CHAPTER II
THE STUDY OF NEWS STORIES
=Value of study.= Every good news story may be regarded as a solution of a difficult problem in gathering, selecting, and weaving together a number of details. The steps in the solution may be as carefully followed as the steps in solving a problem in algebra or in performing an experiment in physics. As in the analysis of such problems and experiments, so in the analysis of news stories, the ultimate purpose is to find out how to solve similar problems as they arise in actual experience. However interesting the theories and principles of the art of news writing may be for themselves, it is the practical application of them in the writer’s own work that gives them their value for the student of journalism.
=Aims in studying news stories.= The purpose in analyzing typical examples of news writing should be to discover in detail (1) how to obtain news, (2) how to determine its value, and (3) how to present it most effectively. Most stories reveal the means by which their contents were obtained and the importance which the writer or editor attached to each of the details. Sources of information and standards for evaluating material are thus shown by a careful examination of examples. A study of well-written news stories makes clear the application of the principles of prose composition to the writing of news. A comparison of several news stories of the same type brings out the variety of ways in which similar material may be handled. The writer must know the varied possibilities of treating material, because, in working on similar matter from day to day, he is in great danger of dropping into conventional forms and stereotyped expressions.
=Methods of analysis.= In the study of a news story the following points should be considered: (1) the value of the news; (2) the sources of the news; (3) the methods by which it was obtained; (4) the purpose of the story; (5) the type of the story; (6) the structure; (7) the literary style; and (8) the typographical style.
=News and news values.= News, as commonly defined, is anything timely that interests a number of readers, and the best news is that which has the greatest interest for the greatest number. Constructive journalism is not satisfied to present merely what readers are naturally interested in; it aims to give news that is significant to them from the point of view of their personal affairs as well as from that of the welfare of society. It likewise undertakes to create interest in significant news that of itself may not interest a considerable number of readers. Each story, therefore, should be examined in order to determine why the news in it was considered of interest and significance to the readers of the paper in which it was published, as well as how great the interest and the significance were believed to be as indicated by the space given to the story.
News values are based largely on the reader’s interest in (1) timely matters, (2) extraordinary events and circumstances, (3) struggles for supremacy in politics, business, sports, etc., (4) matters involving the property, life, and welfare of fellow men, (5) children, (6) animals, (7) hobbies and amusements.
The degree of the reader’s interest in these matters of news is proportionate to (1) his familiarity with the persons, the places, and the things involved, (2) the importance and the prominence of these persons, places, and things, (3) the closeness of their relation to the reader’s personal affairs.
The distinction between local news and general news grows out of the greater degree of interest on the part of the reader in persons and places that he knows and in matters that are closely related to his business and his home. News of significance concerning the community in which he lives is of prime importance to every reader. Interest in news may generally be said to vary inversely in proportion to the distance between the place where the news originates and the place where the paper is published. Local interest is given to general news by bringing out those phases, or “local ends,” of telegraph news that are of significance in the community in which the paper circulates.
Every story indicates the evaluation of the news that it presents as made by the reporter or correspondent, and by the editor or the copy-reader. By determining the basis of this evaluation, the student acquires a criterion by which to judge the news value of whatever he is called upon to report.
=Sources of news.= From the details of a news story it is almost always possible to infer the sources from which the news was obtained. Public and private records, reports, officials, eye-witnesses, for example, are often cited as authorities for the facts in the story. These sources should be noted carefully, so that they may be drawn upon by the student in his own reporting. In fact, a list of sources compiled from news stories of various kinds, such as those of crime, accidents, fires, etc., will be found helpful to the beginner.
=Methods of news gathering.= How the details of the news were obtained may also be ascertained from an examination of the story. In the report of an interview, for example, the reporter’s questions may be inferred from the person’s replies. Not infrequently the story shows indirectly the circumstances under which the reporter secured the material. The student will do well to note every such hint and suggestion.
