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diff --git a/77396-0.txt b/77396-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4a598bf --- /dev/null +++ b/77396-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1124 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77396 *** + + + + + TEN CENT POCKET SERIES NO. 342 + Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius + + Hints on News + Reporting + + Murray Sheehan + + + HALDEMAN-JULIUS COMPANY + GIRARD, KANSAS + + + + + Copyright, 1922, + Haldeman-Julius Company + + + + HINTS ON NEWS REPORTING + + + + + HINTS ON NEWS-REPORTING + + + WHAT IS NEWS? + +“To be explicit, easy, free, and very plain,” was the ideal set down +for himself by Daniel Defoe in his news-writing more than two hundred +years ago. And despite its age the advice could hardly be bettered for +a newspaper man of today. For after all, what a modern reader of the +news-column wants is a detailed account of some happening, written in +such a style that it can be easily and rapidly read without thought to +its grammar or construction, and can be easily understood throughout. +That Defoe was master of such a style in his own writing will be +granted by anyone who has read his “Robinson Crusoe”--and who has +not!--a style which can be understood by a child of seven or eight and +yet which gives delight to grown-ups. No wonder he was one of the most +popular journalists of his own time. + +When a man buys a newspaper on a street corner, what he wants is +manifestly a paper that will give him the news in an easily read +account. “News,” for him, may be something far different from what you +or I would call by that name, and perhaps he picks out a paper which +would furnish me with very little news indeed, very little, that is, +of the world’s current happenings which would interest me. He may be +devotedly concerned with the latest prices of dress-goods and men’s +clothing, or the most recent gossip from the ring-side, whereas it +may be that for me neither of these subjects contains the slightest +interest. Perhaps when you approach a news-stand, what your eye +naturally goes looking for is a sheet that gives much space to stock +quotations or political news or notes on recent books. What Mrs. Brown +always wants is a certain newspaper that devotes columns to the naming +of prominent people who have dined or danced, and to the detailed +description of the clothes they wore. Miss Black buys a certain evening +paper because the back page always has a lot of interesting little +stories drawn from daily life in the streets about her, little things +that do not amount to much in themselves but are written up in an +interesting way. And the fact that thousands and even millions of other +Americans are interested in the same things as the individuals I have +mentioned, has made American newspapers what they are, for better or +worse. It has made them, that is, a sort of glorified crazy-quilt of +the varied interests of their readers, with the individual news-patches +all worked out in a style which is at once detailed, loose, free, and +very easily comprehended. + +The central key, then, to the problem of why we have so many newspapers +in New York, for instance, and why tens of thousands buy this paper +and other tens of thousands buy that one, is, of course, simply one +of interest. One man buys the “Times” regularly because he knows that +in it he will find the particular type of news that he is interested +in, and that it will be treated in a manner which brings out most +forcefully that interest. Another man will want only the Brooklyn +“Eagle,” as it will do the same for him. Another will choose the +“American,” and so on. + +And the central key to all news-writing, one might say, is simply this +same matter of interest. If news is something in timely happenings +which interests the people, then news-writing is perhaps best defined +as the method of presenting the facts of current happenings in an +interesting manner. News-writing is, or should be, one form of being +interesting. + +When a man picks up his newspaper he wants, as we said before, the +news. For that reason we have, in American newspapers particularly, +developed the headline to a high efficiency in advertising the contents +of the paper. This side of the question does not concern us here, +however, as headlines are ordinarily not written by the reporter at +all, but by specially trained men on the copy-desk. We are interested +only in the technique of the news-story proper. + +Now when we sit down with a novel or a short story, what many want is +suspense. We do not want to know what the end will be. We want that +to come to us as a perfect surprise, and the more perfect our wonder +at the end of the tale, the better we feel it is. We like to be kept +guessing about the outcome of the narrative. If we can predict it we +generally call the writer a failure. + +The beginning of a news-story is diametrically opposed to this +procedure. What a man wants when he begins to read a news-story is +not suspense, but news. He is interested in the news, and he wants it +given to him as soon and as quickly as possible. He wants to be as +fully informed of the news in as short a time as possible, with all +the essential facts at the beginning. Then if he wants to go on with +the story he is at liberty to do so. If he is interested in the minor +details he can continue down the column. But what he wants at the very +beginning of his story is the main facts, and this is responsible for +what we call in America the “lead of the story.” + + + WHAT IS THE “LEAD”? + +The lead of a news-story is really very simple in its construction, +as far as the main outlines are concerned. In actual daily practice +you will find that the working out of the same principles results in +an infinity of effects. But fully ninety-five per cent of the stories +in American newspapers are begun on the same principle, that of the +“straight news lead.” + +For the basis of any news-story will, upon analysis, always turn out +to be that somebody or something has done something or is now doing +something, or is going to do something. Either Mrs. Smith has just +died, or Mr. Williams is now building an addition on his store, or +the Red Men will tomorrow stage a monster parade. Fox’s mill burned +down last night, or plans are now going forward for the new freight +depot, or the janitors’ strike begins tomorrow. WHO did WHAT can be +set down as the first two elements which will certainly go to make up +the “lead,” as without them there would be no news at all. In this +connection, also, we always give ample identification, so there can be +no mistake as to WHO is meant, which John Jones it is. If necessary we +give his age, address, profession, etc., so that in a large city he can +be identified. + +But readers of newspapers are also interested in the locality in which +the action took place, and in the time at which it occurred. If John +Jones killed his wife, they want to know where it happened and at what +hour. Did he do it at home or abroad? We give the home address of +the Joneses in either case, and if the murder occurred elsewhere we +give that address likewise. And at what time did he do it, demand the +readers, at morning, noon, or night? If lightning destroyed the chimney +of the Miller factory, readers want to know when, and they like also to +have given the location of the factory, so that they can check up on +whether it is the Miller factory that they know, or whether it is in +the vicinity where live any of their acquaintances, or near where they +do business, who have thus been in danger. These two elements of time +and place, the WHEN and the WHERE are considered essential to the lead +of a news-story, as well as the agent and his action. So that we might +say the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, and WHEN were absolute essentials to the +lead. They are always included in a straight news-lead, and no story is +considered complete without them. + +There is one more element almost in the same category, and it is +sometimes included to make what are known as the five essentials. When +Mr. Jones killed his wife at their home, 14 East Ninth street, this +morning, most people want to know HOW and WHY he did it. Was it