Page:Newspaper writing and editing.djvu/185



Left on bases—Philadelphia, 8; New York, 5. First base on balls—Off Foxen, 3; off Mathewson, 2. Struck out—By Foxen, 1; by Mathewson, 3. Two base hit—Titus. Sacrifice hit—Magee. Sacrifice fly—Devlin. Stolen base—Fletcher. Balk—Foxen. Umpire in chief—Rigler. Assistant umpire—Emslie. Time—1 hour and 30 minutes.

The Style of Sporting News Stories. The style of sporting news stories is marked by the use of terms peculiar to the game or sport and often by the slang that is popular at the time, particularly the slang that is in vogue among those interested in each sport. Young reporters, and some older ones, too, seem to think that they can best prove their knowledge of sports by using in their stories as much as possible of the slang current among the professionals and their followers in the sport. On the other hand, some of the recognized authorities on sports write interesting and readable accounts of contests without indulging in such sporting slang. A number of sporting editors, in order to give variety to their daily reports of baseball games, have sought to coin new phrases and figures of speech, and the result has sometimes been so clever and amusing that these writers have established a considerable reputation for novelty of expression. Too frequently, however, the imitations of the work of the successful, clever few have not been effective, and consequently have not been so good as simple, direct reports. Originality of expression is as desirable in sporting news stories as it is elsewhere, but a style that is marked by little more than cheap humor and vulgar slang has nothing to commend it.

Society News. Society news is usually collected, written, and edited by the society editor, almost invariably a woman. In order to insure accuracy, facts for such stories should be obtained directly from those concerned in the event. Announcements of engage