Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-01-18
WRITING a NEWS STORY.
Not Like Writing Novel or Sermon
Begin at Beginning.

Not Like writing novel or Sermon
Begin at Beginning.
Probably not one reader in a hundred
has paused to notice that a newspaper
article is written on a plan just the re-
verse of that of sermon or Grafton.
Comparatively few ministers havean-
alyzed the subject sufficiently to notice
this fact. and their ignorance of it will
often account for the reluctance of news
papers to accept matter contributed by
them. 1t Is worth the while OF every man
and woman to know the general plan on
which newspaper articles are written.
for almost everybody desires at times to
announce something through the press.
The mere knowledge OF the theory w11
not make successful writer in or any
other department. but it Is the first step.
The skilful preacher or orator usually
reserves his most Important points until
toward the end of his discourse, closing
with climax. The skilful newspaper
reporter puts his climax into his irst
sentence and ends with the most nom
essential detail. While the novelist Sc
cures his dramatic effect by keeping the
secret of his story hidden as long a.
possible the reporter attains success pY
revealing his secret as quickly as words
will let him. Both are working on prin-
ciples as clearly defined as that on which
a sonnet Is constructed, but the modern
newspaper article is Of SO much more re-
cent date that few critics have analysed
it and even many Of the best newspaper
writers work daily upon the foregoing
principle without knowing it. No mart
can work many days under a metropoh.
tan city editor without learning 1t. II hs
does not pick up the knack promptly he
is given a chance to learn some othee
business.
The reasons for this method Of con-
struction are plain. The object Of a
newspaper story is to tell the news for
its own sake. The majority Of readers
do not have time to read the whole Oh
an article. What they want is a COM.
pact statement of the essential facts %
an accident or crime or public meet
ing. The best newspaper is the one that
gives them the pith of the whole matter
in the first paragraph following this with
the more important details and closing
with the least important The readen
then glances down the column far
enough to get the vital facts and does
not waste time on the rest. He can get
a fair knowledge of the whole worlds
news for the day by merely reading tina
headlines and opening paragraphs Of the
paper while perhaps but one article Is
interesting enough to read every line.
There is also another important Gauss
which has contributed to this method oe
presenting the news with the. cream all
ways 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 morning paper at o'clock on tha
preceding day. At the time when they
do their afternoon assignment there
may be space In abundance and their ar.
ticles may be written in considerable de-
tail. Late in the evening there may be b
great fire or some important victory ON
the battlefield that will suddenly demand
a dozen or a score of columns. 1t be.
comes necessary to cut" everything oG
ordinary Importance. BY that time thc
earlier "stories" are in type and cannot
be rewritten. The condenslng is dona
by dropping of the latter part Of the ar
ticle, which can be done without injur-
ing its essential parts If II is constructed
on the proper plan. Every large news
paper nightly kills. many columns OF
matter in this way, either before 1t is i'm
type or afterward. If the vital news
were scattered throug hthe article there
would be no alternative but to leave it
all out. .e
Here is where the wouid-be correspone
dent so aften meets his Waterloo. Tha
young and ambitious editor of country
weekly gets a commission to represent
his town as Geographic correspondent OF
large city daily. Perhaps there is
bad fire in the village and several lives
are lost. He telegraphs graphic ac-
count of 1t in detail. telling it in such a
way that one must read 1000 words to
discover how many persons were killed or
injured and what is the total value of thu
property destroyed. The story" reaches
the telegraph editor at a time when he is
working under high pressure to cut dowa
all news. ito the marrow in order to
make room for some event of world-wids
import. The country correspondence
matter is useless unless printed entire or
rewritten. There Is neither the space for
the one nor the time for the other. The
result is that the article goes into this
waste basket and the aspiring cores
pondent receives notice that his services
are no longer desired.
Briefly stated, the chief rules for am
ordinary news article are these: Tell the
whole story In your first sentence. or at
least in your first paragraph. and briefer
the paragraph the better. Be sure to
give in your opening lines the time,
place and chief actors concerned, along
with the scope and nature of the event
chronicled Avoid ordinations, fms
writing. flaming adjectives or editorial
comment. If 1t Is a piece of news In
which tineliness is an important ele-
mcnt, get it to your paper as quickly as
your lucky stars will let YOU Tell your
story in the fewest words possible with
out emitting essential details. If YOU
cannot shake off the Authorization that
an introduction Is needed, put 1t at the
end where the editor can cut It on.
There are hundred other details. sucIJ
as writing on but one side of the paper
leaving margins on the sheets, never