with +an axe or a revolver or Othello-wise with a pillow? Was he jealous or +insane or did he mistake her for a burglar? When the lightning struck +the Miller factory, we want to know how or why it did so. We want to +know if it was the chimney or one of the new tower structures. How +did it strike? What route did it follow? Was it because the mill had +no lightning-rods? This element of the lead is not always included, +however, unless the HOW or the WHY are especially interesting. + +These five, then, can be set down as the framework of what is known +as a straight news-story, and you can find the theory in practice by +picking up any copy of any one of the myriad newspapers of the United +States. The statement will not be true of most foreign news-sheets, +as they follow a different technique altogether. This fact accounts +for the “deadness” that many Americans find in English and Continental +papers. They develop their news-stories in a slower fashion. But read +over any ordinary edition of any American paper, and you will find that +fully ninety-five percent of the stories have the five essentials at +the very front tip of the account. The other five percent belong to +another class of stories which will be considered later. + + + WHAT INTERESTS PEOPLE? + +Variety, however, would be largely an absent quantity if all +news-stories started out with a bald setting down of all five of the +essentials “onetwothreefourfive, just like that,” as E. E. Cummings has +said. And variety there must be. The American newspaper is in a keen +competition against other newspapers and must attract its readers. It +must interest them, display its news in an attractive fashion, do it +better than the other fellow, display its wares in so interesting a +way that people will buy here rather than from the other fellow. This +is particularly applicable, of course, to cities and towns having two +or more newspapers, but it is also true of the little places that have +only one daily or perhaps only a weekly. In these cases, if the sheet +is written in an unattractive fashion, with the news badly presented, +there is great likelihood that large numbers of the people will feel +that “they can get along without the paper,” and away goes the list +of subscribers on the downward “path to the everlasting bonfire.” On +the other hand, if the news is brightly set down, with variety and +interest, there will be scores of people who will take the paper that +otherwise would not, and even if they move away from the locality they +will wish to continue receiving it. + +What is it that must be added to the five essentials in order to liven +them and give them interest and variety for the readers? The answer +lies in a consideration of what it is that attracts the interest +of readers, what it is that readers are interested in. And here we +come back to the very first thing we talked about in considering the +news-writing of American newspapers--INTEREST. + +People are interested in scores of things, as you will find out if you +scan the pages of a large metropolitan daily. You might almost say that +there is nothing in which they are not interested, if the matter is +presented to them properly. And the “properly” part of the preceding +sentence is what we must now consider. + +In the first place, people are interested in anything which will make +a DIFFERENCE TO THEMSELVES. If I am a grown man and I see a train +approaching, I am not under ordinary circumstances vitally interested. +If I am on the track, however, I decidedly am interested, because +that train then may perhaps make a difference to me. Or if some of my +family are on that train, as I happen to know, and we have arranged +to wave at this point, then also I am interested, because, again the +thing makes a difference, however slight, to me. Or if I am interested +in mechanics and I suddenly notice that some improvement in machinery +has been built into this engine, I prick up my ears and am interested, +for here is something that matters to me. Or if there is a wreck or an +accident to that engine, and particularly if there are human beings +injured or killed, then again I am interested, because, after all, such +a thing might some day happen to me or mine, and I am thus touched in +my deepest interest--my interest in myself. + +Thus, if any happening in the day’s news can be shown to be vitally +connected with the WELFARE of the readers, that happening will make +good news, and will stir the interest of the readers. It is undoubtedly +on this basis that we are all interested in political news, in +questions of taxes and tariffs, civic improvements, international +relations, wars, scientific discoveries, etc. We are interested in them +only to the extent, generally, that they are seen to touch our daily +lives, to the extent that they make a difference to us. If the Grand +Lama of Thibet makes a new law about transportation in his realm, I am +not interested, because it makes no difference to me, so far as I know. +But if I am told that as a result of this, my wife can have silk more +cheaply, or tea will be twenty-five cents dearer, I sit up and take +notice, and the thing has become news indeed. Before, the thing was +only a happening on the other side of the world, and touched me not. +But now it has been brought into my field of concern, by touching my +interests, and I am wide awake to the recent developments over there. + +SPORTS are, of course, another field in which the American public shows +interest, and almost any information from its activities will be given +space on the sports page of the papers and be read with avidity. Even +quoits or horseshoes are sometimes featured on the sports page, and the +big games of baseball or football actually become sometimes the most +prominent story on the first page of the paper, driving international +and national news to subordinate positions and sometimes to inner pages. + +HOBBIES offer another opportunity to catch the reader’s attention with +matters that interest him. Chess and bridge would come under this head, +I suppose. Radio and wireless, new wrinkles in diving and swimming, +recent developments in crochet stitches or the making of strawberry +preserves, etc., can properly be included here, perhaps, as news of +all these recent developments will make real news. In the spring when +tens of thousands of people will be interested in gardens, any and all +information about growing things will have interest for readers, and +hence will constitute, for them, news. Some papers can even, according +to the nature of their subscription-list, offer recent developments +of art, literature, music, architecture, etc., as news, and have it +welcomed. News about new plays and motion picture plays, if they are to +run for any length of time, is welcomed in the form of criticisms, pro +or con, of the first night’s performance. + +All the interests thus far considered have been more or less, as I +said, based on our own welfare and the relation which we could see +between the new occurrence and its power to influence our daily lives. +Some of them have stepped over into the next division to be taken up. +When the great annual Harvard-Yale football game comes off, it is +looked upon as the classic game of the season. When the final series +of baseball games is played, it is for the championship of the world. +Even the most sluggish of imaginations will take some interest in these +events, however slight their ordinary interest in these sports may be. + +This brings us to interest in the PROMINENT. There is something about +anybody or anything that has reached a supreme position in this world, +which makes us all stop and look in that direction with interest. If +the highest mountain in the world does something, we are interested. +If the greatest murderer in history has fried eggs this morning for +breakfast, we are interested. If the richest man in the world plays +golf, we want to see pictures of him in the act. If the manufacturer +of the greatest number of automobiles in the world gives a quarter to +a little girl, we stop and read all about it, or gaze with interest +on a photograph of the perfectly ordinary quarter lying in her quite +unusual hand. When a great tenor dies, we have stories about old ladies +who suddenly remember