=Purpose.= Every news story should present the details of the news as accurately as possible and as completely as the significance of the news warrants. The embellishment of news stories with fictitious details to make them more interesting or more entertaining, as well as the distortion and suppression of significant facts of the news in order to accomplish some end, are alike opposed to the fundamental purpose of the newspaper. Besides reporting the news with fairness and accuracy, however, the writer, consciously or unconsciously, may accomplish other ends by the manner in which he presents his material. By giving prominence to certain details and aspects of a piece of news, he may produce one effect upon the reader’s mind; by emphasizing others in the same piece of news, he may produce an entirely different impression. Thus news of accidents, crime, courts, and similar matters can be presented so as to exert either a wholesome or an unwholesome influence on readers; that is, it may be constructive or destructive in its effect. Stories of crime, for example, may be written in a manner that tends to make the wrongdoer more or less of a hero, and hence may encourage others to imitate his career; or they may be written in a way that tends to deter readers from committing similar crimes. Whether wrongdoing is made attractive or unattractive in news stories depends not so much upon giving the facts fully and accurately as upon the reporter’s attitude toward his material.
Some newspapers simply record the news without emphasizing either its constructive or its destructive phases. Newspapers of this type have been likened to mirrors that reflect impartially whatever comes within their range. This policy is expressed in the dictum of a well-known editor when he declared, “Whatever the Divine Providence permitted to occur, I was not too proud to report.” Purely informative news stories and entertaining feature stories in these papers are written without particular regard for their influence on readers.
Other newspapers, not satisfied with reporting the day’s events in an accurate but colorless manner, without any particular consideration for its effect upon their readers, deliberately undertake to give news in such a way that it tends to be helpful and constructive in its influence. They publish not merely the usual details regarding fires and accidents; they emphasize the causes, the responsibility, and the frequency of such occurrences, in order to impress upon readers the importance of taking preventive measures against the recurrence of such disasters. They also recognize the fact that some legitimate news, even when given in what is ordinarily considered an unobjectionable manner, tends to have a bad effect on readers in that it suggests to them ideas and ideals inimical to the best interests of society as a whole. So-called “waves” of crime and suicide they realize are often the result of suggestions given to morally unstable readers by newspaper stories of crimes and suicides. By constructive treatment of such news, they attempt to reduce to a minimum these undesirable suggestions and to substitute for them suggestions that tend to prevent similar criminal and anti-social acts.
Another class of newspapers, apparently disregarding the unwholesome effect upon their readers, give prominence to sensational, ghastly, and scandalous phases of the news because they know that such details appeal to the morbid interest of many readers. The not uncommon explanation made by these newspapers for such treatment of news is that they are giving the public what it wants. Critics of these papers deny the validity of this excuse and point out that it would apply equally to the selling of habit-forming drugs and adulterated food, acts now forbidden by law.
Since the underlying purpose of the writer plays an important part in the selection and the arrangement of material for news stories, as well as in the effect that stories produce upon readers, it deserves careful consideration in the analysis of news stories.
=Type of story.= There are two general types of news stories: (1) the informative news story, the chief aim of which is to give the facts of the news; and (2) the feature or human interest story, the chief aim of which is to take material of little or no news value and make it interesting. The fundamental difference between these two kinds of stories is the news value of the contents. The presence or absence of so-called “human interest” is not the basis of this classification, for informative news stories may be developed by bringing out the human interest element in the news.
The informative news story may be one of two kinds: (1) the story the chief purpose of which is to record the facts of the news without particular regard to its effect upon the readers; and (2) the story that presents the facts of the news in such a way as to produce a wholesome effect.
The purely informative news story usually presents the facts of the news so that they can be grasped readily in rapid reading. Its length is determined by the value of its news as measured by the ordinary standards of news values. It may be made interesting by bringing out the human interest element and by any literary device that is adapted to the subject. Usually it has a summary lead.
The informative story of the constructive type aims to interest the reader in the significance of the facts of the news, and the length of the story, accordingly, is determined by the importance of the news from this point of view. By bringing out the human interest element in the constructive type of story, the writer is able to make the emotional appeal to the readers that is particularly effective in accomplishing the purposes of this kind of story. Stories of this type may or may not have a summary lead.
In the entertaining feature story that contains little or no news, the interest lies entirely in the manner in which the facts are told. The literary ability of the writer is here tested to the utmost, for a story is read only so far as it interests. The length of these stories, therefore, is determined by the writer’s success in sustaining the reader’s interest.
News stories in method are (1) narrative, (2) descriptive, (3) expository, or (4) any combination of these three forms of discourse. These forms are often to be found combined in a single story. The reporter, for example, may in one story narrate a series of incidents, describe the persons and places involved, and explain causes, motives, and results.
