CHAPTER I

NEWS WRITING

=Contents of newspapers.= The average daily newspaper includes a larger amount and variety of reading matter than most readers realize. In one issue of a large daily paper, which contains from 60,000 to 80,000 words exclusive of advertising, are usually to be found examples of practically every type of literary composition. The contents range from news of accidents and crime to humorous and serious verse, from market reports to a short story or a chapter of a novel, from dramatic and musical criticism to cooking recipes and cosmetic formulas, from argumentative editorials to reports of boxing matches and baseball games. Vivid description, spirited narrative, critical appreciation, logical argument, lucid explanation, moving pathos, vigorous appeals, wit and humor--all are often exemplified in a single issue of a well-edited newspaper. Scarcely any other form of publication has regularly so great a variety of writing as the daily newspaper. Thus, although a newspaper is ordinarily thought of solely as a medium for the publication of current news and editorials, the average daily paper supplies its readers with much entertaining reading matter as well as considerable advice and useful information.

=Classification of contents.= Diversified as are the contents of a typical daily paper, they may be grouped in seven classes: (1) news stories; (2) special feature articles; (3) editorials; (4) dramatic, musical, and literary criticism; (5) practical advice and useful information; (6) humorous matter; (7) fiction. Of these seven classes, the first four--news stories, special feature articles, editorials, and dramatic, musical, and literary criticism--are generally considered to be the distinctly journalistic types of writing.

News stories present (1) timely events of interest and significance to readers, and (2) timely incidents of little or no news value that are made entertaining by the manner in which they are presented. The first is the common type of news story; the second is usually called the “human interest” or “feature” story. Although it is sometimes said that anything that has ever happened is news if it has not been generally known, it is evident that events that have occurred in the past are not worth publishing as news unless they have a timely interest and significance. A distinction is generally made between “spot news,” which is news of events when they occur, and “detail” or “situation” material that is presented some time later in the form of special correspondence or of special feature articles.

Special feature articles are detailed presentations of (1) matters of recent news that are of sufficient interest to warrant elaboration, (2) timely topics not directly connected with the news of the day, (3) subjects of interest that are neither timely nor connected with current events. They are informative in character and are generally of some length. They are usually published in magazine sections of Saturday or Sunday editions, but in some papers they appear daily.

Editorials have as their purpose the interpretation of news and of current issues and the discussion of matters of general interest, particularly with a view to convincing readers of the truth or the falsity of some proposition and of persuading them to act in accordance with the convictions thus created. In this way they differ from both news stories and special feature articles.

Dramatic, musical, and literary criticism consists of reviewing and passing judgment on current dramatic performances, concerts, and books. To the extent that some reviews of plays and concerts merely give informative news concerning the event, they are like news stories, but in so far as they are critical, they are more like editorials. Book reviews, likewise, may simply give information regarding the contents of a book, or they may undertake to evaluate it by pointing out its merits and defects.

Practical advice and useful information in special fields, humorous matter, and fiction, as given in the daily newspaper, do not differ materially from similar matter published in other forms and cannot be considered distinctly journalistic types of writing.

=How news is gathered.= Since the day’s news is the essential part of the daily newspaper, the gathering, writing, and editing of news is naturally the chief concern of journalism. From the point of view of newspaper organization for handling news, it is divided into two general classes: (1) local news, and (2) telegraph news. Local news, which is that of the city where the paper is published as well as of its immediate vicinity, is gathered (1) by reporters working under the direction of the city editor of the paper, and (2) by reporters working under the direction of the head of a local news association or bureau, the news service of which the paper uses to supplement its own news gathering. Telegraph news includes all news not local, which comes to the paper by telegraph, long-distance telephone, cable, or mail, whether sent by its own correspondents or by a news association such as the Associated Press or the United Press. The reporters and correspondents of the press associations work under practically the same conditions as the newspaper’s own correspondents, but they are responsible to the division head of the press association, whereas the newspaper’s correspondents are under the direction of the telegraph editor or of the state editor of the paper. The work of news gathering is not essentially different, whether done by a reporter or by a correspondent in the employ of a newspaper or of a news-gathering association.

=How news is written.= After the reporter has obtained the news, he returns to the office and writes his story as rapidly as possible, in accordance with any instructions that the city editor may give him. If it is inexpedient for him to return to the office, he writes his story quickly at some convenient place and sends it to the office by messenger or by telephone. Under some circumstances, particularly when lack of time prevents his writing the story and sending it in, he telephones the facts to a rewrite man in the office, who writes the story from the data thus secured. The reporter for a local news association prepares his stories, as directed by the news editor of the association, under practically the same conditions as the newspaper reporter.