that he was their nephew. Just as a handkerchief +on which Napoleon once blew his august nose is still a center of +interest in the Invalides museum in Paris, so the tiniest fragment of +information about the greatest this or the greatest that interests us, +and thus becomes news. Big numbers impress us the same way. We seem to +be carried away by good round numbers. “Thirty thousand eggs” or “Four +hundred million toothpicks” seem to wield a hypnotic fascination on us +because of their resounding figures, and we are interested. + +On the other hand, we are interested also in people and things known +only locally, or at any rate, interesting to us only because KNOWN +LOCALLY. If the carpenter next door dropped his hammer on his foot +and was laid up for two days, we might run a little paragraph on the +occurrence in the local paper. But if he lived ten miles away and was +not known locally we should hardly be interested in his accident, and +the story would never appear. If Amy White takes part in a college +play at the state university, we do not give a rap, unless she happens +to come from our home town, in which case we are interested and the +thing becomes news. If I live in St. Louis, I am interested in local +drawings, which will not appear at all in Chicago papers. + +There is one field, however, in which we are all interested, no matter +where the thing happens. And that is the UNUSUAL. We are all wildly +romantic when it comes to this matter of the out-of-the-ordinary. So +much is this the case, that the life of a reporter becomes one long +quest for the most unusual feature in every story he is called upon +to write, as offering the best possible way of catching the interest +of his readers. He lives in one long flurry of the exceptional--which +perhaps is one of the causes of his astonishing grip on the secret of +youth, even into his last years. + +This quest of the unusual takes all possible forms. If a thousand men +go up a flight of stairs successfully, they do not make news, but the +thousand and first man, who trips and breaks his leg while carrying +home a crutch for his wife who last week broke her leg on the very same +step, makes news. He has done something out of the ordinary run of +events. Ten thousand babies daily lead healthy lives in the country, +and they are therefore not news. But the baby who today swallows an +open safety pin and allows his mother successfully to remove it with a +button hook will very likely be heralded all over the lands as news. +Hosts of happenings are published daily in the papers of America which +in themselves are unimportant, trivial. But because they are out of +the ordinary, have the mark of the unusual on them, they are published +on the front pages of otherwise sedate news-sheets. The fact may be +telegraphed all over the country that such and such a farmer in some +little unknown place in Kentucky chopped off the end of his thumb +accidentally and a rooster ate it. Countless very high-priced linotype +operators will set it into type, and other highly paid workers will +put the fact on costly white paper, which will then be transported +in divers expensive manners to the readers--and all because of their +seemingly ineradicable interest in the new and the strange. + +Still another unfailing interest is that in CHILDREN. A news-story +which otherwise would amount to very little will take on new value if +there is a child in it who can be written up, or “featured,” as the +newspaper reporter says. A fire which ordinarily could be adequately +covered in a hundred words, and which would only get a number four +headline will call for three or four hundred words and will get a +number two head if some man rushed back to save a child, or if a child +discovered the fire. + +The same way with ANIMALS. The public is interested in any animal +story, wild or tame, and as in the previous story, if a cat or a canary +or a dog is rescued out of a fire or gives warning to the inhabitants, +the story immediately becomes for news purposes much more valuable, and +the animal interest is generally played up in writing such a story. So +much is this the case, that reporters in cities possessing a zoological +garden can well afford to make almost a daily visit to the place. The +fact that a lion cub needs a kitten for a playmate so that he won’t be +lonesome, or that the beavers are building a new nest seems to wield a +magic influence over readers. + + + HOW TO BEGIN + +The thing to do, then, upon sitting down to write a news story, is to +ask yourself, “What is the most interesting thing about this story?” If +the principal figure is a man or a woman very prominent in the world or +extremely well-known to your readers, the problem is very likely solved +immediately, since the name alone is sufficient to arouse interest and +catch the reader’s attention. Otherwise, some other element of the +story is taken as the most interesting, and in this connection you must +remember the list of interests which has just been enumerated. Go over +any copy of even a moderately well-written newspaper, and you will note +the comparatively small range of interests to which reporters feel that +they can safely appeal in beginning most of their stories. Of course +the interest in the unusual gives an almost infinite field of adventure +in writing, and the trick then becomes one of getting the strange set +of circumstances most quickly and most effectively before the readers. + +When it has been determined what the most interesting thing is in the +story, this fact must come first, in as vivid and compact a form as +possible. It is better if the main facts are gotten into the first two +lines of the story, which means usually the first twelve words as a +maximum. But the five essentials must also all of them be gotten into +the beginning of the story, either in the first sentence or in the +first paragraph, at all odds. Not only WHO did WHAT, but also WHEN and +WHERE and WHY or HOW. As a matter of fact, of course, the WHY or the +HOW may have been the most interesting thing about the story and will +then have been “featured” at the beginning of the story. “Having sworn +revenge for his dead sister, Tony Wallace yesterday shot Tom Kelly,” +or “By jumping from the fourteenth floor of the Hughes Building, +Charles Hight committed suicide this morning” are both of them possible +beginnings to news-stories, although neither of them begins with the +WHO or the WHAT. Two of the five essentials, however, are very rarely +used as features in a news-story. These are the WHERE and the WHEN. It +stands to reason that people are ordinarily not interested in either +WHEN a thing occurred or WHERE it happened until they know what it +is. Thus a news-story very rarely begins “On the corner of Third and +Ludlow,” or “Late last evening,” except in very primitive newspapers or +in a type of story to which reference will be made later. + +It can happen that the place or the time are interesting enough in +themselves to warrant their being featured. “Exactly at midnight last +night the Senate voted in favor of light wines and beer,” is a feasible +type of feature. So is “At Death Crossing an A. B. & C. train claimed +another victim last night, raising the month’s total to eighteen.” But +unless there is something extremely unusual or noteworthy about the +place or the time these are not featured. + +“The” and “A” are in some offices banned as opening words to a +news-story, and generally if the news can be stated without starting +off with these words, it is better to do so. But frequently it would +be awkward to start in any other way, and in such a case there need be +no hesitancy about using the words. “There are,” or “There is,” on the +other hand, are hardly ever excusable in opening a news-story. They use +up valuable space and valuable time and only retard the statement of +the vital facts which constitute the news. + +Figures are never used to start off the lead nor are they ever used at +the beginning of any sentence in the story. Either some such word as +“About” or “Exactly” is used, or the number is written out in words. + +“Another” is obviously a bad word, generally, with which to open a +news-story. What the people want is news, and ordinarily “another” +weakens this sense of the