GETTING THE NEWS
=The Problem of News Gathering.= The mystery of newspaper making, to
the uninitiated, is how editors and reporters find out everything that
happens and how they get it into print in a very short time. It seems
strange to the average person that when an accident occurs in the block
in which he lives, the first news of it often reaches him through the
newspaper. The apparent omnipresence, not to say omniscience, of the
reporter leads to the not unnatural assumption that the news gatherer
walks about the city waiting Micawber-like for “something to turn up.”
The size of the staff of reporters that would be required to maintain a
patrol of the streets would approximate that of the police force, and
would bankrupt the most prosperous newspaper. Such a system is not only
impossible but quite unnecessary. News gathering is really no mystery
at all, but merely a good example of efficient organization.
In organizing its news collecting, the newspaper only takes advantage
of information filed for various official purposes by many different
persons in no way connected with the newspaper. Policemen, firemen,
sheriffs, coroners, and practically all officials of local, state, and
national governments, as well as doctors, lawyers, and merchants are
all unintentionally serving as reporters of news. The public records
in all public or private offices are the reports which these men,
many times quite unconsciously, furnish for the newspapers. What the
news editors do is to see that a careful watch is maintained by their
reporters at all places where news is thus recorded so that they may
select whatever part of it is of interest to their readers.
=News Sources.= The places where news is recorded, not primarily for
the newspapers but really to their great advantage, and the kinds of
news to be found at each place are indicated by the following list of
news sources:—
Police Headquarters —crimes, arrests, accidents, suicides, fires,
disappearances, sudden deaths, and news of the
police department organization.
Fire Headquarters —fires, fire losses, and news of the fire
department organization.
Coroner’s Office —fatal accidents, sudden deaths, suicides, and
murders.
Health Department —deaths, contagious diseases, sanitary reports,
and condition of city water.
Recorder or Register —sales and transfers of property and mortgages.
of Deeds
City Clerk —marriage licenses.
County Jail —crimes, arrests, and executions.
Mayor’s Office —appointments and removals, municipal policies.
Criminal Courts —arraignments, hearings, and trials.
Civil Courts —complaints, answers, trials, verdicts, and
decisions in civil suits.
Probate Office —estates, wills.
Referee in Bankruptcy —assignments, failures, appointment of receivers,
meetings of creditors, settlements of bankrupts.
Building Inspector —permits for new buildings and alterations,
condemnations of unsafe buildings, regulation of
fire escapes, and fire prevention devices.
Public Utilities —hearings and decisions of rates and regulations.
Commission
Board of Public —municipal improvements.
Works
Shipping Offices —arrival and sailing of ships, cargoes, rates,
marine news.
Associated Charities —poverty, destitution, and relief.
Board of Trade, —quotations, sales, and news of stock, produce,
Stock Exchange, grain, metals, live stock, etc.
Mining Exchange,
and Chamber of
Commerce
Hotels —arrival and departure of guests, banquets,
dinner parties, and other social functions.
=News “Runs.”= To get all the news that develops at each of these and
many other similar places, the city editor divides the news sources
into “runs” or “beats,” and details a reporter to each “run.” The
reporter assigned to get or “cover” the news of police headquarters
is said to have the “police run”; another assigned to the city hall
has the “city hall run,” or is “city hall reporter”; one who gets the
news of the child welfare movement, of social centers, benevolent
organizations, etc., is said to have the “uplift run”; another is on
the “hotel run.” To cover adequately these news sources, the reporter
visits each office on his run from one to six times a day, examining
records, interviewing officials, and chatting with secretaries and
clerks. The number of times that he visits an office and the length of
time that he stays are determined approximately by the amount and value
of the news likely to be obtained.
As the reporter is held responsible for all the news of the places
on his “run,” he must not let anything escape his notice, because a
keener, quicker-witted man on the same “run” for a rival paper may get
what he misses. When a reporter obtains a piece of news that reporters
on other papers do not get, he is said to have a “scoop” or “beat,”
and the unsuccessful paper and its reporters are said to have been
“scooped.”
=City News Associations.= In large cities, like New York and Chicago,
the gathering of all the official or routine news is done by a
central news association which furnishes each paper that belongs to
the association or which pays for its services, with a mimeographed
copy of every news story that its reporters secure in covering all
the usual runs. By this method each paper is saved the expense of
providing for the scores of runs necessary in a large city in order to
cover adequately all the news sources each day. When the city editor
gets a news bulletin or a complete story from the news association,
he can have it rewritten or can send out one of his reporters if he
desires to have the event more fully covered. Such a system of local
news gathering makes possible a staff of reporters relatively small
as compared with the size of the city. Reporters employed by the city
news association work under conditions practically the same as those
in a newspaper office. Inasmuch as the stories that a news association
reporter writes are edited in at least half a dozen newspaper offices
by different editors and copy-readers, the reporter has the advantage
of seeing how various papers treat the same news story.
=Assignments.= In organizing news gathering, the city editor and his
assistants keep a “future” book or file with a page or compartment
for each day in the year. Into this are placed, under the appropriate
day, all notes, clippings, and suggestions regarding future news
possibilities. If, for example, on December 10, the state legislature
passes a law in regard to the size of berry boxes, to take effect on
March 1 of the following year, the city editor puts a clipping of the
dispatch from the state capital telling of this action, or a note
recording the fact, into the compartment or page labeled February 25,
so that a week before March 1, he may assign one of his reporters to
find out from wholesale commission dealers, berry-crate manufacturers,
and the inspector of weights and measures, what steps are to be taken
to carry out the provisions of the law. A similar news record is kept
by the telegraph and state editors covering future events in their
fields, so that correspondents may be given instructions and advice.
