Part 13

These quotations are usually interspersed with paragraphs which summarize the unimportant intervening testimony. The running story attempts to follow the progress of the hearing in greater or less detail, depending upon the space given to the story, just as a speech report attempts to follow a public discourse. Dry and unimportant facts are briefly summarized, interesting parts of the testimony are quoted in full. The running story is usually written while the hearing is in session or taken from a stenographic report of the hearing. After the running story has been completed, the reporter prepares a lead for the beginning to summarize the results or to play up the most significant part of the story. If the running story is short a lead of one paragraph is sufficient, but if it is long, the lead may be expanded into several paragraphs.

XIII

SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES

The study of newspaper treatment of social news is a broad one. Every newspaper has its own system of handling social news and the general tendencies that are to be noted deal rather with the facts that are printed than with the manner of treatment. Every newspaper gives practically the same facts about a wedding but each individual newspaper has a method of its own of writing up those facts. One thing that is always true of social news reporting is that the amount of space given to social items varies inversely with the importance of the newspaper and the size of the city in which it is printed. A little country weekly or semi-weekly in a small town does not hesitate to run two columns or more on Sadie Smith's wedding. The report runs into minute details and anecdotes that all of the "Weekly's" readers know before the paper arrives. But the editor prints everything he can find or invent simply because all of his readers are more or less personally connected with the affair and are anxious to see their names in print and to read about themselves. The liberty that such an editor gives himself is of course impossible in a larger paper.

On the other hand, a daily in a city of average size would reduce such a story to a stickful and a metropolitan daily would run only a one-line announcement in the "List of marriages," unless the story was especially interesting. The same thing applies to all social stories. Some metropolitan newspapers do not run social news at all.

All of this is true because social news is governed by the same principles that regulate all news values. Unless a society event has some feature that is interesting impersonally--that is, of interest to readers who do not know the principals of the event--it is of value only as a larger or smaller number of the paper's readers are personally connected with the event. Hence in a small town where every one knows every one else, society news is of great value. In a large city a very small proportion of the readers are connected with the social items that the paper has to print and are therefore not interested in them--accordingly the newspaper either cuts them down to a minimum of space or does not run them at all.

Therefore in our study society news falls into two classes: social items that are of interest only in themselves to persons connected with the events; and big society stories or unusual social events that are of interest to readers who are not acquainted with the principals.

=1. Weddings.=--The wedding story reduced to its lowest terms in a metropolitan paper consists of a one-line announcement in the list of "Marriages" or "Marriage Licenses"; thus:

| SMITH-JONES--Feb. 14, Katherine Jones | |to Charles C. Smith.--_New York Times._ |

If the paper runs a few columns of social news and the persons concerned in the wedding are of any importance socially, the wedding may be given a stickful. Such an account would confine itself entirely to names and facts and would be characterized by very decided simplicity and brevity. Usually nothing more would be given than the names and address of the bride's parents, the bride's first name, the groom's name, the place, and the name of the minister who officiated. Occasionally the name of the best man and a few other details are added, but never does the story become personal. It is interesting only to those who know or know of the persons concerned.

For example:

| SMITH-JONES | | | |The marriage of Miss Katherine M. Jones, | |elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph | |Jones, 253 Ninth street, and Charles C. | |Smith was celebrated at 4 o'clock | |yesterday afternoon at the First Methodist| |Church, 736 Grand avenue. Rev. William | |Brown, rector of the church, performed the| |ceremony. |

It will be noted that in the above story the name of the bride is written out in full, "Miss Katherine M. Jones." Many newspapers, however, would simply give her first name, thus: "Katherine, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Jones."

