The Irish standard., 1903-02-07
THE GREATEST WRITER'S.
In Quantity Newspaper Men are In
the Lead.

not quality! Who, year in and year
out, writes the largest amount of mat
erial which is published? At a quick
answer a reader might say Marion
Crawford with his record of two
aovels a year, or Clyde Fitch, the
everworking playwright. The names
Of all the we'll known authors might
be called and still the greatest
writer" would be unnamed, says the
Chicago Tribune.
But take any "star reporter" on a
metropolitan newspaper and you have
q good entry for the honor. Among
these reporters will be found the man
who writes the largest amount of
English during the year. The cham
Hion of all writer's, space alone con-
adered, is the ''star" reporter.
It is no exaggeration to credit one
Of these men with two columns day
as an average. Sometimes he will not
write quite that much, but other days
he will write much more. Putting
CHS in words it is safe to credit such
a man with 5000 words day. In
New York it is customary for "star"
to work seven days week, taking u
day off once a month or so. In Chica-
go the man is apt to work but six,
taking his day off every week. TAX
ing the achievements of the New York
man as an example, for he will work
one more day a week than the Chica-
60 man, he turns out $1,000 words a
week, or little more than twenty
three feet of matter. In month of
thirty days he produces 10000 words,
or 100 feet of newspaper literature.
Figuring this by the year it will be
found that he runs out 1,OSOOOO
words, distance of 1000 feet
equivalent to twelve novels the size
Of Soldiers Of Fortune for instance.
These figures vary with the men,
but it can be seen at a glance that the
champion long distance writer is the
newspaper reporter working day after
day on assignments which turn out
long stories. Because it is the 'star"
who will get the assignments pro-
ductive of long stories; it is he in the
profession who will make the record
en- long distance writing. Frequently
1t takes quite as much trouble to get
a story which yields only half COL
umn, or will he permitted to occupy
but half column of space, as it does
TO get one which will be given two
columns.
In accomplishing his remarkable
feat of writing the reporter generally
uses a typewriter. The man who uses
longhand for his stories is handicapped
from the start. 1t takes him twice
as long to do his work in the first
place, and the Office generally frowns
on the use Of the pencil because Of
the difficulty in reading copy on and
judging its space accurately.
1t is remarkable when the facts
are considered. and then the wonder is
not that the reporters stuff is not liter
azure but that it is readable and fairly
good English. 1t is only fair to pre-
sume that If the literary man, with
clean cut style and exact dictioll,
should attempt the feat of writing in
such quantities and with so little de-
liberation his product would lie found
TO be about the same in quality.
The man in newspaper office fire.
quently works under Il pressure which
would be the end of an inexperienced
writer. He works with the knowledge
that at certain fixed time his story
must come to close, and he knows
tt must be complete by that time. The
earlier in the evening he starts in
this work the less the strain; the later
the more. A man who sits down ut
his typewriter with two columns to
write in little over an hour has Il task
that would not be appreciated by the
speediest writer OF pure literature"
"A task which, the writer would he
willing to admit, would preclude the
&dea OF it's being pure literature"
Such an occasion will be presented
10y a late fire or disaster of any
description which unfortunately oc-
ours ut an hour when the moments
aett to the making Of IL newspaper are
aimited. The man who sits down ut
tais typewriter to handle this story not
only has the task Of finishing on time
but he is faced with the problem Of
speedy writing, combined with an in
1elligent handling of his story a
treatment which will give it an ado
quite introduction and a comprehen-
.Give presentation of the facts in their
most striking light. He writes with
the knowledge that his scvercst critic
will be the man who takes his copy
From him. and that the most unfortun-
ate crime reporter can commit is to
miswrite a story at the eleventh hour
when it should come smoothly and
t'played right" When moments
time is at premium it Is essential
that there should be no confusion
caused by poor writing.
These are the conditions under
which the reporter does most of his
work. and under such daily press he
,grinds out the quarter mile of printed
matter which ia credited to him eacl,