The city editor also has an assignment book or sheet on which is
entered every important news possibility for the day, with the name
of the reporter assigned to cover it, and with any information or
suggestions that the editor wants to give the reporter. When the
reporter arrives at the office to begin his day’s work, or when he
reports to the office by telephone, he gets his assignments for the
day. These assignments are usually connected with his run, so that
while he is on his daily round of news gathering he may get in addition
the special news assigned to him.
=“Covering” Important Events.= To secure an adequate report of an
important event, such as a state political convention, a visit of the
President of the United States, a serious crime, or a wide-spread
flood, the city editor arranges the work of the various members of his
staff so that every important phase of the event will be “covered.”
On the occasion of a day’s visit of the president, for example, one
reporter is assigned to follow the chief executive about all day from
the time he arrives until he leaves, and to write the general story
of his visit. Another is detailed to report his arrival, the ovation
given him, and possibly the short speech that he makes in response. A
third is told to “cover” the reception tendered by the Merchants and
Manufacturers Club; a fourth to report the luncheon given for him at
the City Club; and a fifth who can write shorthand to get a verbatim
report of his speech at the Coliseum in the afternoon. Practically
every event that can be anticipated is provided for in advance by the
city editor, and to that extent is easier to handle than the unexpected
ones.
=When Big News “Breaks.”= Important events that occur unexpectedly are
the real test of the editor’s ability to organize his staff quickly
and effectively. What is involved in arranging to get all phases of a
big news story is shown by the manner in which such an event as the
attempted assassination of Mayor Gaynor of New York on August 9, 1910,
was handled by the New York papers. The following summary of an account
given by one of the city editors illustrates the methods employed.[3]
The first news of the attempt to assassinate the mayor came at 9:30
A.M. in the form of a news association bulletin which read:
Mayor Gaynor was shot this morning while on the deck of the Kaiser
Wilhelm der Grosse in Hoboken. It is rumored he is dead.
The city editor on a morning paper at once got in touch with as many
of his reporters as he could reach on the telephone. The first three
reporters that he telephoned to were told the substance of the bulletin
and were sent to Hoboken to get the details.
The second bulletin from the news association, received a few minutes
after the first, was as follows:
The mayor was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, Hoboken.
As soon as another reporter was available, the city editor told him to
go to St. Mary’s Hospital to see the doctors and to report the result
at once. The fifth reporter was sent to find Mrs. Gaynor at her city
home or at her country house, as the city editor knew that she was not
accompanying the mayor on his trip abroad.
The third news association bulletin, or “flash,” gave these facts
concerning the assassin:
The man who shot the mayor has been arrested. His name is James J.
Gallagher. He lives at No. 440 Third Ave.
The city editor thereupon gave a reporter this assignment. “Go up
there; get all you can about him. Get a picture. Find out to what
political party he belongs. Run him to the ground and phone me later;
I may be able to give you something additional.” To another reporter
the city editor said: “Gallagher is to be arraigned in the police
headquarters in Hoboken; go over there quickly.”
The next bulletin opened up a new phase of the subject, the motive for
the crime:
Gallagher was a night watchman in the dock department until July 1,
when he was discharged from the city employ.
After the reporter who had been sent out to get the history of
Gallagher telephoned that Gallagher had been a disgruntled employee
of the city who had been constantly writing letters of complaint to
his superiors, the city editor assigned a reporter to get the facts,
saying: “Gallagher was a chronic kicker. Go down to the Department of
Docks and to the Civil Service Commission and get copies of all the
correspondence.”
A reporter was sent to see John Purroy Mitchel, the acting mayor,
another to find out the city charter provisions regarding a possible
vacancy in the office of mayor under such circumstances. A rewrite man
was told to get from the office collection of biographical sketches, or
“morgue,” the material on file concerning the life of the mayor and to
write an obituary. A tip by telephone from a man who had once employed
Gallagher to the effect that he had often done strange, uncanny things,
led to a reporter’s being sent to get further particulars from this
informant.
The complete list of assignments as they appeared on the city editor’s
sheet was as follows, each being preceded by the name of the reporter
detailed to cover that particular phase of the event: (1) Main story
of Gaynor shooting, (2) Interviews on board the Kaiser Wilhelm, (3)
Gallagher on board the Kaiser Wilhelm, (4) Gallagher, the man, and his
correspondence, (5) Gaynor at St. Mary’s Hospital, (6) The arraignment
of Gallagher and his plans, (7) Mrs. Gaynor and family, (8) John Purroy
Mitchel, the acting mayor, (9) City Hall, (10) What the charter says,
with interviews, (11) Obituary of Gaynor, (12) The strange, uncanny
things Gallagher did.
=Getting the Facts.= A large part of news gathering consists of getting
information from persons by asking questions. To ask questions that
will elicit the desired facts most effectively is not so easy as it
seems. Most persons, although not unwilling to give information,
are not particularly interested in doing so, and in replying do not
discriminate between what is news and what is not. Tact and skill are
necessary to get many persons to tell what they know. A stranger who
insists on asking questions is very naturally regarded with suspicion.
Even when it becomes known that the stranger is a newspaper reporter,
he is not always cordially received. Often he finds that it is
easier to get the facts when his identity as a reporter is revealed.
Nevertheless, there are not infrequent occasions when all the skill of
an astute lawyer examining a witness is required to get the desired
information. Reporters should never hesitate to ask tactfully as many
questions as are necessary, and to persist until they get what they
want.
