CHAPTER XV

NEWSPAPER BROMIDES

Contrary to the opinions of many, the newspaper has saved its readers from that modern perversion of our already forcible English, slang. It has pruned its language of affectation, fine writing and indiscriminate and excessive use of adjectives.--From an address by the REV. WILLIAM B. NORTON, of Evanston, Ill., as reported by the Chicago _Evening Post_.

If a reporter is lazy or inclined to “fine writing” he has only to reach into the grab-box of his memory to draw out a word or phrase, all ready to his hand, that seems to suit the occasion. Was the horse running fast? Then it was going at “breakneck speed.” Did the young woman who was pulled out of the river fall in love with her rescuer? Then “her gratitude melted into love.” It was the “old, old story.” She became his “blushing bride” and the news of the marriage was to the discarded suitor “like a bolt from a clear sky.” “A host of friends” attended the “nuptials” and the “happy couple” were “showered with congratulations.”

Handy, cut-and-dried expressions will creep into copy unless the reporter is always on the alert to find the right word. Many of the figures of speech in this category doubtless possessed charm and piquancy at one time, but through long usage they have sunk to a meaningless level. They have become part of the stock in trade of the “fine writer,” who seeks to confound the reader with large words. Other words and phrases are merely trivial or in poor taste. The news writer should study to fit his words exactly to the meaning he intends to convey, instead of lazily giving way to the temptation to draw on a ready-made stock.

“Bromides” is the name given by the newspaper man to this stock of handy expressions. The term is thus defined in a bulletin issued by a metropolitan newspaper for its copy readers: “A bromide, in a newspaper office, is a word, phrase or expression, or turn of style, that is especially lacking in originality--overworked, hackneyed--a ‘chestnut.’ The daily travail of the editor and the copy reader is in scouting for errors of grammar and skirmishing with inaccuracy and awkwardness. But it is a massacre of libel; a war of extermination against bromides.”

The following list of “bromides” includes both trite and grandiose expressions which the news writer will do well to avoid and the copy reader to eliminate if they are passed on to him. The list is intended to be only suggestive of the evils of “bromidic” writing. It is far from exhaustive. Almost any newspaper man could add similar expressions which have come within his experience:

admiring friends agent of death ancestral domain and many others angry mob arch culprit avenging justice

battle-scarred veteran beautiful and accomplished bereaved widow better half beyond peradventure of a doubt big mogul (locomotive) bleeding, mangled form blunt instrument blushing bride body of the deceased bolt from a clear sky bonds of matrimony bosom of the briny deep bourne from which no traveler returns brand from the burning breakneck speed break the news gently breathless silence burden of bluecoats burly negro busy marts of trade

carnival of crime catch of the season caught like a rat in a trap caught red-handed certain party (for person) challenge contradiction checkered career city bastile city’s fair escutcheon clutches of the law commercial emporium conspicuous by his absence contracting parties (in marriage) conventional black cool as a cucumber cowering poltroon crisp ten-dollar bill crowded to its utmost capacity culminated in the nuptials cynosure of all eyes

Dan Cupid’s dart dastardly assassin day of reckoning delicious refreshments demure miss devoted slave devouring element diabolical outrage divine (for preacher) divine passion dull, corroding care dull, sickening thud durance vile dusky damsel downy couch

ebbing life blood effected an entrance eked out a bare existence elegant creation entered a state of coma evening repast exigencies of the occasion extended heartfelt sympathy

facile pen failed to materialize fair sex fair women and brave men fateful words feast of reason feathered songster fell design festive occasion fever heat few and far between fiery steed first fall of the beautiful fleeting breath foeman worthy of his steel for it was none other than he formulated a design fragrant Havana frenzied finance furtively secreting

gathered to his fathers general public genial boniface gilded youth goes without saying grand old party gratitude melted into love great beyond grewsome spectacle grim reaper groaned under the weight of toothsome viands

hairbreadth escape happy benedict heartrending screams hied himself high dudgeon high road to recovery host of friends human freight hungry flames hurled defiance hymeneal altar

immaculate linen in a clerical capacity inclemency of the weather inner circles of society

jury of his peers

kind and indulgent father knights of the grip

large and enthusiastic audience last but not least late lamented launched into eternity leaden missile light collation lingering illness lion of all social gatherings little blind god located his whereabouts lodged in jail long sleep (death) lull before the storm lurid flames

made good his escape man of parts maze of mystery minions of the law modicum of notoriety mourned their loss