The correspondent, after writing his story, mails it, files it at the telegraph office, or telephones it to the newspaper office. He, too, may telephone the bare facts to have them written in news-story form by a rewrite man in the newspaper office. The correspondent of a general news-gathering agency handles his news in the same way except that he sends it by mail, telegraph, or telephone to the district office of the association or agency that he represents. At this district office it is edited and sent out to those papers in various parts of the country that use the association’s service.

As news stories, whether local or telegraph, are edited before they are printed, practically all stories as they appear in the newspaper are the work not only of the reporter or correspondent who gathered the news, but of one or more editors and copy-readers. Well-written stories of reporters and correspondents usually undergo little change when edited. A poorly written story, on the other hand, may be made over into a very effective one by a rewrite man, an editor, or a copy-reader.

=Conditions affecting news writing.= The structure and the style of news stories are determined (1) by the conditions under which they are written, (2) by the character of the readers, (3) by the conditions under which newspapers are read, (4) by the typographical form of newspapers, and (5) by the popular taste.

Newspaper writing must be done rapidly under considerable pressure and generally without opportunity for careful revision. Although this haste does not excuse incorrect and slovenly English, it does result in looser, less finished writing than might be produced under more favorable circumstances. In rapid writing, and particularly in handling similar material from day to day, the writer, unless he is on his guard, is likely to fall into the habit of using stock phrases, trite and colorless.

The large amount of available news that must be crowded daily into limited space makes it essential to present the news in compact form and concise style. “Boil it down” and “Cut it to the bone” are constant admonitions in every newspaper office. Conciseness is a necessary quality of newspaper style.

The average newspaper, in order to succeed, must appeal to all classes of readers in the community. It must present its contents in a way that will attract and interest the so-called masses as well as the business and the professional classes. The style of writing is generally adapted to readers of limited education no less than to the well educated. Comparative simplicity of expression, accordingly, is the rule in newspaper writing.

Newspapers are read rapidly by practically all classes of readers. They must, therefore, be written in a style that makes rapid reading easy. Important details are placed at the beginning of paragraphs and sentences, where they will catch the eye at once. The emphasis thus given by the initial position is one of the distinctive characteristics of newspaper writing. To the most important details made prominent in this way are added the less significant but necessary particulars, one by one, in natural order. This arrangement results in a loose rather than a periodic sentence structure and eliminates the possibility of a climactic effect in the paragraphs or in the whole story.

The shortness of the line in the narrow column affects newspaper style because it necessitates a proportionate shortening of the paragraph. Paragraphs that appear long seem heavy and uninviting, especially to the rapid reader. Since but six words on an average can be crowded into a line in newspapers, as compared to ten or twelve in a line in most books, newspaper paragraphs can be only half as long as those in ordinary prose without loss of effectiveness.

The popular demand for novelty and variety prevents any form of newspaper writing from becoming fixed, and results from time to time in the development of new forms and new styles of news writing. To make some news stories entertaining rather than purely informative, a number of newspapers abandon the conventional summary beginning, or lead, and use unconventional ones like the beginnings of short stories. They likewise give prominence to trivial happenings worked up into so-called “human interest” or “feature” stories, because in that form they make entertaining reading.

=Characteristics of news writing.= As a result of these various conditions and influences news writing has come to have certain well marked characteristics. It must be (1) concise, (2) clear, (3) comparatively simple, (4) easily read, and (5) attractive to all classes.

Conciseness requires that needless words be omitted, that only such details be given as are necessary for effective presentation of the subject, and that the length of the story be proportionate to the importance of the material. In order to be concise, however, news writing does not have to be bald and unattractive.

Clearness is secured in journalistic style by comparative simplicity of diction, of sentence construction, and of paragraph structure. Learned diction, elaborate figures of speech, and involved sentences have no place in news writing intended to appeal to all classes of readers.

To be attractive to the average rapid reader newspaper style must be easy to read. It is made easy, as has been pointed out, by placing the important points in conspicuous positions at the beginnings of sentences and paragraphs. To satisfy the popular taste newspaper writing must also be interesting in form and in style. It sometimes adopts the more or less striking devices of fiction in order to add to its effectiveness. Furthermore, attractiveness is secured by such typographical means as the use of a frame, or “box,” and bold-face type, for facts of especial importance.