The way in which the reporter works in gathering together the various
phases of an event before he is ready to write the story is best shown
by an example. The city editor, let us say, receives a bulletin to the
effect that an unknown, well-dressed man of about sixty years has been
seriously injured by falling off the platform in the subway station at
65th Street and Western Avenue, and that he has been removed to St.
Mary’s Hospital. The city editor sends out one of his reporters to find
out what he can about the accident.
The reporter starts at once for the subway station. At the corner near
the station he sees a policeman with whom he carries on the following
conversation:
Reporter.—Did you send in a report on the old man who fell on the
subway tracks an hour ago?
Policeman.—Yes.
R.—Do you know who he is?
P.—No, I couldn’t find out his name.
R.—Was he badly hurt?
P.—I guess he was. His head was cut behind, and he hadn’t come to
when the ambulance took him to the hospital.
R.—How did it happen?
P.—I don’t know. The first I knew a kid came running up to me and
told me a man was hurt in the subway. When I got down there, they
had him on the platform, and a crowd was standing around him. I saw
the old man was hurt pretty bad, so I telephoned for St. Mary’s
ambulance. We put some water on his face, but he didn’t come to. When
the ambulance doctor came he said he was alive all right.
R.—How did he fall off the platform?
P.—I don’t know; I guess he fainted.
R.—Thanks; I’ll go down and see the ticket chopper.
The reporter thereupon goes down into the subway station. The ticker
chopper, he finds, has just come on duty and does not know anything
about the accident. He therefore decides to inquire of the girl in
charge of the news-stand. The conversation between her and the reporter
is as follows:
Reporter.—I hear that an old man was hurt down here. How did it
happen?
Girl.—He fell on the tracks and cut his head.
R.—What was the matter with him?
G.—I don’t know; I guess he got dizzy.
R.—Did you see him fall?
G.—No; I was busy selling a lady a magazine when I heard some one
yell.
R.—How did they get him out?
G.—Two men jumped down to get him, but they couldn’t lift him up on
the platform. Then they heard the train coming and jumped over to the
side.
R.—Did the motorman stop the train when he saw them?
G.—No; I ran over to the ticket chopper’s box and grabbed his red
lantern, and jumped down to the track and waved it.
R.—Good for you! Weren’t you afraid of being run over?
G.—I didn’t think of being scared. I just kept waving the lantern,
and the motorman saw it and put on the brakes. My, but the sparks
flew!
R.—How soon did he stop?
G.—Oh, the train was only about ten feet away when it stopped, and
I kept stepping back all the time to keep out of the way.
R.—Well, you must have had a pretty close call. Who got the old man
out?
G.—The motorman and one of the guards climbed down and lifted him
up with the two other men.
R.—What did they say about your stopping the train that way?
G.—Oh, nothing. One man said, “Good for you, little girl,” and
another man wanted to know my name, and said I ought to have a medal,
but I told him I hadn’t done any thing and didn’t deserve a medal.
R.—Did you give him your name?
G.—Yes, because he kept asking me and telling me that he thought I
ought to have a medal.
R.—Well, I want your name, too, for the _News_.
G.—No; I don’t want my name in the newspaper for I didn’t do
anything.
R.—But I must tell how you stopped the train in writing about how
the man was hurt.
G.—All right; my name is Annie Hagan.
R.—Where do you live?
G.—At 916 East Watson Avenue.
R.—Have you been working here long?
G.—No; I just started last week. I quit school and got this job
here.
R.—You didn’t hear any one say who the old man was?
G.—No; I guess he was alone.
R.—Did the doctor say how badly he was hurt?
G.—No; he felt his pulse, and listened to his heart, and said he
was alive all right.
R.—Thanks; I’ll go over to St. Mary’s and see how he is getting
along.
On reaching the hospital, which is only two blocks from the subway
station, the reporter asks for the superintendent, with whom he carries
on the following conversation:
R.—I want to find out about the old man who fell off the platform
in the 65th Street subway station an hour and a half ago. How badly
was he hurt?
S.—What was his name?
R.—I don’t know.
S.—I’ll look up the record. Here it is. He died at 1:15. His skull
was fractured, and he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
R.—Did they find out who he was?
S.—No; this card is the only clue we have.
R.—May I see it?
It is a business card of the Blair Photographic Studio, 712 Broadway,
on the back of which is written in pencil the words, “Oliver, Ithaca.”
To save time, the reporter telephones from the office of the hospital
to the Blair Studio, and the conversation over the telephone between
the reporter and the clerk is as follows:
Reporter.—An old man who was hurt in the subway this noon had in
his pocket one of your cards with “Oliver” written on the back. Do
you know who he is?
Clerk.—That must be the old man who came in this morning to see Mr.
Williams, one of our retouchers, but Mr. Williams went to Ithaca last
week.
R.—Was Mr. Williams’ first name Oliver?
C.—Yes; his initials were O. R., and the old man said he was his
uncle.
R.—Where did Mr. Williams live here?
C.—I don’t know. But hold the line; I’ll ask Mr. Baxter.
C.—Mr. Baxter says that Mr. Williams’ address was 3116 Easton
Street, near Brown.
R.—All right. Thank you. Good-bye.
From the hospital the reporter hurries to the place where Mr. Williams
lived before he left for Ithaca. The conversation between the landlady
of the rooming house at 3116 Easton Street and the reporter follows:
Reporter.—Did Oliver R. Williams live here?
Landlady.—He ain’t here now. He moved away last week.
R.—Did a well-dressed old man ever come to see him when he was here?
