WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
The Writing of News / A Handbook with Chapters on Newspaper Correspondence and Copy Reading cover

The Writing of News / A Handbook with Chapters on Newspaper Correspondence and Copy Reading

Chapter 96: INDEX
Open in WeRead

About This Book

This handbook provides concise, practical instruction in gathering, composing, and editing newspaper copy for aspiring reporters and copy readers. It explains newsroom terminology and technical principles of clear, concise, and forceful prose, and emphasizes accuracy, fairness, and impersonal reporting. Detailed chapters examine news values, writing effective leads, structuring and compressing stories, feature and interview techniques, and handling specialty items such as crimes, fires, and wire correspondence. It also covers copy-reading procedures, headline writing, legal considerations like libel, and office style variations, illustrated with many real-world examples and editing marks to train practical newsroom judgment.


INDEX

  • A
  • Abbreviation, marks used in, 6, 186;
  • care necessary in, 221
  • Accuracy, importance of, 30;
  • in observation, 31;
  • in names, 33, 35, 179;
  • in street addresses, 34;
  • in spelling, 34;
  • effort to obtain, 36, 225;
  • in interview, 121;
  • in business stories, 133;
  • in correspondence, 151;
  • essential in copy reading, 175
  • Active voice, 13, 204
  • Add, how marked, 188
  • Advance copy, 123;
  • notices by mail, 161;
  • held for release, 168
  • Advertisement, head compared to, 194
  • Ages, style in giving, 217
  • Alliteration, in headlines, 202
  • Anglo-Saxon, words preferred, 13, 103;
  • in heads, 196
  • Asquith, the Right Honorable H. H., on prolixity, 211
  • Assignment, defined, 2
  • Associated Press, dispatch from, 70
  • B
  • Bad taste, example, 27
  • Baltimore Sun, story from the, 142
  • Banner, in head writing, 209
  • Beat, defined, 2;
  • measured by minutes, 134
  • Bible, as model for news writer, 9, 61
  • “Bohemians,” no longer tolerated, 191
  • Boston Transcript, head from the, 197
  • Box head, defined, 209
  • Brisbane, Arthur, on newspaper work, 17
  • Bromides in writing, 224;
  • list of, 226
  • Bulletins, when to send, 157, 159, 166
  • Business stories, care necessary in covering, 133
  • C
  • Capital letters, how indicated, 186;
  • in heads, 206, 210
  • Cheap slang, example, 39
  • Chicago Evening Post, stories from the, 126, 139
  • Chicago Inter-Ocean, editorial on news, 41
  • Chicago Record-Herald, stories from the, 72, 76;
  • instructions to correspondents, 154, 220;
  • style, 177;
  • head from the, 199
  • Chicago Tribune, order to correspondents, 157;
  • news specialties, 160
  • Christian Science Monitor, editorial on news writing, 79
  • Cincinnati Enquirer, sporting news, 160;
  • on promptness, 166;
  • style of heads, 202
  • City editor, has “nose for news,” 43;
  • judge of story, 81;
  • valuing news, 103
  • Classified, see Department
  • Clearness, necessity of, 9;
  • in heads, 196
  • Climax, first in news story, 57, 79
  • Collective nouns, 218
  • Compression, in news writing, 80
  • Conciseness, why desirable, 11;
  • in telegraph stories, 152
  • Copy, defined, 1;
  • how to prepare, 4;
  • reading copy, 171;
  • specimen page of, 185;
  • “A Copy,” 189;
  • schedule, 192
  • Copy readers, duties of, 3, 171;
  • qualifications of, 172;
  • organization of, 174;
  • must be vigilant, 178;
  • work under stress, 190
  • Corrections, care necessary in making, 5
  • Correspondents, functions of, 150;
  • pitfalls for, 154;
  • alertness appreciated, 159;
  • instructions to, 169;
  • how paid, 170
  • Court reports, to be watched carefully, 179
  • Crime news, question of ethics, 131
  • D
  • Damaging statements, 19, 133, 155
  • Death stories, choice of words in, 38;
  • examples, 38, 141, 142, 143;
  • points to cover in, 130
  • Deck of head, defined, 201
  • Definiteness, in news writing, 22;
  • examples, 94, 147;
  • in heads, 197
  • Department stories, 48;
  • “slugs” given to, 182
  • Dialect, use of, 23, 88, 219
  • Don’ts for news writer, list of, 211
  • Drop line in head, 207
  • E
  • Editing, marks used in, 184;
  • page of edited copy, 185
  • Editorial comment, not permitted in news, 20;
  • weakens story, 25
  • End-mark, use of, 5, 187
  • Expansion, in news writing, 80