natty suit neatly engraved invitations neat sum never in the history of news leaked out nice manners nick of time nipped in the bud notorious crook and police character

old, old story (love) oldest inhabitant one fell swoop one fine day own inimitable way

pale as death pangs of poverty phials of his scorn piercing shriek of anguish pillar of the church police dragnet populace was up in arms portals of his living tomb portent of evil prepossessing appearance present incumbent presided at the piano prominent (of persons) public prints put in an appearance

quiet home wedding

raging torrent rash act recipient of handsome and costly presents remains (for body) rendered a widow ripe old age rising young barrister rooted to the spot rumors are rife rushed post haste

sacred edifice sad rites sad tidings scene beggared description seemed to spring from thin air serious but not necessarily fatal set the town agog shook like a leaf shorn of his accustomed affability shrouded in mystery silver-tongued orator sixteen summers (in giving age) smoking revolver snorting iron horse (locomotive) snug income sole topic of conversation spread like wildfire stepped into the breach sterling worth and high promise still evening air stood aghast storm king stung with remorse succulent bivalve suicide (as a verb) summoned medical aid sustained an injury swathed in bandages sweet slumber

thickest of the fray this mortal coil tidy sum tiny tots tireless vigil tonsorial parlor took into custody took the bit in his teeth totally destroyed to the bitter end tried and true official tripped the light fantastic

ubiquitous reporter unbiased probe under cover of the darkness unfortunate victim unique in the city’s annals united in the bonds of matrimony upholders of law and order

vale of tears vanished as if the earth had swallowed him up vengeance his portion viewed the remains vouches for the authenticity of

war to the knife waxed eloquent weaker sex wedded bliss wee sma’ hours weird scene well-known club man white as a sheet wildest excitement with becoming grace without fear of successful contradiction witnesses duly sworn

INDEX

A

Abbreviation, marks used in, 6, 186; care necessary in, 221

Accuracy, importance of, 30; in observation, 31; in names, 33, 35, 179; in street addresses, 34; in spelling, 34; effort to obtain, 36, 225; in interview, 121; in business stories, 133; in correspondence, 151; essential in copy reading, 175

Active voice, 13, 204

Add, how marked, 188

Advance copy, 123; notices by mail, 161; held for release, 168

Advertisement, head compared to, 194

Ages, style in giving, 217

Alliteration, in headlines, 202

Anglo-Saxon, words preferred, 13, 103; in heads, 196

Asquith, the Right Honorable H. H., on prolixity, 211

Assignment, defined, 2

Associated Press, dispatch from, 70

B

Bad taste, example, 27

Baltimore _Sun_, story from the, 142

Banner, in head writing, 209

Beat, defined, 2; measured by minutes, 134

Bible, as model for news writer, 9, 61

“Bohemians,” no longer tolerated, 191

Boston _Transcript_, head from the, 197

Box head, defined, 209

Brisbane, Arthur, on newspaper work, 17

Bromides in writing, 224; list of, 226

Bulletins, when to send, 157, 159, 166

Business stories, care necessary in covering, 133

C

Capital letters, how indicated, 186; in heads, 206, 210

Cheap slang, example, 39

Chicago _Evening Post_, stories from the, 126, 139

Chicago _Inter-Ocean_, editorial on news, 41

Chicago _Record-Herald_, stories from the, 72, 76; instructions to correspondents, 154, 220; style, 177; head from the, 199

Chicago _Tribune_, order to correspondents, 157; news specialties, 160

_Christian Science Monitor_, editorial on news writing, 79

Cincinnati _Enquirer_, sporting news, 160; on promptness, 166; style of heads, 202

City editor, has “nose for news,” 43; judge of story, 81; valuing news, 103

Classified, see Department

Clearness, necessity of, 9; in heads, 196

Climax, first in news story, 57, 79

Collective nouns, 218

Compression, in news writing, 80

Conciseness, why desirable, 11; in telegraph stories, 152

Copy, defined, 1; how to prepare, 4; reading copy, 171; specimen page of, 185; “A Copy,” 189; schedule, 192

Copy readers, duties of, 3, 171; qualifications of, 172; organization of, 174; must be vigilant, 178; work under stress, 190

Corrections, care necessary in making, 5

Correspondents, functions of, 150; pitfalls for, 154; alertness appreciated, 159; instructions to, 169; how paid, 170

Court reports, to be watched carefully, 179

Crime news, question of ethics, 131

D

Damaging statements, 19, 133, 155

Death stories, choice of words in, 38; examples, 38, 141, 142, 143; points to cover in, 130