If the above wedding were of greater importance more details might be given. These would include the attendants, descriptions of the gowns of the bride and her attendants, the guests from out of town, music, decorations, the reception, and perhaps some of the presents. Sometimes the wedding trip and an announcement of when and where the couple will be at home are added. The above story might run on into detail something like this:

| Miss Jones, who was given in marriage | |by her father, wore a white satin gown | |trimmed with Venetian point lace, and her | |point lace veil, a family heirloom, was | |caught with orange blossoms. She carried | |a bouquet of white sweet peas and lilies | |of the valley. Miss Dorothy Jones, a | |sister of the bride, who was maid of | |honor, wore a gown of green chiffon over | |satin, with lingerie hat, and carried | |sweet peas. Douglas Jackson was the best | |man and the ushers were Dr. John B. | |Smith, Samuel Smith, Gordon Hunt, Rodney | |Dexter, Norris Kenny, and Arthur | |Johnston. A reception followed the | |ceremony at the home of the bride's | |parents. |

This is probably as long a story as any average paper would run on any wedding, unless the wedding had some striking feature that would make the story of interest to readers who did not know the principals. Note in the foregoing story the simplicity and impersonal tone. There is a wealth of facts but there is no coloring. This tone should characterize every society story. A list of out-of-town guests might have been added, but as often that would be omitted. In some cases the last sentence might be followed by an announcement like this:

| The bride and bridegroom have gone on a | |wedding tour of the West; after April 1 | |they will be at home at 76 Kimbark | |avenue. |

In this connection the young reporter should note the distinctions in meaning of the various words used in a wedding story. For instance, he should consult the dictionary for the exact use of the verbs "to marry" and "to wed"--he should know who "is married," who "is married to," and who "is given in marriage," etc. He should also know the difference between a "marriage" and a "wedding."

=2. Wedding Announcements.=--Wedding announcements are run in the social columns of many papers. These items contain practically the same facts that we find in the story written after the wedding, except, of course, that the reporter cannot dilate on decorations, and must stick to facts. These facts usually consist of the names of the couple, the names of the bride's parents, and the time and the place of the wedding. Additionally the reporter may give the minister's name, the names of the maid of honor and of the best man, the reception or breakfast to follow, and where the couple will be at home.

| The wedding of Miss Gladys Jones and | |Richard Smith will take place on | |Wednesday evening in All Angels' Church. | |The bride is a daughter of Mrs. Charles | |Jones, who will give a bridal supper and | |reception afterward at her home. |

There are of course many other ways to begin the announcement. "Miss Mary E. MacGuire, daughter of, etc."; "Invitations have been issued for the wedding of Miss, etc."; "One of the weddings on for Tuesday is that of Miss, etc."; "Cards are out for the wedding on Saturday of Miss, etc."; and many others. In each case the bride's name has the place of importance.

=3. Announcements of Engagements.=--Announcements of engagements are usually even briefer than wedding announcements. The item consists merely of one sentence in which the young lady's mother or parents make the announcement with the name of the prospective groom.

| Mrs. Russell D. Jones of 45 Ninth | |street announces the engagement of her | |daughter, Natalie, to John MacBaine | |Smith. |

The item may also begin "Mr. and Mrs. X. X. So-and-So announce, etc.," or simply "Announcement is made of the engagement of Miss Stella Blank, daughter of, etc."

=4. Receptions and Other Entertainments.=--If a paper is to keep up in society news, it must report many social entertainments. However, such events are treated by large dailies as simply, briefly, and impersonally as possible. Such a story, like the report of a wedding, consists merely of certain usual facts. The name of the host or hostess, the place, the time, and the special entertainments are of course always included. Sometimes the occasion for the event, the guests of honor, and a description of the decorations are added,--also the names of those who assisted the hostess.

| Mrs. James Harris Jones gave a | |reception yesterday at her home, 136 | |Fifth street, for her daughter, Miss | |Dorothy Jones. In the receiving line were | |Miss Marjorie Smith, Miss, etc. * * The | |reception was followed by an informal | |dance. |

If the event is held especially for débutantes, the fact is noted at the very start. "A number of débutantes assisted in receiving at a tea given by, etc."; "The débutantes of the winter were out in force, etc."

