Evening star., 1926-05-16
EXPLAINS HOW A.P.
GIVES WORLD NEWS
Night Wire Editor Details
Problems of Service in
Radio Address.

EAoSSNiNNNA
NEW YORK. May 15.-The part
the Associated Press wire editor plays
in furnishing the newspapers with
their news was disclosed by NJ. a.
White, general night editor of the
Associated Press, in a radio address
over WIZ.
Mr.. White, who is in charge Of the
night news reports throughout the
service, said. in part:
Before the last editions of Pacific
Coast morning newspapers are off the
presses, first editions of Atlantic
Coast afternoon papers are being
typed. And news has an incurable
habit of occurring at any hour of the
"a. Therefore. the Workday of the
Associated Press is a 24-hour one and
the great network Of it's lea sed wires.
covering the United States, is manned
continuously by editors and telegraph
operators.
Their task is TO lay down in your
home town newspaper office. if II is
"A member Of the Associated Press,
the completed story Of that latest
news happening. ready for its copy
desk and composing room.
Aims at Accuracy.
40 QP tlefc. 10 ne fedQS anu 10
give the facts first and accurately.
that has been the determination of
the Associated Press for more than
* years, and there are few who will
deny that II has been successful
Writers and orators frequently re-
fer TO the Associated Press as Argus
eyed. Our old GreCian friend was
credited with 100 eyes. which was not
so bad, for the times and people. How
ever, the present number OF A. =. pa
pers is in excess of 1900. Multiply
his some to 80 times. to include the
individual staffs of those papers. add
a few thousand for the European.
Canadian and Oriental agencies affili-
ated with it and include its 1000 or
more regular news employees through.
out the world. and Argus would seem
n patient for a modern ocular clinic.
While no paper would want. or
could print, half the vast amount of
news coming from these innumerable
sources, none of il is waste. Some
where, to some neWSpa pers, every item
has a value. Otherwise ii would not
have been offered or accepted on the
wires
But by far the greater part Of il is
nf general interest. Given time YOU
probably would gladly read all of Il.
But You have not the time nor have
the newspapers the space. Also lea sed
news wires cost enormous sums and
their use for anything of trivial or
worthless news value is q newspaper
crime.
The job OF selecting the most i'm
portant happenings that YOU all wish
10 read. COndemning the others to the
briefeSt readable form wedding out
the non-intereStinE to YOU. but speed
Ing il to a destination where it is in
teresting and doing all this with auto
matte precision eight hours each day
is a mans sized job. The \. p. fling
editor, who does it. is a comparatively
unknown. but dirtinctly important
person to your newspaper and to you.
Great Nctr ork of Wires.
I'm virtually -very large city of the
United States is an A. p. office or bu-
reau, where the great main, or trunk
wires touch the an aller circuits. The
trunk wire syS'er have two, three
or four leased Nires as the news
volume varies passing through the
great cities. feeding the great metro
polltan dailies alou" their routes.
They are being fed also from the
dozens OF divis,on- and State circuits
with which they are connected.
You understand that if there are a
dozen cities. or points. on that circuit
all the others copy a story when anv
one point is sending. At the bureau
the $1,000 or mnr. words carried daily
on the trunk Hnes are re!ayed cut
down or discarded. as the judgment
of the editors dictate, for the papers
on the smaller. single wire circuits
who can use but a fractional part oe
the volume
But the fraction Of ~np-e ro,v-
ever large or small. must be the best
pat OF the whole. The editor Of the
smaller paper reads the larger one
carefully when it arrives. ami if he
did not receive the cream Of that
days report. that particular bureau is
going to hear from him.
Big News Always Good.
The A. p. workday is split roughly
into three shifts. supplying the morn
ing, the early day papers and the late
afternoon editions and extras. Natu-
ally, as the clock time changes across
the country-and the telegraph wire
is inStantaneous-their work overlaps
somewhat, but news is news at all
times and big news has the same
thrill, whether you read it first at
The breakfast table, or on the home
ward bound train or in the hastily
purchased street extra
And right there is an odd thing
that all A. =. men know. Big news has
no thrill to them when it comes as
part of their days work. There, to
the experienced filing editor, it means
just added speed and conccntrati ton
in pushing the story along. But there
is no kick, no muttered what do
In, n l.; 4
comment until that particular crisis
has passed.
II have watched editors while an
exciting convention, fight or ball game
was in progress and have seen them
become as interested listeners as the
copy boyS-WhoSe chronic enthusiasm
no editor can kill. But when they
took their desks and began handling
rhe same srorc1-as it reached its most
stirring clima&-it became merely
hot stuff to be given the right of
way. The kick had gone.
Whether it be bulletins of the
ship or radio messages of O. great
dirlgible battling for life in a gale.
there is but the briefest comment
from the editors while the tension is
on, and that is only as to news prob
abilities. the making Of editions and
suggestions for local details or side
lights On the story. 1t IS a queer
phase OF the newspaper and news as
sociation business.
Given Right of Way.
Big news always has the right of
way on all wires. San Diego Calf,
is just as interested in the progress of
the great British strike as Augusta,
Ne, Minneapolis, Mimi. wants the
details of the shooting of Mussolini
as quickly as Miami, Fla. But, while
news Is news at all times, it may be
news that appeals to but one section
Of these somewhat extended United
GfatoS