L.—What do you want to know for?
R.—Oh, the old man fell in the subway this noon and was badly hurt.
He said Mr. Williams was his nephew.
L.—I always said something would happen to him. He fainted on the
steps here one day just after he rung the bell, and when I got to the
door he was all in a heap right here. I knew he wanted Mr. Williams,
because he came to see him a week before, so I called him, and Mr.
Williams came and got him some whiskey, and after a little he came
to. Mr. Williams told me after he went away that his uncle had heart
trouble. Did he get hurt bad?
R.—Yes, he died at the hospital an hour ago.
L.—Oh my, that’s too bad! He was a nice old fellow and Mr. Williams
thought a lot of him.
R.—What was his name?
L.—Mr. Williams called him Uncle Frank, and when he introduced him
to me after he came to, he called him Mr. Dutcher.
R.—Do you know where he lived?
L.—No. I don’t think he lived in the city because he didn’t come
here often, and when he came to, Mr. Williams told him he oughtn’t to
come all the way alone.
R.—Do you know what his business was?
L.—No. He looked like he had some money.
R.—When was it that he fainted here?
L.—Let’s see. It was about three weeks ago, I guess.
R.—Did Mr. Williams have any relatives in the city?
L.—I don’t know. I guess not. He came from up state somewhere. He
only lived here since January. He didn’t like the city very well. He
said he couldn’t sleep.
R.—Thank you.
The reporter then stops at the drug store on the next corner to find
out whether or not the name of Frank Dutcher appears in the city
directory. No such name is to be found in this directory or in the
telephone directory. As no more information is apparently obtainable,
he returns to the _News_ office and reports to the city editor what he
has found. The city editor tells him to write about 500 words playing
up the girl’s part in stopping the train, and saying that the man is
“supposed to be” Frank Dutcher.
=Putting the Facts into the News Story.= The story that the reporter
writes is as follows:—
| By jumping to the subway tracks and|
|waving a red lantern before an oncoming|
|train at the risk of her life, Miss|
|Annie Hagan, in charge of the news-stand|
|in the subway station at 65th St. and|
|Western Avenue, saved a man, supposed to|
|be Frank Dutcher, from being crushed to|
|death as he lay unconscious across the|
|tracks. The man’s skull was fractured|
|by the fall from the platform to the|
|tracks, and he died soon after being|
|removed to St. Mary’s Hospital. |
| |
| The accident occurred shortly before|
|noon when the station was crowded.|
|The man, who was well dressed and|
|appeared to be about 60 years old,|
|was seen walking down the platform|
|when he suddenly staggered and pitched|
|forward. Before anyone could run to his|
|assistance, he fell head foremost on the|
|tracks. |
| |
| Knowing that a train might come at any|
|moment, two men jumped down to the|
|roadbed and tried to lift the man, but|
|found it impossible to get him up to|
|the level of the platform. While they|
|were striving to get him off the tracks,|
|the rumble of the oncoming train warned|
|them of their danger. After another vain|
|attempt to lift the unconscious man up|
|to the platform, they jumped to the side|
|of the track to save themselves. |
| |
| Miss Hagan, realizing the situation,|
|ran to the ticket chopper’s box and|
|seizing his red lantern jumped down to|
|the tracks. Waving the lantern before|
|her she ran along the track in the glare|
|of the headlight of the train. When the|
|motorman saw the red light, he applied|
|the emergency brakes, and the locked|
|wheels slid along the track sending out|
|a shower of sparks. |
| |
| The train came to a stop within ten|
|feet of the plucky girl, who then called|
|to the motorman and one of the guards|
|to help lift up the injured man. When|
|he had been placed on the platform,|
|she climbed up and started back to the|
|news-stand as if nothing had happened. |
| |
| “You ought to get a Carnegie medal,”|
|declared one of the bystanders, who|
|asked the girl her name and address,|
|evidently to present her claims for the|
|life saving award. Miss Hagan modestly|
|disclaimed any credit for her heroism,|
|and at first refused to give her name,|
|but was finally prevailed upon to do so.|
| |
| The unconscious man was taken in an|
|ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital, where|
|it was found that he was suffering from|
|a fractured skull. He was rushed to|
|the operating room, but he died of a|
|cerebral hemorrhage. |
| |
| The only means of identifying him was a|
|business card of a Broadway photographer|
|with the name, “Oliver, Ithaca,”|
|written in pencil on the back. At this|
|studio it was found that an elderly man|
|had inquired this morning for Oliver|
|Williams, a retoucher, who last week|
|went to Ithaca, N. Y. At Williams’|
|former rooming place it was learned that|
|his uncle, Frank Dutcher, who answered|
|to the description of the victim of the|
|accident, had suffered from an attack of|
|heart failure while visiting his nephew|
|recently and had fallen unconscious|
|on the doorstep. As the name of Frank|
|Dutcher does not appear in the city|
|directory, it is believed that the dead|
|man was not a resident of this city but|
|had come to pay his nephew a visit. |
An analysis of this story shows how the reporter wove together all the
important pieces of information which he had gathered by interviewing
the policeman, the news-stand girl, the hospital superintendent, the
clerk in the studio, and the landlady, none of whom are specifically
mentioned as the sources of his information. In accordance with the
instructions of the city editor, he “played up” the “feature” of the
story, the bravery of the girl, by putting it at the beginning and by
describing the accident in detail to show her heroism.