Such a story is usually followed by a list of guests, a list of out-of-town guests, a list of subscribers, or something of the sort. Ordinarily the list is not tabulated but is run in solid, thus:

| The guests were: Miss Kathleen Smith, | |Miss Georgia Brown, etc. |

Very often the names are grouped together, thus:

| The guests were: The Misses Kathleen | |Smith, Georgia Brown; Mesdames Robert R. | |Green, John R. Jones; and the Messrs. | |George Hamilton, Francis Bragg, etc. |

The number of variations in such stories is limited only by the ingenuity of the people who are giving such entertainments. But in each case the reporter learns to give the same facts in much the same order. And he gives them in an uncolored, impersonal way that makes the items interesting only to those who are directly connected with them. The story may vary from a single sentence to half a column, but it always begins in the same way and elaborates only the same details. Before trying to write up social entertainments, a reporter should always be sure of the use of the various words he employs--"chaperon," "patroness," etc. For instance, can we say that "Mr. and Mrs. Smith acted as chaperons"?

=5. Social Announcements.=--Social announcements of any kind are usually, like the wedding and engagement announcements, confined to a single sentence. They tell only the name of the host and hostess, the name of the guest of honor or the occasion for the event, the time, and the place. Thus:

| Mrs. Charles P. Jones will give a dance| |this evening at her home, 181 Nineteenth | |street, to introduce her sister, Miss | |Elsie Holt. |

A study of the foregoing sections on society stories shows how definitely a reporter is restricted in the facts that he may include in his social items--how conventional social stories have become. This very restraint in the matter of facts makes it the more necessary for a reporter to exercise his originality in the diction of social items. He must guard against the use of certain set expressions, like "officiating," "performed the ceremony," and "solemnized." While restricted in the facts that he may give, he must try to present the same old facts in new and interesting ways--he may even resort to a moderate use of "fine writing," if he does not become florid or frivolous.

=6. Unusual Social Stories.=--Just as soon as any of these stories contains a feature that is of interest to the general public in an impersonal way it leaves the general class of social news and becomes a news story to be written with the usual lead. Even the presence of a very prominent name will make a news story out of a social item. For instance, the wedding of Miss Ethel Barrymore was written by many papers as a news story. On the other hand, an unusual marriage, an unusual elopement, or anything unusual and interesting in a wedding gives occasion for a news story. Here is one:

| Because their 15-year-old daughter, | |Sarah, married a man other than the one | |they had chosen, who is wealthy, Mr. and | |Mrs. Markovits of 3128 Cedar street have | |gone into deep mourning, draped their | |home in crepe and announced to their | |friends that Sarah is | |dead.--_Philadelphia Ledger._ |

Or the story may be handled in a more humorous way, thus:

| There is really no objection to him, | |and she is quite a nice young woman, but | |to be married so young, and to go on a | |wedding journey with $18 in their | |purses--but Wallace Jones, student of the| |Western University, and Ruth Smith, | |student in the McKinley High School, | |decided it was too long a time to wait, | |and a nice old pastor gentleman in St. | |Joe has made them one.--_Milwaukee Free | |Press._ |

=7. Obituaries.=--Like many other classes of newspaper stories, the obituary has developed a conventional form which is followed more or less rigidly by all the papers of the land. Every obituary follows the same order and tells the same sort of facts about its subject. It begins with a brief account of the deceased man's death, runs on through a very condensed account of the professional side of his life and ends with the announcement of his funeral or a list of his surviving relatives.

The lead is concerned only with his death, answering the usual questions about _where_, _how_, and _why_, and is written to stand alone if necessary. It ordinarily begins with the man's full name, because of course the name is the most important thing in the story, and then tells who he was and where he lived. This is followed, perhaps in the same sentence, by the time of his death, the cause, and perhaps the circumstances. Thus:

| CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 25.--Dr. John H.| |Blank, professor of Greek at Harvard | |since 1887 and dean of the Graduate | |School since 1895, died at his home in | |Quincy street today from heart trouble. | |Professor Blank was an authority on | |classical subjects.--_New York Tribune._ |

This, as you see, might stand alone and be complete in itself. Many obituaries, however, add another paragraph after the lead in which the circumstances of the death are discussed in greater detail. Here is the second paragraph of another obituary:

| At 8:30 tonight Mr. Blank was walking | |with his wife on the veranda of the | |Delmonte Hotel, when he suddenly gasped | |as if in great pain and fell to the | |floor. He was carried inside, but was | |dead before the physicians reached his | |bedside. Apoplexy is said to have been | |the cause. |