novel. In case of a series of fires or +murders or fatal accidents, however, the word may have a power of +adding to the forcefulness of the news, and so its use here would be +good. + + + THE FEATURE STORY + +There is another type of story, which is built on a totally different +principle from what we have been considering. Its main characteristic +in starting out is that it does NOT give the five essentials, and +that it does not give first the most interesting fact of the story. +Manifestly it is not, then, a straight news story. People are not going +to read it for the important news that it contains. Because it plays up +some story which otherwise would hardly get into the papers at all, or +could only be given a very minor treatment and stuck off in some odd +corner of the paper, it is known in newspaper offices as a “feature +story.” It plays up some feature of an incident. It takes some small +happening of the day and gives it a treatment not unlike what we find +in short stories. And just as magazine fiction can use any one of a +million different openings, so there is no set rule for beginning a +newspaper “feature story.” We are setting out not to inform the reader, +but to give him pleasure of an artistic sort. It may be a pathetic +little story we have to tell, and it may sound odd to say that we set +out to give pleasure with it. But an artistic pleasure can, of course, +be gained from the deepest tragedy. So it is with the pathetic feature +story. Although, as a matter of fact, most feature stories are humorous +rather than pathetic. + +Say that a reporter in going along the street overhears a little +girl playing school with her dolls. The youngster, not over six or +seven, uses some terms drawn from psycho-analysis. The reporter stops, +judiciously makes friends with her, gets her name, finds out where she +goes to school, and if possible ascertains where she got hold of the +big words. Of course, this story would not appeal to the average reader +of the average newspaper. It obviously has no straight news value. And +yet, properly handled, it would make a capital feature story for some +better types of newspapers. + +Just as the former story would appeal to the child interest which was +mentioned earlier, so animal stories also make a good basis for feature +treatment. I have seen used an account of a dog who showed his delight +over being shorn of his heavy coat one hot June morning, and the +contrast with his dejection that evening, owing to the fact that he had +got a good heavy case of sunburn. Births of animals at the zoological +park can be treated in this way. Signs of intelligence in wild or +domestic animals are often treated in this fashion. The first birds in +the spring or a flight of wild ducks over a big city can be used. Signs +of intelligence or emotions in animals also make good feature stories. + +All the interests mentioned earlier can, as a matter of fact, be +appealed to in this manner. Prominent men can be used. Stories about +them which are too insignificant for actual news treatment can be +utilized in this way. When the police-judge is suddenly called upon +to judge his own cook on a charge of drunkenness, the story has more +value as a feature than as straight news. When a well-known traffic +cop is fined on the same charge as the motor cyclist he had just +arrested--that of having glaring headlights--the story warrants more +than a straight news-lead. + +Sports, hobbies, contests of all kinds, can all be drawn on for +feature stories. Frequently this type of story is used to bring out +the fact that we are all of us just human beings after all, liable to +make mistakes, with our little human frailties, ambitions, and prides. +“Human-interest stories” is the designation given to this sort of +story. Kindly, whimsical, this type of story helps frequently, in the +hands of a good writer, to set the tone of a city, just as editorials +do. The personality of a newspaper or a reporter can shine out here as +nowhere else, perhaps, and editors are always delighted when they can +find such a writer. + + + STYLE + +In all news-writing, the main thing is that it shall be easily +read, easily understood, and generally, one should come away from a +news-story without any remembrance of how it was written, the thing +should seem so simply done, so obviously constructed. The art that +hides itself is nowhere more needed than in this field where the artist +is a man at a typewriter pounding out sheet after sheet of copy, with +no time to linger over the choice of words or go back for careful +revision. The newspaper writer must have at his instant command all the +capabilities and powers within him. That is the reason why it is really +useless to talk at great length to a man who will, after all, have no +time for meditation on matters of style, on niceties of rhetoric. The +newspaper reporter is usually working under stress of great hurry and +often under keen excitement and for long stretches of time such as +would fray the nerves of any other type of writer or worker. He must +get certain principles--or “hints,” if you will,--into the back of his +head, where they will guide his work without too much burdening him, +and then forget everything but the main essentials. It is the purpose +of this section to give some of these bare essentials to good news +writing. + +Beginning with the simplest element of language, WORDS, it may be +said immediately that aside from archaic terminology and words which +are dubbed “poetic” by the dictionary, the whole wide field of the +English vocabulary lies open to the newspaper writer, and no man need +try “writing down to his public.” Good writing in any field means being +clear and vivid and forceful, and these same three terms apply here as +elsewhere. A newspaper account should be written in such language that +if it is read aloud it will immediately be clear what the writer means. +If ever, in your writing, you come to a place where the conditions are +complex and will not straighten themselves out for you readily, so +that it seems impossible to state them clearly and vividly, try asking +yourself the question, “How would I say it if I were trying to tell +somebody about it?” That will frequently straighten the whole matter +out for you and give you instantly the point at which you wish to begin +the explanation. And it will generally make for good news-writing, as +it will generally make for clearness, vividness, and forcefulness. + +“Use concrete terms” is another good bit of advice in the choice of +words, and applies from the simple matter of being specific up to the +matter of attempting artistically to depict the fine shades of a man’s +manner. “Six men” is better for news purposes than “A number of men,” +because it is more specific. “Harvard trampled over Yale yesterday” is +better news-writing than “Harvard won from Yale yesterday,” because it +is more vivid, it gives more of an image, it is thus more concrete. +When fire “shoots out across the street,” it gives us something to see, +and is vivid. “The first puff of flame” is good for the same reason. +In general, descriptive verbs are better than descriptive nouns, +however, for they are more active, and thus make for greater life in +a piece of writing. The difference between a good writer and a weak +and ineffective writer can, as a matter of fact, most often be traced +to this matter of the comparative number of nouns and verbs. Take a +news-story that grips you from beginning to end, say some account of a +fire or an accident. Count the number of verbs, in comparison with the +number of nouns and the total number of words used. Do the same for +some humdrum account that does not hold your attention. From the first +you felt that there was a difference, without knowing why. It will most +likely be found that the vivid writer, the man who could hold your +attention, has used a far higher percentage of verbs than the other. +Beginners very often break the back of every verb with an adverb, and +weaken every noun with an attendant adjective. The master of writing +shows himself to be such by the comparative absence of these two +parts of speech. He gets his effects by using colorful verbs. A good +exercise consists in watching the people one meets in daily life on the +sidewalks, and trying to find the one verb which will distinguish their +way of walking from that of everybody else you have seen that day. +There are a thousand and one different ways of saying “He went across +the street,” just as there are of stating the fact of “She said,” and +an excellent start toward a vivid style lies in these two suggestions. + +In the matter of slang, good taste alone must dictate. In certain +types of stories, slang is permissible. Sports particularly have +indulged in this language. On the other hand there are stories where +it would be distinctly bad taste and out of place. In an obituary, for +instance, we rarely wish to see slang used. On the whole, it may be +safely said that a writer weakens his real command over language if +he allows himself to become dependent on slang for forcefulness. Most +reputable papers do not like slang in their general news-columns, as it +tends to lower the tone of their paper. + +SENTENCES are generally shorter in newspapers than in ordinary +writing. Especially the first sentence must be short, in the estimation +of many editors, who like a “short lead.” This does not mean, however, +that a short choppy succession of bullet-like sentences is good +newspaper writing. As has been said before, the best news-writing is +that which attracts least attention to itself. So it is best to vary +the form of one’s sentences, both in length and structure. A whole +succession of very short or very long sentences would be monotonous, +and hence bad. Several sentences all starting out with the same word or +group of words would tire us. It is best to train one’s ear for this +sort of thing in writing and to try to be sensitive to this sort of +repetition so that if the typewriter begins to tap out automatically a +series of monotonous sentences, the subconscious will step in and sound +a warning. Another hint as to the forcefulness of sentences lies in the +fact that in general a sentence sounds stronger if it ends with a noun +or at least a verb. Not only is “a preposition bad to end a sentence +with,” but the same is also true of adverbs and, to a less degree, of +adjectives. Take some news-story that strikes you as being strongly +written, and look at the closing words of the sentences. The results +will bear me out, I am pretty sure. + +In both sentences and paragraphs the most forceful arrangement is +generally that in which the principal elements are placed first. +Just as in the story as a whole it was seen that the lead gives the +principal facts, so also at the beginning of each paragraph there +should be some indication of the matter contained in it. In a fire +story, if we are dealing with the insurance involved, the paragraph +might open with the words: “Insurance covered most of the buildings, it +was learned today.” Or if the damages are being dealt with, they might +be organized under the paragraph beginning, “Total damages will amount +to $50,000.” The sentence can be treated in the same manner, thus +indicating to the reader its bearing on the story as a whole and making +for greater coherence. + +For this reason, such expressions as “It is said,” or “Mr. Smith +remarked,” or “She declared,” are generally not placed either at the +beginning of a sentence or of a paragraph, but are “buried” in the +body of the sentence or the paragraph. The important position at the +beginning is thus reserved for really important matter. Situations may +arise where this general rule will best be neglected, but on the whole +it embodies a good principle of news-writing. + +PARAGRAPHS as a whole are shorter in newspapers than elsewhere, and +this is one of the most marked differences encountered by the young +writer taking up newspaper work. Because of the narrowness of the +average newspaper column, allowing only about six or seven words to +the line, an ordinary paragraph taken from a novel or an essay would +take on a length that would discourage the reader. Newspapers differ +in this respect, but fifty words may be taken as the common length of +paragraphs in news-stories. This means that the thought is divided +into smaller sections, and the reporter must early begin to learn to +organize his material accordingly. + + + ORGANIZING THE STORY + +The news-story as a whole is generally very simply organized. In the +lead, as has been said, are given all the principal facts of the story, +including in the first sentence or the first paragraph at latest the +five essentials. If there are other facts so interesting that they +ought to be brought before the reader in this first account, they may +be added, before the “body” of the story is reached. If the editor has +asked for a longer story than is made by these facts, the reporter +can go back to the beginning of the happening and give an account of +the whole thing, following the time sequence and being careful not to +repeat the material already incorporated in the lead. + +In the story of a FIRE, for instance, the lead would include, besides +the most interesting fact in the whole story, the five essentials as +to WHAT burned, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW. If there were other interesting +circumstances, these would now be given, together with the total +damages, insurance, etc. In the body of the story would be given the +origin of the fire, who discovered the fire, who gave the alarm, what +companies responded, narrow escapes, other houses threatened, what was +saved, etc. If there are deaths in the fire, that fact will generally +be made the feature of the story and the same is true of rescues. + +In the case of an ACCIDENT, the names of the dead or seriously wounded +will generally be featured, unless there are too many of them, in which +case the number itself would be placed first. In a story like this, the +names of the dead and wounded are often placed in a “box” at the head +of the story, with the addresses, ages, occupations, of the people so +that they can be quickly identified by the reading public. The five +essentials are given, with particular stress laid on the WHO, so that, +as has been pointed out, a full identification can readily be made by +those interested. If more is needed, a detailed account of the accident +can be given, with verbatim account from the people themselves if +possible, or from witnesses. The names of those who rendered assistance +are given, the attending physician, and to what hospital the wounded +were taken. This last is naturally very important, as friends or +relatives who have not previously heard of the accident will wish to +know this fact immediately. + +In the account of a MEETING, after the lead, which will tell where +and when the meeting took place and for what purpose, besides bringing +out the most interesting feature of the whole story, will come the +chronological story of the meeting, with at least the main parts of +the various speeches. Direct quotation is generally most desirable +for at least a part of the speech. As was pointed out before, the +specific is what the public wants; and when the reader sees quotation +marks, he feels that he is getting real news from the meeting. For the +same reason, these direct quotations are placed at the beginning of a +paragraph. They tend to liven a story and should be placed where the +reader’s eye will easily light on them. Expressions such as “he said,” +“continued the speaker,” “demanded Mr. Jones,” etc., should be buried +in the body of the paragraph, as being less important. + +SPORTS stories always give the results of a game first, with the WHY or +HOW element played up if possible. The five essentials are given, and +in the lead are also given any particularly interesting facts which the +reader would want to know first before going on with the rest of the +story. Then the account is taken up round by round, inning by inning, +quarter by quarter, etc., and a more or less detailed statement of each +play is given. Finally the line-up on each side is given, with names of +officials, etc. + +Accounts of TRIALS are generally begun with the final decision, with +the five essentials, as in other stories, and with especial care +manifested once more in the matter of the WHO. + +The reporter must be very careful in this matter of identification in +such cases, as in case he says