Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-05
WHAT a REPORTER WRITES.
New York Commercial Advertissr.l

practice facilitate quick writing? I'm
der what pressure and under what ad-
verse conditions are the stories often
written, and what is the effect OF the
strain on the human system when driV-
en- to the utmost in this line of work!
ASK almost any fairly well-posted
person who is the champion producer OF
words, and likely he'll tell you Marion
Crawford who seems to have set him
self standard of two novels year.
Or Clyde Fitch, the playwright, some
may say, relying on Mr.. Fitch's ability
to turn out a comedy or a melo- drama
with every manhole cover blown off in
New York's streets. But the champion
OF all writers. three or four times over.
is the star reporter On almost any OF
the big New York papers. Take the
work of a star and it is no exaggera-
ton to credit him with an average OF
two newspaper, columns OF reading
matter day. Days here will be when
his story does not pan out and when ne
goes home with but half column to his
credit But the next day, or the fol-
Lowing one, will bring up the average
say 5000 words, or, in appreciate
measure. at least forty inches day.
That means during a week-for the star
usually works seven days. taking day
off once month or so--the man turns
out 21,000 words, or little more tnan
twenty three feet Of matter. In
month of thirty days he produces 10000
words, or 100 feet of newspaper l1tera-
ture. And figuring this by the year,
he runs out 1,0S0,000 words to length
alent in number OF words to twelve
novels of the length of Soldiers OF for-
tune strung in a STRIP about two men
es wide from Thirtieth street to Ihlrty-
sixth street on Broadway.
Vast figures, these, when you come
to consider them, and naturally tney
suggest the limit of human capacity IN
recording thought. But there arises the
question whether your man writes by
hand or by typewriter. NO mater
whether the star uses machine or not
it is necessary that he be quick writer.
Contrary to general impressions, the
star reporters of today do not use snort
hand except on rare occasions, II, IN
deed, they understand stenography at
all, The exceptions are when a speech
is to be taken verbatim. and even here
the expert longhand man will work as
accurately, tho with greater expend1-
ture of labor. then his colleague who
uses the pothooks. But there are two
Sis to reporting by shorthand ordi-
n;.. .iy. In the first place, a speaker, be
he ever SO trained. will rarely make
speech which is all meat and worth
reading. Unconsciously the shorthand
man will take down all that is said,
while invariably the longhand felioW
will Gull out what he wants on the spot,
trusting to his notes and framed
memory to get there
ITimes- Republican reporters VINO are
not confined so narrowly to special as
eignments Of work as are the news
paper men of New York will exceed
this record by fully SO per cent.-Edl
1.-The other disadvantage to short
hand is that when a man reaches his
office late and must dash on his story
with one eye on the clock and the other
IN his work, and his mind on the con-
Guiding sentence, he has not time TO
translate rot hooks. His notes, on the
other hand, suggest the entire thread
of the story and he can sit down to ms
machine and rattle away, turning Out
If necessary, a column or matter IN
from twenty to twenty-five mlnutes'
If he is very expert.
"The man who writes a column IN
twenty minutes must not imagine that
he will turn out two in forty minutes.
A man with strong physique, with
clear brain. with his story well IN
hand and expert at the typewriter Will
find that his ability to grind out news
paper literature at top speed decreases
at almost arithmetical progression. If
the first column takes twenty minutes,
the second will take at least twenty
five minutes, the third thirty minutes,
and so on up to seven columns as one
nights work-an entire page OF re-
port-which was made during the first
Molineux trial, and stands, l think, as
q record.
"As to writing by hand, Of course the
work is both more laborious and more
time consuming. Most New York
reporters can turn out a column by
hand within an hour. Many can turn
out two columns in two hours, but the
fellows that can write four columns In
four hours you can count on the fingers
on one hand. You can see, there is
where the limit of human endurance
comes to point which probably never
even occurred to you in connection with
writing.
1T is this strain which requires that
reporter be clear not only in the
upper story, but as well physically. AT
that many of the men break down from
time to time and disappear from the
Row to build up again. Altogether
pardonable when you come to consider
that frequently a reporter works any
where from twelve to fifteen hours, and
even to eighteen and twenty hours
day-depending upon the size of the
thing that has broken loose.
"Only thru practice can a man gain
that confidence in himself which ena-
bles him to sit down without getting
ratified to dash off a story without ever
seeing line until it is in the paper
next morning. have known men to
write under high pressure. trying to
catch the last edition with an important
story. when everybody In the shop
seemed to be up in the air except the
man at the keys OF the machine. have
seen night city editor himself stand
over a man like that and hurry up and
urge him along and clip off the copy as
fast as 1T appeared over the roll of his
typewriter; and still the writer sat
calm and ratified on his machine to-
make your head swim without seeming
to see the crazy man alongside.
"But there are other conditions,
equally distressing, which the reporter
yr, nd nh a