=Following up the News.= Many news stories, like the one just
considered, do not exhaust the news possibilities of the event, but
may be followed up in later editions or in the next day’s issues by
completing what was necessarily left incomplete for lack of time, or
by giving new phases of the event that have developed since the first
story was written. A reporter on a morning paper, for example, would be
given a clipping of the above story taken from the afternoon edition,
and would be told by the city editor to see the coroner to get the
results of his telegram to Williams, the man’s nephew, at Ithaca, and
any other information available regarding the identity of the old
man. Often unexpected and important news develops, which makes the
“follow-up,” or second story a bigger one than the first. Each reporter
and correspondent should read carefully as many newspapers as possible
before he begins his day’s work so that he may get suggestions for
“follow-up” stories on his “run,” or for “local ends” of news stories
sent in from outside the city. In large offices, one of the editors
goes over all the local newspapers to clip out the stories to be
“followed up,” or to be rewritten in the office.
=Interviewing.= In obtaining the information for the foregoing story
by means of conversations with several persons, the reporter’s aim
was to get what they said rather than how they said it; that is, he
wanted primarily the facts that they had to give, not the way that
they expressed these facts. In the news story it was not necessary to
refer specifically to the persons who furnished the information or to
quote what they said. In many instances, however, it is important to
“interview” persons in order to obtain their opinions or their versions
of current events and to give what they say just as they said it.
The terms “interviewing” and “interview” in newspaper work are often
limited to this method of reporting practically verbatim what is said
by the persons “interviewed.” Interviewing of this type requires great
skill and tact, and successful interviewers are highly valued on all
newspapers.
The two problems that the reporter has to meet are how to gain access
to the person to be interviewed and how to induce him to talk for
publication. Busy men have not time or inclination to give interviews
to every reporter who desires them. Many times such men do not wish to
say anything for publication on the desired subject, and absolutely
refuse to talk. The resourcefulness of the reporter is tested again
and again in getting access to men who are surrounded in their offices
by office boys, private secretaries, and clerks, and who on public
occasions such as banquets and receptions are sometimes equally well
guarded against newspaper men. When it is impossible to see the man
personally, it may be possible to submit to him several written
questions and thus lead him to issue a statement answering or evading
the questions.
Even when an audience is secured with the person to be interviewed,
his not infrequent unwillingness to talk for publication has to be
overcome. On some occasions to ask immediately and directly for the
desired information is the best way to secure results. At other times,
to engage him in conversation on some subject in which he is interested
and then to lead to the one on which the reporter wishes to interview
him, proves successful. Young reporters often insist on giving their
own views on the subject on which they are trying to interview a
person. The reporter should remember that he is an impartial observer,
not an advocate on one side or the other. If in an effort to get
information from the person whom he is interviewing he suggests
opposing opinions, these opinions should not be given as his own but as
those of others. Tact and a knowledge of human nature are essential.
In interviewing, as in all reporting, the newspaper man should not take
notes in the presence of the person with whom he is talking unless
he feels sure it can be done without affecting the freedom and ease
with which the man will talk. As soon as a reporter begins to take
notes, the speaker at once realizes that his statements are to appear
in black and white for the world to read. That realization leads to
caution, and caution leads to silence, partial or complete. To get
the person to talk as freely and naturally as possible is the object
of all interviewing, for the best interviewers want more than words;
they want the fullest expression of personality, an expression that
is only possible when all feeling of restraint is absent. The good
interviewer cultivates verbal memory so that he can reproduce verbatim
all the significant statements which he has obtained as soon as he
is out of the presence of the man that he has interviewed. At the
first convenient place immediately after the interview is over, the
reporter writes out as much as he desires to print, word for word as he
remembers it.
=Reporting Speeches.= In reporting speeches, addresses, lectures, and
sermons, the newspaper man either takes long-hand notes and writes out
later what he wants to use, or writes a long-hand verbatim report of
such parts as he desires. Few reporters can write short-hand, and the
few who can generally do not use it extensively because of the length
of time required to transcribe short-hand notes. It is much quicker,
and therefore more important in newspaper work, to write a connected or
“running” story, or verbatim report of a speech or lecture while it is
being delivered, by selecting significant statements and by omitting
the explanatory ones. With a little practice, the average person of
intelligence can remember a statement, word for word, as the speaker
makes it, long enough to put it in writing, and then by repeating this
process for every important statement, can give an accurate verbatim,
but necessarily condensed, report of any speech. As newspapers
generally want only a small part of the average address, the reporter
has little difficulty in writing a good account of it in long-hand.
When a complete verbatim report is desired, a short-hand reporter is
assigned to cover the address.
=“Covering” Trials and Hearings.= The same general principles
governing the reporting of speeches apply to the reporting of trials
where testimony is given in response to questioning by attorneys, or
when witnesses appear before investigating committees of the state
legislature, Congress, or other bodies. Questions and answers may be
taken down, or if the substance of the testimony is desired in either
verbatim or indirect form, the reporter can fit together the answers
into a continuous account of what the witness testifies, neglecting
partially or entirely the questions that elicit the testimony. A
“running story” of the trial or investigation is generally written in
the room where it is going on, so that the copy may be put into type as
fast as possible. In reporting important trials the newspaper sometimes
arranges to get a complete verbatim report from the official short-hand
court reporter or occasionally from an expert stenographer employed for
the purpose, and from this complete record those facts that are desired
for publication are selected.