  • Ex parte statements, danger in, 156, 180
  • F
  • Fairness, essential in story, 18
  • Faking, not tolerated, 82, 153
  • Feature stories, defined, 3;
  • examples, 29, 106, 108, 124, 127;
  • treatment of, 47, 98;
  • for entertainment, 101;
  • suggestions for, 111;
  • may be interview, 120;
  • sending by mail, 168
  • Fictional method, in news writing, 71, 99
  • Fine writing, not wanted, 10, 103, 224;
  • examples, 16, 38, 226
  • Fire stories, general plan of, 79;
  • examples, 72, 77, 89, 95, 139, 142;
  • analysis of a story, 92;
  • points to cover in, 129
  • Flippancy, to be avoided, 23, 88, 103
  • Follow copy, 6, 176
  • Follow stories, 183
  • Force in writing, how obtained, 12
  • Foreign words, 215
  • Freak head, example, 209
  • Fulton (Mo.) Gazette, editorial on country journalism, 17
  • G
  • Generalities, to be avoided, 21
  • Good taste, essential in news writing, 22;
  • illustrated, 109
  • Gossip, beware of unfounded, 154
  • Greeley, Horace, view of reporting, 23
  • Guide line, in reading copy, 181
  • H
  • Headlines (heads), defined, 3;
  • old style, 62;
  • written by copy readers, 175;
  • danger of libel in, 179, 194;
  • how designated, 183;
  • newspapers judged by, 193;
  • reproductions of, 195, 197, 199, 201, 204, 207, 209;
  • not mere labels, 196;
  • tense in, 198;
  • local in application, 202;
  • trite phrasing in, 204;
  • various styles of, 208
  • Hope, Anthony, on style, 113
  • Horrible details, to be shunned, 23
  • Human-interest stories, defined, 47;
  • examples, 50, 72, 95, 109;
  • value of, 102;
  • prescription for, 103;
  • uncovering facts of, 104;
  • divergence in treatment of, 132;
  • in demand, 161
  • Humor, example of, 49;
  • examples of unconscious, 191, 192
  • I
  • Imperative form, in heads, 203
  • Impersonality, in news writing, 20
  • Inserts, in copy, 5, 187, 189
  • Interview, defined, 113;
  • when incidental, 114;
  • as the story itself, 118;
  • first steps in getting, 118;
  • examples, 119, 120, 124128
  • Irwin, Will, on reporting, 1
  • J
  • Journalism, personal era gone, 21;
  • daily problem of, 132;
  • sensational, 193
  • Jump head, defined, 209
  • K
  • Kansas City Star, departure from custom in the, 62, 71;
  • stories from the, 71, 72, 75, 76, 108;
  • style, 178;
  • heads, 200
  • Knapp, George L., on newspaper English, 30
  • L
  • Lead, introduction of story, 2;
  • method of writing, 57;
  • what it contains, 59;
  • styles vary, 62;
  • kinds to be avoided, 63;
  • police data in, 64;
  • names in, 65;
  • general rule for, 67;
  • examples, 7078, 147, 148
  • Lecky, W. E. H., on style, 79
  • Legibility, how obtained, 5
  • Libel, danger of, 20;
  • possible in names, 155, 179;
  • rules about, 178;
  • in headlines, 179, 194
  • Lower case, defined, 210
  • Lyman, Hart, on art of compression, 171
  • M
  • Mail, how to send stories by, 168
  • Make-up, defined, 4;
  • methods of, 84
  • Mechanics, of story, 84, 123;
  • of head, 201
  • Metaphor, use of, 15
  • N
  • Names, must be watched, 6;
  • misspelling resented, 33;
  • in beginning story, 65;
  • in business stories, 133;
  • danger of libel in, 155, 179;
  • style in giving, 221
  • News, often pruned, 23;
  • basic themes unchanging, 25;
  • values, 41;
  • how judged, 43;
  • sensational, 45;
  • plain, 46;
  • feature, 47, 98;
  • human-interest, 47, 102;
  • department, 48;
  • crime news, 131;
  • ages quickly, 134;
  • from out of town, 150;
  • sporting, 162;
  • told in heads, 194
  • Newspaper, English often criticized, 8;
  • fascination of work, 20;
  • workshop unique, 25;
  • safeguards against error, 36;
  • its problem, 44;
  • women readers of, 46;
  • source of entertainment, 100;
  • handling crime news, 131;
  • telegraph service, 150;
  • wants facts only, 154;
  • variations in style, 176;
  • headlines important, 193
  • New York Evening Post, editorial on style, 7
  • New York Herald, instruction, 84
  • New York Mail, story from the, 127
  • New York Sun, style a model, 50;
  • stories from the, 50, 73, 99;
  • head from the, 204
  • New York World, stories from the, 95, 109, 124, 146;
  • head from the, 209
  • Norton, the Rev. William B., on slang, 224
  • O
  • Observation, accuracy essential in, 31
  • O’Malley, Frank Ward, story by, 50
  • Originality, one secret of, 24;
  • story lacking in, 28;
  • example of, 106
  • Outlook, comment by the, 55
