Page:The Washington Newspaper volume 6.djvu/9

 through, so there will be no disappointment on the part of a reporter if his story is not found on the first page, but so he will feel it must have merit to get into the paper at all. Avoid making it a " front page paper."

Stories should be brief, but not meager. Tell the story, all of it in as few words as possible. Nature makes facts more interesting than any reporter can imagine them. There is an interesting feature in every story, if you will but dig deep enough.

The most valuable asset of any paper is its reputation for telling the truth. The only way to have that reputation is to tell the truth. Untruth , due to carelessness or excessive imagination, injures the paper as much as though intentional.

Everyone with a complaint should he given a respectful and kindly hearing. Special consideration should be given the poor and lowly, who may be less able to present their claims than those more favored in life. A man of prominence and education knows how to get into the office and present his complaint. A washerwoman may come to the door, timidly, haltingly, scarcely knowing what to do. And all the while her complaint may be as just as that of the other complainant, perhaps more so. She should be received kindly and helped to present what she has to say.

SIMPLE LANGUAGE BEST

Simple, plain language is strongest and best. A man of meager education can understand it, while the man of higher education , usually reading a paper in the evening after a day's work , .will read it with relish. There is never any need of using big words to show off one's learning. The object of a story or an editorial is to inform or convince. But it is hard to do either if the reader has to study over a big word or an involved sentence. Stick to plain English all the time. A few readers may understand and appreciate a Latin or French quotation, or one from some other foreign language. But the big mass of our readers are the plain people, and such a quotation would be lost on the majority.

Be fair. Don't let the libel laws be your measure as to the printing of a story. Let fairness be your measure. If you are fair, you need not worry about libel law's.

HEAR BOTH SIDES

Always give the other fellow a hearing. He may be in the wrong, but that may be a matter of degree. It wouldn't be fair to picture him as all black when there may be mitigating circumstances.

It is not necessary to tell the people that we are honest or bright or alert, or that a story appeared exclusively in our paper. If true, the public will find it out. An honest man does not have to advertise his honesty eternally.

Time heals all things but a woman's damaged reputation. Be careful and cautious and fair and decent in dealing with any man's reputation ; but be doubly so — and then some — when a woman's name is at stake. Do not by direct statement, jest or careless reference, raise a question mark after any woman's name if it can be avoided —and it usually can be. Even if a woman slips, be generous. It may be a crisis in her life. Printing the story may drive her to despair ; kindly treatment may leave her with hope. No story is worth ruining a woman's life -or a man's either.

Keep the paper clean in language and thought. Profane or suggestive