Deck of head, defined, 201

Definiteness, in news writing, 22; examples, 94, 147; in heads, 197

Department stories, 48; “slugs” given to, 182

Dialect, use of, 23, 88, 219

Don’ts for news writer, list of, 211

Drop line in head, 207

E

Editing, marks used in, 184; page of edited copy, 185

Editorial comment, not permitted in news, 20; weakens story, 25

End-mark, use of, 5, 187

Expansion, in news writing, 80

_Ex parte_ statements, danger in, 156, 180

F

Fairness, essential in story, 18

Faking, not tolerated, 82, 153

Feature stories, defined, 3; examples, 29, 106, 108, 124, 127; treatment of, 47, 98; for entertainment, 101; suggestions for, 111; may be interview, 120; sending by mail, 168

Fictional method, in news writing, 71, 99

Fine writing, not wanted, 10, 103, 224; examples, 16, 38, 226

Fire stories, general plan of, 79; examples, 72, 77, 89, 95, 139, 142; analysis of a story, 92; points to cover in, 129

Flippancy, to be avoided, 23, 88, 103

Follow copy, 6, 176

Follow stories, 183

Force in writing, how obtained, 12

Foreign words, 215

Freak head, example, 209

Fulton (Mo.) _Gazette_, editorial on country journalism, 17

G

Generalities, to be avoided, 21

Good taste, essential in news writing, 22; illustrated, 109

Gossip, beware of unfounded, 154

Greeley, Horace, view of reporting, 23

Guide line, in reading copy, 181

H

Headlines (heads), defined, 3; old style, 62; written by copy readers, 175; danger of libel in, 179, 194; how designated, 183; newspapers judged by, 193; reproductions of, 195, 197, 199, 201, 204, 207, 209; not mere labels, 196; tense in, 198; local in application, 202; trite phrasing in, 204; various styles of, 208

Hope, Anthony, on style, 113

Horrible details, to be shunned, 23

Human-interest stories, defined, 47; examples, 50, 72, 95, 109; value of, 102; prescription for, 103; uncovering facts of, 104; divergence in treatment of, 132; in demand, 161

Humor, example of, 49; examples of unconscious, 191, 192

I

Imperative form, in heads, 203

Impersonality, in news writing, 20

Inserts, in copy, 5, 187, 189

Interview, defined, 113; when incidental, 114; as the story itself, 118; first steps in getting, 118; examples, 119, 120, 124-128

Irwin, Will, on reporting, 1

J

Journalism, personal era gone, 21; daily problem of, 132; sensational, 193

Jump head, defined, 209

K

Kansas City _Star_, departure from custom in the, 62, 71; stories from the, 71, 72, 75, 76, 108; style, 178; heads, 200

Knapp, George L., on newspaper English, 30

L

Lead, introduction of story, 2; method of writing, 57; what it contains, 59; styles vary, 62; kinds to be avoided, 63; police data in, 64; names in, 65; general rule for, 67; examples, 70-78, 147, 148

Lecky, W. E. H., on style, 79

Legibility, how obtained, 5

Libel, danger of, 20; possible in names, 155, 179; rules about, 178; in headlines, 179, 194

Lower case, defined, 210

Lyman, Hart, on art of compression, 171

M

Mail, how to send stories by, 168

Make-up, defined, 4; methods of, 84

Mechanics, of story, 84, 123; of head, 201

Metaphor, use of, 15

N

Names, must be watched, 6; misspelling resented, 33; in beginning story, 65; in business stories, 133; danger of libel in, 155, 179; style in giving, 221

News, often pruned, 23; basic themes unchanging, 25; values, 41; how judged, 43; sensational, 45; plain, 46; feature, 47, 98; human-interest, 47, 102; department, 48; crime news, 131; ages quickly, 134; from out of town, 150; sporting, 162; told in heads, 194

Newspaper, English often criticized, 8; fascination of work, 20; workshop unique, 25; safeguards against error, 36; its problem, 44; women readers of, 46; source of entertainment, 100; handling crime news, 131; telegraph service, 150; wants facts only, 154; variations in style, 176; headlines important, 193

New York _Evening Post_, editorial on style, 7

New York _Herald_, instruction, 84

New York _Mail_, story from the, 127

New York _Sun_, style a model, 50; stories from the, 50, 73, 99; head from the, 204