it was Charles D. Mazuma of the X.Y.Z. +railroad office who is on trial, whereas in fact it was a Charles L. +Mazuma of the D.E.F. Interurban lines, he lays his paper open to heavy +damages. Direct or indirect quotation of evidence is frequently given, +in cases which particularly interest the public. + +Another type of story in which the reporter must exercise great care +is the CRIME story. The five essentials are all most important here and +the most interesting element will be featured as usual. The HOW and the +WHY are always interesting in cases of this kind, or in case they are +unknown, statements of opinion may be quoted or given as the general +belief. In case of murder, the name of the victim will generally be +featured, although in case the murderer is a prominent figure in the +community, his name would very likely be put first. But the thing that +must be borne in mind all the time while writing a crime news-story +is the fact that the man has not yet been convicted of the crime, and +consequently we must be careful not to try him in the columns of our +newspaper, or convict him in our news-accounts. This means that we +must not say that So-and-So stole a watch, for that fact is not yet +proven before a court of law. If he has confessed to it, all right. +But otherwise all that we know is that he has been CHARGED with that +offense, and we must be careful to go no further. This is the reason +why you will find newspaper stories of crimes so hedged about with such +expressions as “it is alleged” and “is said to have.” Until he has been +tried, a man is an alleged thief only, and the reporter must remember +that fact, else his paper may find itself with a pretty libel suit on +its hands, with damages in the tens of thousands. + +If the WHO is not known in a crime story, that very fact is +interesting, and possible clues and suspects may be given in the lead. +In the body of the story, an account may be given of the discovery of +the crime, the calling of the police, their investigations. Quotations +from police or victims may be given, or from people arrested in +connection with the affair. Witnesses of crimes may be quoted verbatim +or indirectly. It is not necessary to make the story more sensational +than it is. Here, as elsewhere, good reporting consists in the clear +statement of facts, set down in terms of specific observations. The +reporter should at all times remain what his name implies, one that +brings reports of things seen and heard. His own opinions should be +kept in the background at all times, and nowhere more so than in this +type of story. + +The INTERVIEW, as a form of news writing, follows the same lines +as the other types of stories already considered, and is similarly +organized. The five essentials come in, although be it noticed that +the HOW generally entails a physical description of the man or woman +being interviewed. The feature is very frequently drawn from this +description, or from some noteworthy remark which is quoted directly. +The interviewer’s questions are rarely inserted, or if they are, they +are quoted indirectly. The body of the story consists very largely of +quotation, and the main problem here is generally to gain sufficient +variety to hold the interest. Such slight changes as are necessary to +put important words first in the sentence are allowable. If a prominent +banker says, “I think that labor is being unjustly hindered,” you are +perfectly justified in putting it in the more forceful form, “Labor +is, I think, being unjustly hindered.” So long as the thought of the +speaker is accurately represented, the reporter is within his bounds. + +What is commonly called SOCIETY NEWS generally features the names of +the people involved. Guests, decorations, clothing, music, chaperons, +entertainment, speakers, toasts, etc., are given in the body of the +story. Insofar as amateur theatrical performances and local talent +concerts also come under the head of society, they will be treated in +much the same fashion. The most interesting feature will sometimes +lie in the scenery, treatment, subject, etc., which will tend most +effectively to distinguish this particular performance from other +recent entertainments of the same sort. At the end the program is often +simply pasted on the sheet of copy-paper, to be printed entire. In +announcing engagements and marriages the reporter must protect himself +against the quasi-jokers who sometimes send in fake items of this kind +about their acquaintances. + +OBITUARIES almost invariably begin with the name of the person who +has died. The time and place of the death, with cause, are given in +the lead. The time and place of interment are given, as are also +the names of the surviving family. Following this commonly comes a +detailed account of the life of the deceased, sometimes set off from +the foregoing by a dash. In all big papers there are well-organized +files of the lives of men and women prominent in the community, state, +nation, or internationally, and on this “morgue” the reporter can draw +when he must write an obituary. + + + THE “FOLLOW-UP” STORY + +There is another type of story, which differs from those already dealt +with, only in the fact that it “follows up” some detail or details of +a previous day’s story, and hence is known as a “follow-up” story. +If in the case of a robbery, the robber is caught on the second day, +that fact will very likely be featured in the story. On the first day +all the elements were given concerning the discovery of the robbery, +police investigation, amount taken, etc., and hence these will not now +be given in such detail. But a brief summary of them will be given in +the lead, so that readers who missed the first account will be able +to follow intelligently the details given in the present story. Even +in the case of a story which has received national attention, and has +been running in the papers for weeks, any new development in the affair +will be featured, but somewhere will also appear a short account of the +original story, even if it is no more than a clause tacked onto one of +the more important sentences. Otherwise the follow-up story differs in +no degree from other stories in the news-columns. + +The art of developing follow-up features, however, is one of the +reporter’s most valuable gifts, it may be stated in passing, and +nowhere is it so important to have that “nose for news” of which +we hear so much talk. The best reporting is sometimes embodied in +these further developments which were not given in the original +story. Questions of WHO are involved in discovering the culprit of a +mysterious crime, just as the WHAT may develop into results and further +activities not anticipated at the first. In this same connection one +may obtain statements from authorities and prominent people as to the +meaning and significance of the occurrence, not generally realized. +WHERE may lead to news of the present whereabouts of offender, +victim, or loot. WHY or HOW may lead to the discovery of motive or +method which were unknown at the time of the first story. Thus, in +the first write-up of a fire, the extent of the conflagration would +be the feature. In a second story, perhaps the insurance, plans for +re-building, and a contemplated investigation would be featured, +whereas on the third day perhaps a suspicion of incendiarism would be +announced by the authorities, and on the fourth a suspect would be +arrested. These would all offer opportunities for follow-up stories, +each offering new features, and constituting practically a new story, +except for the fact that a brief review of the original facts of the +fire would be given in each story. + + + THE “RE-WRITE” STORY + +Of a different type is the “re-write” story, of which the reporter +generally has many to do in the course of his writing. In its commonest +form, a clipping from another paper is re-written for “our” sheet, +and the attempt then is so to change its form without altering its +facts, that it may pass for an original account. This generally entails +the finding of a new feature in the facts of the story, and for this +purpose a firm grasp of the fundamental human interests, as already +outlined, is essential. In most stories there are more than one +possible feature, and it is