THE ENGLISH OF THE NEWSPAPERS
Of the three generally recognized qualities of good
style--clarity, force and grace--it is the last and the
last alone in which critics of newspaper English find their
material. It would be ludicrously superfluous to illustrate
here the prevailing clearness of what one reads in the daily
press. To it everything else is sacrificed. He who runs through
the pages of his paper at a speed that keeps even pace with
that of his car or train, and yet understands what he reads,
without difficulty and without delay, would give short hearing
to a complaint on this score. The same assertion may safely
be made of the second of the trio of good qualities. Whenever
and wherever force is needed, the reporter, no matter what his
limitations of time and distracting circumstances, manages to
put it into his writing.
The result is plain--and inevitable. Beauty, grace, suggestion
of that final touch which confers upon its object the
immortality of perfect art, are nearly always conspicuously
absent. We know at a glance what has happened and we get
the force of whatever significance the writer has wished
to impress, but it is all hurled at our heads in the same
wholesale fashion, with the same neglect of “form,” that the
genuine American is accustomed to in his quick-lunch resort,
and, in his heart, really likes.... Without intending to
be dogmatic about it, we are inclined to say that, if a
newspaper’s English makes a fair approach to the level of an
educated, intelligent man’s serious conversation, it will
be doing about all that can justly be expected. Whatever
it accomplishes more than this is to its credit.--From an
editorial in the New York _Evening Post_.
“Newspaper English” has often been used as a term of reproach, as if
the newspapers, by concerted action, had been guilty of creating an
inferior, trademarked brand of English for their own purposes. The term
has been hurled indiscriminately at all newspapers, the good as well as
the bad, and young writers have been warned in a vague, general way to
beware of the reporter’s style. As applied to loosely edited newspapers
the criticism is just. It is not true, however, that “newspaper
English” constitutes a special variety of language, to be shunned by
all who would attain purity in writing. There are good books and bad
books, just as there are good newspapers and bad newspapers, and it
would be as reasonable to condemn all books because they are written in
a “bookish” style as it is to include all news writing in a sweeping
condemnation.
No defense is needed of the style of writing in the well-edited modern
newspaper. Free from pedantry and obsolete expressions, the English of
the best newspapers fulfills its purpose of telling the news of the day
in language that all can understand. Newspaper English has not been
created by the newspapers alone. It is the language of the people,
clarified and simplified in the writing, as opposed to the language
of an earlier day which obscured the writer’s thought in a maze of
high-sounding words. Newspaper English, at its best, is nothing more
nor less than good English employed in the setting forth of news. At
its worst it embodies the common faults of writing.
The reporter writes his story for readers of all degrees of
intelligence--for the man whose only reading is newspapers and for the
man of cultivated taste. Simplicity is the keynote. This does not mean
crudity or slovenliness, for while the good news story is written with
the limitations of the least intelligent reader in mind, it should not
offend the educated reader. In this respect the Bible, the simplest of
all books, is an excellent model for the news writer.
In keeping with its essential simplicity of style, the good news story
is clear, concise and forceful.
CLEARNESS
Simplicity of structure and diction implies clearness. The story
that would appeal to the masses defeats its purpose if not readily
intelligible. The average newspaper reader has neither time nor
inclination to puzzle over an involved sentence or to consult a
glossary for the definition of a technical phrase.
Scientific terms, if not in general use, should be translated into
everyday English. This is true also of legal phraseology and other
words and expressions of purely technical meaning. Let your story
explain itself. If Mrs. Jones got a divorce, say so; don’t confuse the
reader with the verbiage of the courts. Get as close to the speech
of the people as good taste and correctness will allow. Vulgar and
silly slang is not tolerated by the good newspaper, but an expressive
colloquialism may be used to avoid pedantry.
In striving for simplicity and clarity beware of dullness. “Fine
writing”--the kind that speaks of a barber shop as a “tonsorial
parlor”--has no place in the modern newspaper office, but there is
a demand for the writer who can infuse freshness and vigor into his
story. The style of your story should be simple, its meaning clear and
its diction pure. Try also to give it that element of originality and
charm that distinguishes the best writing from merely good writing.
Newspaper English, as used by skillful writers, displays often, in its
well-turned phrases, its quick description and its “featuring” of the
leading facts, the touch of the true artist. For all this the story is
none the less, in the manner of its telling, simple and clear.
CONCISENESS
“Boil it down” is an injunction frequently heard in the newspaper
office. The requirements both of the public and of the newspaper demand
that the story be concisely told. The hurried reader has no time for
the story clogged with unnecessary words and trivial detail; the
newspaper has no space for it.