In the purely informative news story that is narrative in form there is little suspense, because the essential facts are usually summarized in the beginning, or lead. In the narrative feature story, however, the interest is frequently sustained by the same devices that are used in fiction.
Description in news stories may be either suggestive or detailed. In most stories lack of space makes it impossible to do more than sketch briefly the appearance of persons and objects by suggestive touches. In long stories, however, when circumstances warrant it, descriptions may be given in considerable detail. The purpose in both kinds of description should be to convey to the reader impressions of sights, sounds, etc., as vivid as those the reporter himself experienced.
News stories are expository, as a whole or in part, whenever situations must be made clear by explaining motives, causes, results, and other phases of the news, or by summarizing the whole or a part of speeches, reports, etc. Such exposition should always be as simple and lucid as possible.
=Structure of the story.= The structure of the news story is concerned with (1) the beginning, or lead, and (2) the body of the story. The informative story usually begins with a summary lead that answers the reader’s questions Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Thus the summary lead includes the following details: (1) the persons, (2) the event, (3) the place, (4) the time, (5) the cause, (6) the significant circumstances. Any one of these elements of the news may be “featured” in the place of prominence at the beginning of the story, although the time and the place are seldom played up in this way. The story of entertainment or appeal, on the other hand, usually avoids the summary lead by beginning in one of the ways common to fictitious narratives. In its beginning, its effort to sustain suspense, and its semblance of plot the human interest or feature story closely resembles the short story.
In the body of the story the details follow a logical order. The arrangement in narrative stories is usually chronological. Only such of the details summarized in the lead are repeated in the body of the story as are needed for clearness. Although it is well to round out stories in the last paragraph, the ending does not receive so much attention as in other prose, because the exigencies of “make-up” often necessitate the cutting off of the last paragraph or two.
=Literary style.= The style of a news story is concerned with such elements as (1) paragraphs, (2) sentences, (3) words; and with such qualities as (1) clearness, (2) force, (3) animation, (4) humor, (5) pathos, (6) taste.
Analysis of paragraphs and sentences should include: (1) the length of the paragraph and of the sentence; (2) the unity of thought in the sentence, and the unity of topic in the paragraph; (3) the coherence, or connection between the parts; and (4) the emphasis given to the important ideas by their position in sentence and paragraph.
Because of the narrowness of the columns the newspaper paragraph must be comparatively short to avoid appearing heavy and uninviting. The typical newspaper paragraph contains from 35 to 75 words, whereas the average paragraph in ordinary prose is from 150 to 250 words in length.
In sentence length, and in paragraph and sentence unity and coherence, the style of the news story does not differ from that of other prose. Involved constructions, long periodic sentences, and similar rhetorical devices, however, have no place in journalistic writing, because they tend to prevent rapid reading.
The emphasis given to an important point by placing it at the beginning of a sentence or a paragraph, is a distinctive characteristic of newspaper style, growing out of the fact that in rapid reading the eye catches important points quickly if they occupy these initial positions.
Specific words in original combinations are always preferable to colorless, general terms and trite phrases. Technical, scientific, and learned words should be avoided unless fully explained. Slang and colloquial expressions may be used when the tone of the story justifies them.
Clearness, which is essential to rapid reading, depends upon the arrangement, the connection, and the expression of ideas, and the student will do well to analyze these essential factors in well-written stories. How brisk movement and steady progress can be secured is also worthy of notice. Humor and pathos are not infrequent in news stories, particularly in those of the feature and human interest type. The student should observe how humor may be effective without ridicule, buffoonery, or vulgarity, and how offensive facts may be presented in news stories without violating the canons of good taste.
=Typographical style.= Peculiarities in such details of typographical style as abbreviation, capitalization, hyphenation, and the use of numerical figures should be noted in each story and associated with the newspaper from which the story was taken, for each paper has a typographical style of its own. One style is as good as another, but it is essential that consistency be maintained.
The printing of significant facts in a box at the beginning or in the body of a story, often in bold-face type, the method of arranging lists of dead and injured, the forms for market reports, scores in sports, and similar details should be carefully noted.