the business of the re-write man to pick +out some other one of these than the one used by the first man, and +work it up into a story. Thus if in a clipping from another paper it +was announced that hereafter all dances in town charging admission must +pay a privilege tax of $2.50, the re-write man might feature the fact +that the tax must be paid in advance for each dance given. Sometimes +a clipping concerning a police-court trial will contain an indirect +statement as to motive or cause. This can be turned into a direct +statement and featured in the re-write. The re-write is generally +shorter than the story from which it is taken. It is used only because, +for some reason or other, the paper failed to cover the story in +question. This may have been because a rival paper got a “scoop,” +or because the story appeared in a morning paper, while “our” paper +appears in the afternoon. In the latter case it is possible that our +readers have already seen the story in the morning paper, but we want +to protect those of our readers who did not see it there, and offer +them at least some sort of an account of the story. Hence the re-write, +which, while not considered the highest form of the reporter’s art, is +still looked upon as legitimate. + + + PREPARING COPY + +In the preparation of copy, it is the invariable rule nowadays that +the typewriter be used. In the rush of the modern newspaper office time +is too precious to be wasted over handwritten manuscript. But on the +other hand, the copy can be as marked up and changed as is necessary, +so long as it is easily legible to the linotype operator when it comes +into his hands to be set into type for printing. The whole standard of +neatness and legibility in newspaper copy is set by that fact. + +Thus, copy is always written double-spaced, with good wide white spaces +between the lines. Paragraphs are indented an inch or an inch and a +half, so as to be easily recognized as such by the operator. If a comma +is changed to a period, or contrariwise, that fact is made perfectly +evident on the copy, with no doubt about it. A small cross or a ring +with a dot in it is frequently used for a period. If a small letter +is to be capitalized, three short horizontal lines are drawn beneath +it, and if a capital letter is to be changed into a small letter, +an oblique line is to be drawn through it. A word to be struck out +altogether is not erased. Reporters haven’t time to traffic with rubber +erasers. The work is obliterated with a soft black pencil, however, so +there is no doubt in the mind of the operator if it is to go in or not. +If a numeral, 9, for instance, is to be written out in words, “nine,” a +ring is drawn around it, and the linotype operator will understand. The +same is true of abbreviations. + +Only one side of the paper is used, and at the top of the first +sheet, wide space is left for the headline to be written in. If there +is more than one sheet, they are generally all pasted together in one +long string, so as not to get separated, although when a reporter has +to write his story at different times this is impossible and he then +writes at the bottom of his story “MORE” and at the top of the next +sheet “ADD 2 ELECTION RETURNS.” At the end of his story he generally +puts some symbol to indicate the close. It is very frequently a “30” +with a ring around it, which is simply the sign of “the end” in the +telegraph code. + + + ON GETTING NEWS + +A few hints on the gathering of news may not be amiss. It must be +understood from the beginning that the reporter is not actually +present when all of the things happen about which he must write. A +newspaper could hardly keep large enough a staff to be actually on +hand when every accident and every fire took place. There are many +happenings which take place according to SCHEDULE, and which reporters +can consequently “cover” by being present on time and witnessing +the event. Such are games, trials, ceremonies, social functions, +interviews, parades, etc. But there are also hosts of occurrences which +happen unexpectedly, and of which the newspaper office can perforce +know nothing in advance. Such are crimes, fires, accidents, etc. The +problem, then, limits itself to finding out in advance the schedule of +pre-arranged events, and the quick discovery of happenings which come +off without warning. + +As to games, trials, parades, and most ceremonies, it is easy enough +to keep track of them, for their occurrence is so much a matter of +public interest that they are in some form or other advertised to +the people ahead of time. The same is true of marriages, for which +a license must be obtained from a public official and recorded in a +book open to the reporter. Deeds, mortgages, wills, and other legal +transactions have the same advantage in the eyes of the newspaper. +Social functions are a little harder, sometimes, to keep track of. +Hotels and restaurants will be glad to furnish the papers discreetly +with lists of coming events in their quarters, however, as it makes +for good publicity. Caterers and fancy bakers are generally not averse +to giving out the names and dates of coming events for which they have +orders. Many women call up and let the newspaper know of their affairs +in advance. In this connection it is well to state that all newspapers +like to have names in their columns, in abundance. Get names. Names +make for circulation. Names make for popularity with a paper. There +is not a human being that does not like to see his name in print. +Sometimes a person will call up the paper or see the editor on the +street and request that his or her name be kept out of the paper in +the future. But there is one thing that a person objects to, more than +seeing his name in the paper too much--and that, of course, is not to +see it in there at all. Wherever you can garner up a name, grab it and +use it in your news-writing. Write large in the tablets of your memory, +“GET NAMES.” There is only one thing more important in this respect, +and that is to get the names correctly. I said a moment ago that only +one thing was worse than not seeing your name in the paper at all, but +I believe I must almost take that back. If anything can be worse than +never appearing in the paper, it is to appear there, with one’s name +misspelled. Such a state of affairs, if habitually indulged in, can +ruin the public’s good feeling for a paper, and then it might as well +shut up shop. + +As to the UNEXPECTED happenings of the day, which the reporter is +supposed to catch and depict for the readers, the case is not so +altogether different as the uninitiated would suppose. In the first +place, most of these happenings are reported to the police, and the +record of them is thus quickly made available to the press. If a +man is run over, the police are among the first to know of it, and +instantly the reporter is on the trail of the accident. Newspapers +keep in constant contact with the police for this very purpose. And +no better advice could be given to a young reporter than “to stand in +well with the police.” Policemen know their communities in certain +respects better than anyone else, and sometimes a tactful approach +to a big blue-coat will do more to put a cub-reporter on the trail +of a story than a couple of hours of other attempts. Fire-stations +and ambulance-stations are also good positions from which to keep in +contact with the news. Hospitals, undertakers, the coroner’s office, +ministers, prominent club-people, are all sources of news, which, +although they are organized for other purposes, offer admirable +places for the registration of facts which the public wants to know +about as news. Hotels, railways, markets, stock exchanges, wharves +and schools all furnish good sources of information. Doctors are +rarely good sources of news, and hospitals sometimes give trouble in +this matter. But on the whole, all the localities thus far mentioned +are such regular gatherers and storers-up of news for the papers, +that editors put them on what is known as a “run” or a “beat” to be +visited periodically and the news gathered from them. To the layman it +comes as a shock to find how little we do in this world that is not +docketed somewhere, more or less officially. But it is a godsend to the +reporter, who thus can perform the seemingly impossible task of being +everywhere at the same time, seeing everything in all parts of the city. + +Much of the reporter’s time is spent in gaining information from +people by the general means of question and answer, and it is here +that he can use every ounce of tact and the knowledge of human nature +that he possesses. INTERVIEWING is the general name that can be given +to this part of his work, even though the word is generally reserved +for the more formal tasks of this nature. But there are some principles +that are useful in this matter, whether it be a washerwoman or a bank +president that is being questioned, and they can be set down here. +In the first place, it is almost universally a waste of time to ask +anybody “Have you any news?” Unless one has had technical or practical +training, a person usually does not know what constitutes news. Just as +he must aim at being specific in his writing, so also must the reporter +be prepared to ask specific questions of the people from whom he hopes +to gain information. “Who did so and so?” or “What did so and so do?” +or “When did so and so happen?” “Do you know where so and so is?” are +the type of definite questions that must be asked. Especially before +tackling a busy executive must the reporter have well in mind the exact +points which he wishes to clear up; but the same thing holds true in +all cases. The reporter organizes his questions, as it were, before he +begins to talk, knows what he wants to find out, and then goes for it. +Otherwise he will only too often find himself at last outside an office +door with no real advance made, no material gained for his story, +or he will find that some loquacious woman has led him far astray +into fields that have nothing to do with the story in point. Before +beginning to talk over the telephone, the reporter should have his +questions particularly well in mind, as he will be forced to carry on +a running fire of question and comment and at the same time be jotting +down notes. In face-to-face interviewing the reporter frequently has +difficulty in the matter of taking notes, as many people will take +fright when they see that their words are being taken down, and they +will then shut up like a clam. On the whole, it is perhaps better not +to produce a note-book in the presence of the person being interviewed, +but to jot down the notations immediately upon leaving. Over the +telephone it is always best, also, immediately to state that “this is +such-and-such a paper speaking.” + + + GENERAL HINTS + +If the authorities still do not know the identity of a culprit, or a +corpse, etc., do not state that “an unknown man” is in question. The +proper expression is “an unidentified man.” + +Similarly, do not state that a person has died “of heart failure,”--for +after all, that is what everybody eventually does. What is meant is +“heart trouble” or “heart disease.” + +In the matter of capital letters, newspapers can be grouped under two +great heads, those that incline to fewer capitals, and those leaning +toward more capitals. They are then known respectively as “down” or +“up” sheets, and a moment’s inspection of a paper will generally +suffice to show in which group it belongs. Some papers even print +White House with lower case initials. When writing for a paper, the +reporter should immediately find out whether it is “up” or “down.” The +tendency today seems to be toward fewer capitals. Many papers do not +capitalize “Street” or “Avenue.” Often such titles as “President” or +“Secretary” are capitalized if they stand before a name, and not, if +they stand after it. In the same way, many papers do not capitalize +“College” or “University” if they stand last. Thus, such papers would +say “University of Wisconsin,” but “Oberlin college.” + +Such matters are generally established in a newspaper office by +what is known as the “style-sheet,” and the reporter should quickly +familiarize himself with the style-sheet of his paper. Newspapers +vary, for instance, in their printing of numbers. In some sheets, all +numerals under one hundred are written out, and all above it are given +in figures. In other offices the rule is that all numbers above ten +are given in numerals. Also there are on nearly every paper certain +expressions or words which must not under any circumstances be used. +One editor will not permit “over” in the sense of “more than,” whereas +another editor will not tolerate the word “admirable” in his columns. +These matters are entirely a question of the personal opinion of those +in authority, and must therefore simply in each case be memorized and +complied with. + +General rules of grammar must also, of course, be followed, and need +not be dwelt upon here. Attention may perhaps be drawn to the danger +of the “hanging participle,” however, as it is sometimes met with +in otherwise carefully written sheets. “Throwing on his brakes too +quickly, the car skidded before Jones could dodge the child, etc.,” +shows the error referred to. “Throwing” is the participle, and inasmuch +as it refers to Jones, his name should then have been made the subject +of the sentence. Another error frequently met with consists in joining +a plural subject and a singular verb or contrariwise. “Each of the +culverts are to be investigated” announced one of this morning’s +metropolitan papers. Of course “each” is a singular pronoun and should +have been followed by “is.” Any good handbook of rhetoric, such as +Wooley’s, will point out a host of such stumbling blocks. + +In the matter of titles, it may be remarked that “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas +D. Jones” is considered better than “Mr. Thomas D. Jones and his wife.” +The abbreviation “Rev.” must not be used unless the given names are +used. Thus “The Rev. Thompson” is incorrect. Either “The Reverend Mr. +Thompson” or “The Rev. Henry B. Thompson” must be used. So also, “Mr.” +is generally omitted before a name if the given name is used. “Walter +F. Brown” and “Mr. Brown” are the proper forms. + +Fight shy of trite expressions. Keep on the constant look-out in your +writing for any tendency to slip into hackneyed phrases whose edges +have become blunted. “Elegant,” “charming,” “well-known” ought in +general to be left as much alone as “the conventional black” or “doing +as well as could be expected.” A real interest in your work, a true +realization of the infinite variety and richness of the life going on +about you, and a desire to state in as vivid a form as possible all the +things you have to say will go far in saving you from this trouble. +Don’t fall into the way of doing “rubber-stamp” writing. + +And now, as the very last hint of all comes perhaps the most important +statement: + + + ACCURACY FIRST + +Let that motto be branded in your memory the deepest of all. Interest +was the key to all news-writing, we found at the beginning, and +certainly its importance cannot be over-stated. But in the name of +interest the matter of ACCURACY FIRST should never be lost sight of. +A reporter whose work cannot be trusted in this matter will lose out +sooner or later, just as a newspaper itself which cannot be trusted +will lose caste. It may seem innocent enough here and there to touch +up a story just a little bit to enhance its interest. Some editors, +even, may insist upon your injecting a little of this venial spice. +But the feeling is growing more and more strong that a reporter should +be exactly what his name implies, one that reports. After all, the +people are trusting him as the basis on which will be built that thing +most important to a democracy, public opinion. If public information +is polluted here at its very source, there is danger of contagion and +disease throughout the nation. The finest newspaper men of this and +other lands are striving to make imperative throughout their sheets the +motto + + _ACCURACY FIRST_. + + + + +Transcriber’s Note: + +Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like +this_. Obsolete spelling was not changed. Obvious printing errors, +such as missing letters or letters printed in the wrong order, were +corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences were added. + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77396 *** |