=Advance Copies.= It is always a great advantage to a newspaper to
secure in advance a copy of a speech, a report, a decision, or any
document, so that it may be put in form for publication and may be
set up in type ready to print as soon as possible after it is given
to the public. Such advance news is marked to be “released” for
publication when it becomes public. For example, when a copy of the
speech to be delivered by the governor of the state at the laying
of a corner-stone at eleven o’clock in the morning on Washington’s
Birthday, is obtained a day or two in advance, it is marked “Release
12 M., Feb. 22.” The result will be that in the first edition of the
afternoon paper published after 12 o’clock noon on February 22 as much
of the speech as is desired can be printed, perhaps a few minutes after
the governor has concluded his address. Newspapers always regard most
scrupulously the release date which the reporter or correspondent puts
at the top of his advance story. To violate the confidence of men who
furnish news in advance by publishing it before it should be released,
is considered by newspaper men a serious breach of trust. Reporters
and correspondents should, therefore, mark plainly at the top of the
first sheet of copy the word “release” followed by the hour and date
when it can be printed. If the date and hour at which the news will
become public cannot be fixed in advance, the copy is marked, “Hold for
Release, which will probably be at 12 M., Feb. 22”; and the reporter or
correspondent notifies his paper of the exact time of release as soon
as it is fixed.
=Getting News by Telephone.= The telephone, both in local and in
long distance service, is extensively used in getting news and in
communicating it to the newspaper office. Editors often telephone their
instructions to reporters and correspondents. Newspapermen use the
telephone to “run down” rumors and “tips,” to verify news reports, to
get “interviews,” and, in short, to obtain all kinds of information.
Although some men refuse to be “interviewed” over the telephone, it is
often possible to get “interviews” more easily by this means than by
any other. Reporters, or “watchers,” at police headquarters and at
other news sources telephone important information to the city editor
so that he may assign men to get the news involved. When lack of time
prevents the reporter from returning to the office to write his story,
he telephones the facts to a “rewrite man,” who puts them in news-story
form. Or the reporter may dictate his story over the telephone to a
man in the newspaper office, who, using an overhead receiver like that
worn by telephone operators, takes it down rapidly on a typewriter.
Experienced reporters can dictate their stories in this way with only
their notes before them. The long distance service is used in the same
manner by correspondents when it can be more advantageously employed
than the telegraph.
=Photographs.= Illustrations, or “cuts,” have come to be an important
part of almost all newspapers. Although most of the photographs used
for illustrations are made by the staff photographer or are secured
from companies that make a specialty of taking pictures of current
events, reporters and correspondents are often able to supply their
papers with pictures of persons, places, or events that are a part of
the day’s news. Good photographs may sometimes be secured from amateurs
who happen to get snapshots of some interesting occurrence. Every
reporter and every correspondent should have a camera and should learn
how to take pictures to illustrate the stories that he writes, even
though he may not have occasion to take such photographs frequently.
Unmounted photographic prints with a glossy surface and with strong
contrasts are the most satisfactory ones from which to make newspaper
halftones. A brief description of the picture should be written on
the back of every photograph. Unmounted photographs should always be
mailed flat. Correspondents are paid for photographs that are used by
newspapers.
=Special Kinds of News.= Special kinds of reporting, such as is done
by sporting, market, financial, railroad, labor, marine, society,
dramatic, and musical editors, naturally requires special training
and experience in the subject matter of these fields. The methods of
gathering these special kinds of news are not particularly different
from those of collecting general news. The sporting editor and his
assistants often have to write a “running” account of a baseball
game or football game as it progresses. The musical and dramatic
critics, of course, express their opinions on productions, instead
of simply reporting what took place at the theatre or concert. The
railroad, labor, market, or marine editors report the news in their
particular fields, sometimes in special forms, such as market reports
or quotations, but their work of news gathering is like that of the
general reporter.
=Qualifications of the Reporter.= Rapidity, perseverance, accuracy,
intelligence, and tact, as well as the “news sense,” or “nose for
news,” are the essential qualifications for successful reporting.
Nowhere is it truer that “time is money” than in newspaper making. The
reporter, as the news collector and news writer, must save as much time
as possible by working fast. To know just where to get the news and
how to get it quickly, always means great economy of time and effort.
Rapid, accurate judgment of news values, likewise, is an important
qualification for a good newspaper man. “Get all the news and get it
quick,” was the command that a certain city editor of the old school
used to thunder at his cub reporters.
=Perseverance.= To get all the news, or sometimes to get any news,
demands perseverance. The reporter must follow one clue after another
until he finds what he is looking for, or is convinced that there is
nothing to find. By stopping in his pursuit before he has all there is
to get, he may miss the biggest “feature” of the story. Every neglected
clue may mean a “scoop” by a rival. To return empty-handed is to admit
defeat. News hunting is often discouraging business, but the reporter
must always keep up his determination by a firm belief that what is
eluding him may be a big story, probably the biggest story of his
career.
=Accuracy.= Accuracy must extend to every detail of reporting. As
the reporter is seldom on the spot when an unexpected event happens,
he must rely upon the accounts of it given by eye witnesses. These
accounts often differ materially because of the common inaccuracy of
observation and judgment. The reporter must weigh the testimony of
each witness, much as a juryman does in a trial, and must decide which
version is the most probable one. When time permits, he can verify
doubtful details by questioning other witnesses on the particular parts
in which the versions differ. He should always make every reasonable
effort to get all particulars as accurately as possible.
