouragement you should have been called to authenticate your belief. Well then, up with the standard! No compromises! Strict separation from all the base journalism of our day! Ah—if only you had found some other title than this "South German Press"! [...]
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Vol. 2, selected and ed. Wilhelm Altmann, trans. M. M. Bozman (J. M. Dent & Sons, 1927), No. 626