AN OUTLINE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF NEWS STORIES
NEWS VALUES
1. In what paper was the story published?
2. What are the policy and the character of the paper?
3. How widely does the paper circulate outside of the place in which it is published?
4. Does the paper appeal to a particular class of readers?
5. Is the piece of news presented from the point of view of this class?
6. What, for the average reader, is the source of interest in the news contained in the story?
7. How much would the news interest the average reader? Why?
8. Do you think that the news was worth more or less space than was given to it? Why?
9. What more significant phases might have been played up or developed?
SOURCES OF NEWS
1. How did the news originate?
2. Where was the first record of it probably made? By whom?
3. What records and what persons may have been consulted in securing the news?
4. What reference books or material may have been used in getting or in verifying the details of the story?
5. What other possible sources might have been consulted?
METHODS OF NEWS GATHERING
1. What evidence does the story give of the methods by which the news was obtained?
2. Is there any evidence that the reporter or correspondent failed to get any of the important details of the piece of news?
PURPOSE
1. Does the story seem to be fair and unbiased?
2. Is there evidence that any important facts were suppressed or that the story was colored to conform to the policy of the paper?
3. Is the handling of the news constructive or destructive in its effect?
4. What, if any, is the constructive purpose of the writer?
5. Is the story so treated as to tempt the reader to imitate anti-social acts?
TYPE OF STORY
1. Is the primary purpose of the story to inform or to entertain?
2. Is the story largely narrative and descriptive? Is it largely explanatory? Is it largely direct or indirect quotation?
3. If the story is narrative in form, is the order chronological?
4. Is the narrative clear or confused?
5. Does the narrative move slowly or briskly? Why?
6. Are accounts of the event by participants or eye-witnesses used? If so, are these accounts in direct or indirect quotation form?
7. Are remarks and conversation of participants and eye-witnesses given?
8. Is the description detailed or suggestive? Is it effective? Why?
9. Is there a striving for effect in the description?
10. If the story is that of a speech, report, etc., is the material arranged in logical order?
11. Is much or little made of the personal, or human interest, element in the story of the speech or the interview?
STRUCTURE OF THE STORY
1. Has the story a summary lead or an unconventional beginning?
2. Does the lead contain the essential facts concisely presented?
3. Is the most striking detail played up as the feature in the first group of words of the opening sentence of the lead?
4. What other element in the news might have been featured in the lead?
5. Is the lead proportionate in length to the whole story?
6. How are the details arranged in the body of the story?
7. Is there any evidence that the story was cut down in making up the paper?
8. Are the paragraphs closely connected?
9. Is there unnecessary repetition in the story?
10. Could the arrangement of the details be improved? How?
LITERARY STYLE OF THE STORY
PARAGRAPHS
1. What is the average length of the paragraphs?
2. Are any of the paragraphs too long or too short?
3. Is each paragraph a unit?
4. Are the details well arranged and closely connected in the paragraphs?
5. Does the first group of words at the beginning of each paragraph attract the reader as his eye glances down the story?
6. Could any of the paragraph beginnings be made more effective? How?
SENTENCES
1. What is the average length of the sentences?
2. Are any of the sentences too long or too short?
3. Is the construction of each sentence evident in rapid reading?
4. Is each sentence a unified expression of a closely related group of ideas?
5. Are the parts of the sentences combined in firm, closely knit construction?
6. Do the sentence beginnings attract the reader by the importance and the interest of the ideas expressed in the first group of words?
7. Do any of the sentences trail off loosely into a succession of phrases and clauses?
8. Is there variety in sentence length and sentence construction?
WORDS
1. Is the style concise or wordy?
2. Is the diction original or hackneyed?
3. Is the style marked by many adjectives or by superlatives?
4. Are the verbs specific and forcible?
5. Is the diction too learned for the comprehension of the average rapid reader?
6. Are words used idiomatically and accurately?
7. Are slang and colloquial expressions found in the story? What is the effect of them?
8. Is the diction is keeping with the tone of the story?
QUALITIES OF STYLE
1. Can the details of the story be easily comprehended in rapid reading; that is, is the style comparatively simple?
2. Upon what does the general clearness of the story depend?
3. Is the movement slow or rapid? Why?
4. Is there any humor or pathos in the story? How is the humorous or the pathetic effect secured?
5. Has the news possibilities for humorous or pathetic treatment that are not developed?
6. Is the story in good taste?
TYPOGRAPHICAL STYLE
1. What are the peculiarities of abbreviation, capitalization, hyphenation, and use of numerical figures?
2. Is the typographical style consistent throughout the story?
3. Are any details of the story given prominence by typographical devices? If so, why?