Great care should invariably be taken to have names and addresses
correct. The reporter will do well to ask his informants to spell
unfamiliar names for him. City, telephone, and society directories, the
various kinds of “Who’s Who” volumes, and similar lists, are convenient
sources for getting names, initials, and addresses. Even the necessity
for speed in newspaper work is not a valid excuse for carelessness
and inaccuracy in news gathering. The minutes required to verify
names, addresses, and other details, are always well spent. Rumors
and unconfirmed statements generally should be carefully investigated
before they are given much credence, especially when they reflect upon
the reputation of persons, organizations, or business enterprises. A
false rumor given wide currency through a newspaper may ruin a man or
a woman, or seriously injure a bank or business firm. No correction
or retraction that a newspaper can make ever counteracts completely
the effects of the original story. A rumor is often valuable as a news
“tip,” but like all news tips it needs to be traced to its source and
confirmed by evidence before it is really news. Often it is mere gossip
or the product of a fertile imagination, with little or no basis in
fact. False and inaccurate statements are not what newspapers or their
readers want.
=Tact and Courtesy.= On the stage the reporter runs about with
note-book and pencil in hand; in real life, he carries some folded
sheets of copy paper on which to take notes when necessary, in a way to
attract the least possible attention. He neither conceals nor displays
his profession. An impersonal, anonymous observer of persons and
events, he does not obtrude his personality upon those with whom his
work brings him in contact. Tactful, courteous, friendly, he elicits
his information as quickly as possible. When a more aggressive attitude
is necessary to secure what he wants and has a right to have, he is
equal to the occasion. But whatever may be the circumstances, the
reporter never forgets that he is a gentleman, and that the newspaper
which he represents never expects him to do anything to get the news
that he or it need be ashamed to acknowledge to the world. Some papers
may not hold up this ideal to their reporters and editors, but every
self-respecting newspaper must.
To cultivate personal acquaintance with those with whom news gathering
brings the reporter in contact, is the best means of increasing his
ability to get the news. When men come to have a friendly interest in
the reporter and his work, and find that they can trust him to report
accurately the news that they give him, they often go out of their way
to help him. Many a “scoop” has been the result of the friendly aid of
some one who had news to give and who saved it for the reporter in whom
he had become personally interested. In other instances, where official
news must be given to all alike, the favored reporter may be given
a “tip” in advance as to some important phase of this official news
which he can use to advantage in his paper, or he may be able to get an
advance copy of a report or of a public document so that his paper will
have a good story on it ready to print as soon as it is given to the
public.
Through his personal relations with men, however, the reporter is
sometimes put in a difficult position. In conversation with friends,
for example, he may learn of important news that would make a good
story and perhaps give him credit for a “scoop.” But he must remember
that when he obtains news in the confidence of private conversation,
he has no right to use it without the consent of those from whom he
gets it in this way. At other times he may be given news with the
request that it be not published, and again he must beware of violating
confidence. No self-respecting reporter will fail to regard the trust
placed in him by those with whom he comes in contact either in social
or professional relations. Another problem confronts the reporter when
friends or acquaintances request him to suppress the whole or a part of
a news story that it is his duty to write. Since a reporter is supposed
to give all the important facts in a fair and impartial manner, he has
no right to omit any of them without the knowledge of his superiors.
The best way out of the difficulty, therefore, is to tell those who
desire the suppression of any news that the decision in such matters
rests with the editor and not with the reporter.
=How the Correspondent Works.= The work of the correspondent is very
much the same as that of the reporter. Like the reporter, he gets
assignments or instructions from time to time; he asks his superiors
how much of a story they want on a particular event; he watches the
news sources in the city or town for which he is responsible. As he is
frequently on the staff of a local paper as well, he has the advantage
of whatever news is collected for this paper. Whenever an important
event is to take place in the district which he covers, he receives
instructions a day or two in advance from the telegraph editor telling
him what the paper wants and how much he is to send. If the telegraph
editor desires some phase of an unexpected happening looked up by the
correspondent, he telegraphs to him the necessary directions. The
correspondent, likewise, telegraphs to the editor whenever he has a
story on which he wants instructions. When a correspondent telegraphs
for instructions, he is said to send a “query” or “to query” his paper.
A query usually consists of a brief statement of the news in a sentence
or two followed by the number of words in which the correspondent
thinks he can write the story adequately. The typical form of a query
would be:
Buffalo Express, Buffalo, N. Y.
Easthampton, N. Y., Jan. 16.—Western Steel Co.’s mill burning, loss
$150,000, two firemen killed. 300. Filed 9:23 P.M. Wilson.
The telegraph editor can use the facts thus given in the query by
turning the dispatch over to the copy desk to be edited for the
next edition; and at the same time he may telegraph to Wilson, the
Easthampton correspondent, to send 150 instead of 300 words on the
fire. The correspondent, on receiving these instructions, telegraphs
at once as much of the story as he can in 150 words. He always puts
at the end of the dispatch before his signature the hour at which he
files the story at the telegraph office, so that he will not be held
responsible for any delay in transmitting or delivering the telegram.
When the correspondent has a number of news stories of interest on
which he desires to have instructions, he sends his “queries” in the
form of a “schedule” in which each story is numbered. For example:
Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, Pa.
Erie, Pa., March 10.—No. 1. Northern Hospital for Insane burns,
all inmates rescued. 800.
2. C. H. Hartman, cashier Miners’ Bank, commits suicide. 250.
3. Principal Walters of high school prohibits football. 100.
4. Mayor Altmeyer removes Health Commissioner Murphy for
incompetency. 150.
5. Minister delivers strong sermon on “Is There a Devil?” 300.
R. N. Wilson.
The telegraph editor might reply to this schedule with the following
instructions, which would indicate how much the correspondent is to
send on each of the stories that he has scheduled, as well as the fact
that nothing is wanted on story No. 5.
Philadelphia, Mar. 10.—R. N. Wilson, Erie, Pa. Rush one and two;
50 three; 100 four. Times.
