Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-07-01
Details and Brcvity.


There are many points To he consid-
cred in determining the space 10 be
given news story. The main ones TO
he observed. however. are the news
value of the event To be covered and
Che news policy of the paper for which
ono is correspondent. study of the
paper one represents will give the best
idea of what liz wanted aud wlen TO
furnish details
Generally speaking tho Importance
o. II piece of news should govern the
space To be given It, But the rule can
rot always be followed satisfactorily
The average newspaper reader next
to getting information about people
ana events likes to he entertained and
often the the details of story in IT.
iielf of no great Importance Will be of
interest and attract attention. The re-
cent murder of II young Indian woman
on the Tama reservation iS an Illus
tration Certainly tho murder of an
ignorant Indian was of no more con-
ccrn than the killing OF II white man
who had been u useful citizen. but 1t
attracted more attention because there
was mystery about the Indian AZ we'll
as about the crime and the curiosity
Of the reader was aroused from the
outset The murder and its discovery
as well as the subsequent developments
furnished columns of copy for the
daiies. and while 1t Ia admitted that
somc papers made too much ado about
the Indian princess. and got into the
rcnms of fancy and away from the
facts. vet 20 .ons MS the correspond
.,..f,. 10, f1,pf rt n
thr news was legitimate and served to
brighten mp page of facts that other
wise might have been monotonous.
Two T.-R. correspondents IN neigh
boring towns learned about the DIS
eovery Of the murder OF the indinn
girl ut about the same hour and both
reported it promptly. one reporter
the essential facts and made no at
tempt at detail, while the other saw
the opportunity for good story. spent
an hour or two in invest'-
eating the case and furnished an arl'-
Gle that not only interested thousands
ol T.-R. readers. but was extensively
copied by the press of the state.
Writing news Is n good deal like
telling stories. The details may be the
llfe OF the story. but they also may
he the death of It, When we come to
think about It none of us cares to
hea., much about obvious things that
Is. things that may be t'iken as mat
ter of course, the natural and expected.
And that In probably why we become
irnpntient when we see public speak
or wasting time In detail giving what
ye know must have happened in the
f,c
ious only for results. In another case.
however, we may have peen coilNuls-
ed with laughter. because OF the UNI
expected incidents and where the point
to the story was not plain until the
climax. And there would seem to be
no better rule to follow In reporting
events for a newspaper. only whefe
the details are such as would NOT be
anticipated by the reader, or where the
unexpected happened should details be
given.
/, "a a safe rule to be brief In nine
t,-nine out OF hundred cases GAVE
The facts and then quit This will save
the editor lot OF work and worry and
may save the article from the waste
basket There is probably nothing
more trying to the news editor than
lcne. windcd correspondent, who insists
on writing against space, uses All the
details and all the catchy phrases ne
has ever heard and throws In an extra
amount of slang for good measure.
while he might have stated the facts
In n few lines and saved not only his
own gray matter. but the good will OF
the news editor as we'll as his nerves
and temper
If one Is sure Of his facts he Will
have no trouble in telling the essential
points of a story, even tho 1t be an i'm
poftant piece of news. briefly. Having
all the details OF his story in mind the
correspondent Is able to separate the
main points to be considered and to
reject what is unnecessary to make his
story complete and satisfactory. One
can save time and space by avoiding
startling introductions. Begin telling
the facts from the first word and stop
when that has been accomplished.
Where details are not desirable or
the news item to be covered is such
that there are no details there Is no
better method than to tell what you
have in as few lines as possible. You
cannot make a better story than the
facts actually warrant. Nor will Il
catchy sentence make such an item at
tractive. 1t has been said that a good
Introduction Is half OF story, but tn"
startling sentence will not make a
commonplace event important nor will
it add to it's interest. Many cores
pondents have the common fault of
trying to dress up" news items, be-
ievng that they will thus succeed In
getting the item printed. AS a matter
of fact the item would have been more
attractive If simply and briefly stated.
The following is taken from the news
furnished by n correspondents:
"The hitching post problem in this
city having been propounded, the city
council has read the answer, and as u
result the effort to place hitching posts
on the main business street of the city
is failure. Some time ago certain
parties sought to bring back the old
Dear Sir: Please ask yOur