Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/316

 300 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

less, chronological form will be put upon the blackboard, and a brief time allowed for the turning of these into copy for a desig- nated kind of daily. Still another devise consists in sending stu- dents on assignments to cover stated events, copy which has been finished within a given time limit being turned in next day. Often members of the class are permitted to accompany reporters of the city dailies and of the local press association on their rounds.

The material secured in these different ways becomes the subject-matter for "copy-reading" i. e., revision, rewriting, head-writing, etc. and of active criticism and discussion in class. Since each student is a subscriber for the quarter for one of the leading dailies of the country; constantly reports upon its contents and methods, and hands in almost every day typical matter from its columns, a broad basis of observation is afforded. Comparisons and general conclusions inevitably follow. A generalization, such as the rule that a heading must always con- tain a verb, or at least an idea of action, may be tested in a most instructive fashion when the usage of twenty-five or thirty prominent papers is immediately available. Out of these discus- sions come principles and theories to be constantly tested and revised. " What is news? " and the " structure of a news story" are no longer abstract theories when they thus emerge from a mass of concrete material. Under these conditions the work of the class gradually improves in sureness of touch and simplicity and directness of style. The more obvious blunders are avoided. Each student prides himself on his ability to put the whole story in the opening sentence or paragraph. Superfluous words and phrases, hackneyed expressions, fine writing, tend to disappear. The individuality of the men begins to show itself. The imita- tive produce commonplace, conventional copy, but now and then a clever, sprightly story in a different vein will be turned in and come up for discussion in the class. Someone declares that the story is too " fresh " or undignified, and that any city editor would " turn it down." The writer of the copy stoutly contends that it is quite the sort of thing one finds in the Sun, etc. Thus as the discussions go on, standards and ideals get themselves more clearly defined.