The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-11-25
WRITING FOR NEWSPAPERS.
Tell Story in First Paragraph and
Withhold Personal Opinion.

area mas paused 10 nOLlce LudC q Ho"o-
paper article is written on plan just
the reverse of that of a sermon or ora
ton. Comparatively few ministers
have analyzed the subject sufficiently
to notice this fact, and their ignor-
ance of it will often account for the
reluctance of newspapers to accept
matter contributed by them. It is
worth the while Of every man and
woman to know the general plan Oh
which newspaper articles are written,
.5or almost everybody desires at times
no announce something through the
press. The mere knowledge Of the
theory will not make successful
writer in this or any other depart
ment, but it is the first step.
The skillIu> preacher or orator US
ually reserves his most Important
points unit: toward he enc of his dis
course. closing with climax. The
skillful newspaper reporter puts his
climax into his first sentence and ends
with the most non-essential detail
While the novelist secures his drama
tic effect by keeping the secret OF his
story as long as possible, the reporter
attains success by revealing his secret
as quickly as words will let him. Both
are working on principles as clearly
defined as that on which a sonnet is
constructed, but the modern news
paper article is Of so much more re-
cent date that few critics have analyz-
ed it and even many of the best news
Raper writer's work daily upon the
foregoing principle without knowing
it. No man can work many days under
a metropolitan city editor without
learning it. If he does not pick up the
knack promptly he is given a chance
to learn some other business.
The reasons for this method Of con-
struction are plain. The object OF
newspaper "story'' is to tell the news
for it's own sake. The majority OF
readers DO not have time to read the
whole OF an article. What they want
is a compact statement Of the essen
hal facts of an incident or a crime or
q public meeting. The best newspaper
Is the one that gives them the plth
eR the whole matter in the first para
eraph, Following this with the more
important details and closing with
hhe least important. The reader then
glances down the column far enough
10 get the vital facts and does not
waste tine on the rest. He can get
aair knowledge Of the whole worlds
news for the day by merely reading
The headlines and opening paragraphs
of the paper, while perhaps but one
article Is interesting enough to read
every line.
4 There IS also another important
cause which has contributed to this
method Of presenting the news with
1he cream always on top. As startling
events do not occur in this world with
any regularity, though the paper must
always be issued at the same hour, it
NATURALLY follows that there is an
ever-varying pressure on the columns.
The reporters begin work on a morn
ing paper at 1 o'clock on the preceding
day. At the time when they do their
afternoon assignment" there may be
space in abundance, and their articles
may be written in considerable de-
>fai1. Late in the evening there may
be a. great fire or some important VIC
tory on the battlefield that will sud-
denly demand dozen or a score OF
columns. It becomes necessary TO
~cut" everything Of ordinary import
ance. By that time the earlier "storles'
are in type and can not be rewritten.
The condensing Is done by dropping
Of the latter part Of the article, which
can be done without inl,tcing its es-
sential parts if it is constructed on
the proper plan. Every large news
paper nightly ''kills'' many columns
!. Of matter in this way, either before it
is in type or afterward. If the vital
news were scattered through the ar
ticle there would be no alternative
but to leave it all out.
Here is where the would-be CORES
pondent so often. meets his Waterloo.
The young and ambitious editor OF a
country weekly gets a commission to
represent his town as telegraphlc cor
RESPONDENT of large city daily. Per-
haps there is bad fire in the village
and several lives are lost. He tele-
graphs a graphic account of it in de-
tail, telling it in such way that one