New York _World_, stories from the, 95, 109, 124, 146; head from the, 209

Norton, the Rev. William B., on slang, 224

O

Observation, accuracy essential in, 31

O’Malley, Frank Ward, story by, 50

Originality, one secret of, 24; story lacking in, 28; example of, 106

_Outlook_, comment by the, 55

Overline, defined, 209

P

Paragraphs, indentation of, 5; length of, 184; when run together, 186

Pictures, with feature stories, 29; in Sunday magazine, 105; by mail, 162

Pitfalls, for reporter, 154

Place, as feature of story, 76

Plain news story, 46

Police stations, how named, 28

Pronouns, care necessary in use of, 88

Proofreading, not copy reading, 3

Puns, on names, 23

Pyramid, form of head, 208

Q

Query, defined, 163; blind, 165.

Questions-and-answers method, example, 127

Questions, in heads, 203

Quotation, as lead of story, examples, 73, 74; preceding story, example, 75; when undesirable, 116; in beginning interview, examples, 119, 124, 126; should not be slavish, 121; indirect, 126; in telegraphing, 170; may be libelous, 180

R

Reporter, his run or beat, 2; viewpoint of, 17; responsibility of, 19; must observe keenly, 31; place on newspaper, 42; must not “editorialize,” 89; idea of big story, 114; power to do harm, 133; seeking the right word, 224

“Report of a Suicide,” 99

Rewriting, 136; examples, 138, 139

Running head, 202

Run-over head, 209

S

St. Louis _Post-Dispatch_, editorial on newspaper “endowment,” 30; story from the, 106; instructions to correspondents, 167

St. Louis _Republic_, editorial on reporting, 17; on news values, 129; rules about libel, 178

St. Louis _Star_, on revolting stories, 213

Scandal, perverted idea about, 161

Schedule, kept by copy reader, 192

Scoop, see Beat

Second-day stories, 134

Sentences, preference given short, 14, 88; in lead of story, 65; avoid monotony in, 65, 220

Signed story, exceptional, 20; example, 127

Simplicity, keynote of news writing, 9; in writing of death, 39; in lead, 61; in head, 196; Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_ on, 214

Slang, in news story, 10; two kinds of, 22; in head, 202

Slug, name given story, 3, 181

Space rates, for correspondents, 170

Special correspondent, see Correspondent

Speeches, how covered, 122

Sporting news, instructions regarding, 162

Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_, on paragraphs, 184; on short words, 214

Story, defined, 1; qualities of ideal, 18; short feature, example, 29; kinds of, 46; plain, 46; feature, 47, 98; human-interest, 47, 102; lead of, 57; data from 100 typical stories, 68; body of, 79; mechanics of, 84, 123; often pruned, 85, 164; unlike novel, 87; for entertainment, 101; special types of, 129; telegraph, 150; marks in editing, 184; adds and inserts, 188

Street addresses, must be closely watched, 34

Style, three qualities of, 9; special rules of, 62, 175; variations in, 177

Sub-head, defined, 210

Suicide stories, examples, 71, 72, 146; motive a feature, 131; often ignored, 132

Sunday magazine stories, 48, 105

Superlatives, use sparingly, 219

Swiftness, essential in copy reading, 173, 177

Symmetry, desired in heads, 205

Symposium, defined, 124

T

Technical terms, to be avoided, 10

Telegraph news, boiled down, 141; how gathered, 150; skeletonizing, 152; estimating value of, 153; what not to send, 156; what to send, 160; sporting news, 162; how to send, 163; handling big story, 165; instructions regarding, 169

Telephone, used by correspondents, 163, 166

Thoroughness, in covering story, 82

Time, styles in giving, 39, 139, 217, 219; as feature of story, 75; “to-day” preferred, 134; in heads, 202

Trite expressions, in heads, 204; list of, 226

Trivialities, to be avoided, 26, 83, 153, 156

Type, counting units in head, 206; illustration of Gothic, 207; upper and lower case, 210

Typewriter, preferred for news writing, 4

U

Upper case, defined, 210

V

Verbosity, not permitted, 11, 185

Viewpoint, must be unprejudiced, 17

W

Washington _Herald_, editorial on newspaper English, 57

Washington _Times_, editorial on news, 150

Wedding stories, points to be covered in, 131

Well-known, overworked, 217

Whiteing, Richard, on daily journalism, 98

Whitman, Walt, on simplicity of style, 193

Transcriber’s Note:

Words appearing in small capitals in the original publication have been rendered as uppercase; italics denoted with underscores. No known textual or punctuation changes have been made.