Next comes the account of the deceased man's life. It is told very briefly and impersonally and concerns itself chiefly with the events of his business or professional activities. It is but a catalogue of his achievements and the dates of those achievements. These facts are usually obtained from the file of biographies--called the morgue--which most newspapers keep. The account first tells when and where he was born and perhaps who his parents were. Next his education is briefly discussed. Then the chief events of his professional or business life. The date of his marriage and the maiden name of his wife are included somewhere in or at the end of this account. Usually a list of the organizations of which the man was a member and a list of the books which he had written are attached to this account. One of the foregoing obituaries continues as follows:

| He was born in Urumiah, Persia, on | |February 4, 1852, being the son of the | |Rev. Austin H. Blank, a missionary. He | |was graduated from Dartmouth in 1873, and| |that college awarded him the degrees of | |A. M. in 1876 and LL.D. in 1901. From | |1876 to 1878 he studied at Leipzig | |University. He was assistant professor of| |ancient languages at the Ohio | |Agricultural and Mechanical College from | |1873 to 1876, associate professor of | |Greek at Dartmouth from 1878 to 1880, | |and dean of the collegiate board and | |professor of classical philology at Johns| |Hopkins in 1886 and 1887. In 1906 and | |1907 he served as professor in the | |American School of Classical Studies in | |Athens. | | | | (Then follows a list of the | |organizations of which he was a member | |and the periodicals with which he was | |connected.) | | | | He married Miss Mary Blank, daughter of| |the president of Blank College, in 1879, | |and she survives him. | |--_New York Tribune._ |

The obituary usually ends with a list of surviving relatives--especially children and very often the funeral arrangements are included. This is the last paragraph of another obituary:

| His first wife, Mary V. Blank, died in | |1872. Three years later he married Mrs. | |Sarah A. Blank, of Hightstown, N. J., who| |with four daughters, survives him. The | |funeral will be held tomorrow at 11:30 | |o'clock. The burial will be in the family| |plot in Greenwood Cemetery. |

This is the standard form of the obituary which is followed by most daily newspapers in fair-sized cities. The form is characterized by an extreme conciseness and brevity and an absolutely impersonal tone. Very rightly, an obituary is handled with a sense of the sanctified character of its subject It offers no opportunity for fine writing or human interest; it simply gives the facts as briefly and impersonally as possible.

XIV

SPORTING NEWS

Division of labor on the larger American newspapers has made the reporting of athletic and sporting events into a separate department under a separate editor. The pink or green sporting sheets of the big papers have become separate little newspapers in themselves handled by a sporting editor and his staff and entirely devoted to athletic news, except when padded out with left-over stories from other pages. Although on smaller papers any reporter may be called upon to cover an athletic event, in the cities such news is handled entirely by experts who are thoroughly acquainted with all phases of the athletic sports about which they write. The stories on the pink sheet enjoy the greatest unconventionality of form to be seen anywhere in the paper except on the editorial page. And yet, because athletic reporters are usually men taken from regular reporting and because the same ideas and necessities of news values govern the sporting pages, athletic stories follow, in general, the usual news story form.

One may expect to find under the head of sports almost any news that is any way connected with college, amateur, or professional athletics. The stories include accounts of baseball and football games, rowing, horse racing, track meets, boxing, and many other forms of sport, as well as any discussions or movements growing out of these sports. Many of the stories are only a few lines in length while others may cover a column or more. But in general each one has a lead which answers the questions _when?_ _where?_ _how?_ _who?_ and _why?_ and runs along much like an ordinary news story. For, after all, even athletic stories are written to attract and to hold the reader's interest whether or not he is directly interested in the sport under discussion. Any reporter who is called upon to cover an athletic event is safe in writing his story in the usual news story form.

As it would be impossible to discuss all the various stories that come under the head of athletic news, the reporting of college football games will be taken as typical of the others. The rules that are suggested for the reporting of football games may be applied to baseball games, track meets, and other sporting events. The same principles govern all of them and the stories usually summarize results in about the same way. Football stories may be divided into three general classes: the brief summary story of a stickful or a trifle more; the usual football story of a half column or less; and the long story that may be run through a column or more, depending upon the importance of the game.