Page:The Washington Newspaper volume 6.djvu/13

 average writer is to capitalize too much.

Don't begin a sentence with figures. Don't abbreviate the names of the days of the week.

It is not necessary to write the name of this state after towns or cities in this commonwealth. Where the community mentioned, however, is an obscure one, it is well to designate in what county it is situated. Remember that when you write “tomorrow” in an item, it always means the day following date of publication, not the day after the item was written.

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Every printed news item should answer any or all of these six questions. To illustrate: If an accident has happened, the item should tell to whom, of what kind, when, where, why and how it happened.

It is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules concerning news- giving. For instance, always to give all the details would be to make a paper's news columns ridiculous. In some in stances it is sufficient simply to state a fact. In others it is exceedingly aggravating to have a fact just barely stated. To illustrate : If Charlie Jones has the measles, it is enough to say that " Charlie, the little son of William Jones, has the measles." If, however, he has it in an especially malignant form, or in some other unusual way , the particulars should be given.

On the other hand, if William Jones's house burns down, all the de tails should be given. Tell what kind of a house it was, where located , when the fire occurred, how it caught, who discovered it, and how ; what was done to put it out, what was lost and what was saved ; how much insurance there was -- all the particulars. If there was anything especially exciting about the fire, tell it and don't neglect to tell to what neighbor's home Mrs. Jones and the little children were taken for the time being, where the family is to reside temporarily, and what Mr. Jones' plans are for the future.

First, get the news ; get all there is to get. Next, get it correctly.

Nothing so disgusts a paper's readers as to feel that it can not be relied upon. Casual rumor is not a safe thing to depend on. It may be correct, but is more than likely not to be. Rumor, though, is often a good basis to start But the information should be “ run down” and verified or corrected. Rumor generally mixes matters.

on.

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The best way to get news correct is to go to the persons chiefly concerned. Rightly approached and assured of a correct publication, most persons will gladly give all the information they Now and then a contrary person may be met with. The information wanted can almost always be easily obtained from someone else. But never make a promise to withhold news, just because someone who likes to seem peculiar asks you to do so. here an apparently plausible reason for not publishing an item is given, submit the facts to the editor and let him assume the responsibility for publishing or withholding.

The little things in news count. But a distinction should be made between trifles and trivialities. Things