  • Overline, defined, 209
  • P
  • Paragraphs, indentation of, 5;
  • length of, 184;
  • when run together, 186
  • Pictures, with feature stories, 29;
  • in Sunday magazine, 105;
  • by mail, 162
  • Pitfalls, for reporter, 154
  • Place, as feature of story, 76
  • Plain news story, 46
  • Police stations, how named, 28
  • Pronouns, care necessary in use of, 88
  • Proofreading, not copy reading, 3
  • Puns, on names, 23
  • Pyramid, form of head, 208
  • Q
  • Query, defined, 163;
  • blind, 165.
  • Questions-and-answers method, example, 127
  • Questions, in heads, 203
  • Quotation, as lead of story, examples, 73, 74;
  • preceding story, example, 75;
  • when undesirable, 116;
  • in beginning interview, examples, 119, 124, 126;
  • should not be slavish, 121;
  • indirect, 126;
  • in telegraphing, 170;
  • may be libelous, 180
  • R
  • Reporter, his run or beat, 2;
  • viewpoint of, 17;
  • responsibility of, 19;
  • must observe keenly, 31;
  • place on newspaper, 42;
  • must not “editorialize,” 89;
  • idea of big story, 114;
  • power to do harm, 133;
  • seeking the right word, 224
  • “Report of a Suicide,” 99
  • Rewriting, 136;
  • examples, 138, 139
  • Running head, 202
  • Run-over head, 209
  • S
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch, editorial on newspaper “endowment,” 30;
  • story from the, 106;
  • instructions to correspondents, 167
  • St. Louis Republic, editorial on reporting, 17;
  • on news values, 129;
  • rules about libel, 178
  • St. Louis Star, on revolting stories, 213
  • Scandal, perverted idea about, 161
  • Schedule, kept by copy reader, 192
  • Scoop, see Beat
  • Second-day stories, 134
  • Sentences, preference given short, 14, 88;
  • in lead of story, 65;
  • avoid monotony in, 65, 220
  • Signed story, exceptional, 20;
  • example, 127
  • Simplicity, keynote of news writing, 9;
  • in writing of death, 39;
  • in lead, 61;
  • in head, 196;
  • Springfield (Mass.) Republican on, 214
  • Slang, in news story, 10;
  • two kinds of, 22;
  • in head, 202
  • Slug, name given story, 3, 181
  • Space rates, for correspondents, 170
  • Special correspondent, see Correspondent
  • Speeches, how covered, 122
  • Sporting news, instructions regarding, 162
  • Springfield (Mass.) Republican, on paragraphs, 184;
  • on short words, 214
  • Story, defined, 1;
  • qualities of ideal, 18;
  • short feature, example, 29;
  • kinds of, 46;
  • plain, 46;
  • feature, 47, 98;
  • human-interest, 47, 102;
  • lead of, 57;
  • data from 100 typical stories, 68;
  • body of, 79;
  • mechanics of, 84, 123;
  • often pruned, 85, 164;
  • unlike novel, 87;
  • for entertainment, 101;
  • special types of, 129;
  • telegraph, 150;
  • marks in editing, 184;
  • adds and inserts, 188
  • Street addresses, must be closely watched, 34
  • Style, three qualities of, 9;
  • special rules of, 62, 175;
  • variations in, 177
  • Sub-head, defined, 210
  • Suicide stories, examples, 71, 72, 146;
  • motive a feature, 131;
  • often ignored, 132
  • Sunday magazine stories, 48, 105
  • Superlatives, use sparingly, 219
  • Swiftness, essential in copy reading, 173, 177
  • Symmetry, desired in heads, 205
  • Symposium, defined, 124
  • T
  • Technical terms, to be avoided, 10
  • Telegraph news, boiled down, 141;
  • how gathered, 150;
  • skeletonizing, 152;
  • estimating value of, 153;
  • what not to send, 156;
  • what to send, 160;
  • sporting news, 162;
  • how to send, 163;
  • handling big story, 165;
  • instructions regarding, 169
  • Telephone, used by correspondents, 163, 166
  • Thoroughness, in covering story, 82
  • Time, styles in giving, 39, 139, 217, 219;
  • as feature of story, 75;
  • “to-day” preferred, 134;
  • in heads, 202
  • Trite expressions, in heads, 204;
  • list of, 226
  • Trivialities, to be avoided, 26, 83, 153, 156
  • Type, counting units in head, 206;
  • illustration of Gothic, 207;
  • upper and lower case, 210
  • Typewriter, preferred for news writing, 4
  • U
  • Upper case, defined, 210
  • V
  • Verbosity, not permitted, 11, 185
  • Viewpoint, must be unprejudiced, 17
  • W
  • Washington Herald, editorial on newspaper English, 57
  • Washington Times, editorial on news, 150
  • Wedding stories, points to be covered in, 131
  • Well-known, overworked, 217
  • Whiteing, Richard, on daily journalism, 98
  • Whitman, Walt, on simplicity of style, 193