The correspondent is paid a regular salary if the amount of news that
he sends daily is considerable, but more often he is paid every month
at a regular space rate for the amount printed of the news that he
sends during the month. On some papers the correspondents clip out
all of their news stories and paste them together in a “string” which
they send in once a month, so that the telegraph editor may pay them
according to the length of the “string.” In many offices the telegraph
editor keeps a record by crediting every correspondent with what he
furnishes, and sends monthly a check for the amount due.
=News Associations.= Most of the news of the state, nation, and world
generally is furnished to newspapers, not by their own correspondents,
but through one of the several news or press associations, such as
the Associated Press, the United Press, and the International Press
Service. The Associated Press is a coöperative news-gathering and
news-distributing organization with a membership consisting of many
of the leading papers throughout the country. The expenses of the
association are divided equally among the newspapers that are members.
Each paper that belongs to the association agrees to furnish all the
others with the news that it gets in the local field. The Associated
Press also has correspondents everywhere in the world, most of whom are
paid for what news they furnish, while others at important news centers
are regularly employed to gather and send news to the association.
To facilitate the handling of the news, the Associated Press has
divided the country into four divisions with a central office and a
superintendent in each; and in these divisions there is a bureau at
every important news center with a correspondent who is responsible
for all the news in his district of the division. Associated Press
correspondents send the news of the cities, towns, or sections for
which they are responsible to the district bureau, or the division
office, where it is edited and distributed to the newspapers of the
division, and is sent on to the other division offices to be edited
and distributed to papers in these divisions. The United Press is a
corporation which furnishes its news service to afternoon papers at a
rate determined by the distance of the newspaper from the distributing
point and by the amount of news sent. It differs from the Associated
Press in the fact that it is not a coöperative organization. The
International Press Service connected with the papers controlled by Mr.
W. R. Hearst also furnishes newspapers generally with news service.
The instructions given by the Associated Press and the United Press
to their correspondents, from which the following extracts are taken,
indicate the general rules to be followed by a correspondent who is
sending out news that is of more than local interest.
Be able always to give a valid reason for sending a dispatch.
File news with the telegraph operator at the earliest possible
moment. Dispatches should be filed before 9 A.M. for the noon
editions; before 12 M. for the 3 o’clocks; and before 2 P.M. for the
5 o’clocks; nothing should be filed after 2:15 P.M. except night
matter, which should be marked N.P.R. (night press rate). If there
should be news of great importance, file a bulletin of 100 words at
any hour. All matter for afternoon papers should be filed at the
earliest possible moment without regard to editions.
When the news is of extraordinary character, or very sensational,
file at once a bulletin of 100 words, and wait instructions before
sending the details, as the number of words desired will be ordered.
Should the news prove to be more important than the facts first
available indicated, a second bulletin of 100 words should be filed
as soon as the additional facts are known.
The news in every dispatch should be given in the first paragraph,
details following. A story should be told as briefly as is consistent
with an intelligent statement of the facts.
Notify, if possible, the general office by mail at least a week in
advance in regard to the date of every meeting of national and state
organizations, and of any gathering or coming event not of a local
character, including the state and congressional conventions of
political parties announced to be held in your city. Instructions
will be given you as to the number of words to be sent in covering
the events designated. All matter should be telegraphed unless “by
mail” is specified in an order.
Advance copies of speeches and addresses of public men, and important
platforms and resolutions of assemblies and conventions, whenever
possible should be secured in advance and mailed to the general
office to be held until released. All advance matter is to be sent
“subject to release.” The time of release of advance matter should be
stated instead of the edition for which the matter is released.
Accuracy, speed, and brevity are what we desire.
The correspondent should be fair toward all interests.
Do not send matter of merely local interest. Any matter sent must be
of general or exceptional state interest.
SUGGESTIONS
1. Always have at hand several soft black pencils.
2. Take notes on folded copy paper rather than in a notebook.
3. Keep a pocket date-book for all future events and news
possibilities.
4. Get all the news; don’t stop with half of it.
5. Run down every clue whenever the character of the news warrants it.
6. Work rapidly; don’t putter.
7. Don’t make the necessity for speed an excuse for carelessness or
inaccuracy.
8. Be especially careful about names, initials, and addresses.
9. Don’t take rumors for facts.
10. Persevere until you get what you were sent for; don’t come back
empty-handed.
11. Be resourceful in devising ways and means of getting news.
12. Study your paper to see to what kind of news it gives greatest
space and prominence.
13. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with the whole city, and especially
with every place on your own run.
14. Never neglect even for a day a news source on your regular run.
15. Make acquaintances among all classes of people with whom your work
brings you in contact.
16. Interest your friends and acquaintances in your work so that they
will coöperate with you in getting news.
17. Gather all news quietly and unobtrusively.
18. Be tactful with every one; never make an enemy.
19. Never betray a confidence no matter how big the “scoop” would be if
you did.
20. Remember that you can always be both a gentleman and a good
reporter.
21. Don’t take notes in interviewing.
22. Always know exactly what information you desire before beginning to
interview a person.
23. Get advance copies of anything to be quoted directly or indirectly
in a news story.
24. Mark the release date plainly at the beginning of all advance
copies or stories.
25. Get photographs of persons and events if possible, and write a
description on the back of the photographs.
26. File telegraph stories at the earliest possible moment.
27. Always follow instructions.
28. Mail stories, either by regular or special delivery, whenever they
will surely reach the newspaper in time for the edition for which
they are intended.
29. Never put off till to-morrow sending news that is new to-day.