Daily there comes to the newspaper a stream of copy from various
sources. The local room contributes its share, while the telegraph
editor receives scores of dispatches from special correspondents,
besides the regular service of one of the great news gathering
organizations. It would be neither possible nor desirable to print all
of the immense amount of news matter received. The paper as the reader
sees it is the result of a process of careful selection. Many stories
have been omitted, some of them having been “killed” after progressing
as far as the type forms, and others have been “boiled down” to a few
sentences.
The news writer, then, should study to be terse. Verbosity merely makes
work for the copy reader’s pencil. Try to say in one word what the
writer who strains after effect might put into half a dozen. Don’t say
“devouring element” when you mean “fire.” “Fire” is a good Anglo-Saxon
word that everybody understands and uses--and it is twelve letters
shorter. “A house is building” is simpler, shorter and more effective
than “A house is in process of construction.” “The society met last
night and elected officers for the year” is the simple, natural
equivalent of “At a meeting held last night the society perfected its
organization for the year by the election of officers.”
Wordiness, like bad spelling, is a sign of mental laziness, and the
newspaper office has no room for the lazy.
FORCE
Force grows out of simplicity, clearness, terseness of style. The story
told in plain, curt phrase is more effective than the story which shows
a conscious striving after effect. Diction is important. A strong word
lends strength to an entire sentence, while a weak word may spoil the
vividness of an impression. As a rule the words that are deeply rooted
in everyday speech are stronger than their synonyms of foreign origin.
Words derived from the Anglo-Saxon are the bone and sinew of the
language. The writer who neglects them for the longer and often more
euphonious words from the Latin may add elegance to his style, but he
takes away from its power to impress. The reader feels the difference,
though he may not be able to explain it.
Brevity as well as force favors the Anglo-Saxon. “Begin” is shorter
than “commence.” It is a better word for the news writer. Likewise
it is better to say “A movement was begun” than “A movement was
inaugurated.” The latter is a word in good standing--presidents are
inaugurated--but let it be confined to its proper use. “Build” is
preferable to “construct” when the words may be used interchangeably.
Examples might be multiplied, but in the end the writer must rely on
his own judgment of word-values, sharpened by a study of good writing.
This rule may be formulated: _In seeking force, choose the Anglo-Saxon
word instead of its foreign equivalent unless clearness demands the
latter._
The active voice is usually more forcible than the passive. “Jones
succeeds Smith” and “A house is building” are better news sentences
for this reason than “Smith is succeeded by Jones” and “A house is
being built.”
Short sentences, unless they become monotonous, are preferable to long.
The speed with which stories are put together in the newspaper office,
especially when the writer is working to “catch an edition,” is one
factor that makes news writing forcible. Working under pressure, the
reporter writes with a nervous, hurried energy that makes for short
sentences and quick, telling phrases. He has no time for involved
construction and prettiness of language. His aim is to “feature” the
big facts of the story--to put what he calls a “punch” into the lead.
What such a story lacks in elegance it makes up in force.
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOME OR CLASS-ROOM STUDY
I.--A good news story, illustrating especially the virtue of
conciseness:
CHICAGO, Nov. 5.--“It is hard to give away money,” declared
James A. Patten, retired Board of Trade operator, at a Y. M. C.
A. meeting last night at Evanston. “A person must acquire the
habit,” he added. “After that it comes easy.”
Then he gave the Evanston association $25,000, with the
condition that it raise an additional $75,000 within the next
ten days. The meeting opened a campaign for raising a fund of
$100,000.
(Note in the foregoing the effective use of direct quotation.)
II.--Simplicity of form and diction adds to the force of the following
news dispatch:
LONDON, Nov. 5.--Dr. Hawley H. Crippen, convicted of the murder
of his wife, Belle Elmore, the actress, to-day played his last
card and lost. He will be hanged on November 8.
Changed as he was physically, Crippen maintained his composure
even in the trying moment when he heard his doom pronounced.
At once the Court’s decision was announced, a warden touched
the prisoner on the shoulder and the latter, without a word or
gesture, turned and left the dock. He was conducted at once to
Pentonville Prison.
Those who have seen Crippen during his imprisonment say that
his bearing has never changed from the moment of his arrest.
He sleeps throughout the night soundly and eats heartily. He
spends much time in reading. Miss Leneve has visited him in the
prison three times.
(All the salient facts of the story are summed up in the opening
paragraph. Note the use of metaphor--“played his last card and lost.”
Touches such as this lift a story above the commonplace. Note, too,
that no attempt is made at so-called “fine writing.”)
III.--Rewrite the following:
Within three hours after a “ten spot” had been deposited with
Chief of Police William Smith as a reward to the patrolman
arresting one Fred Wilson, charged with the larceny of a coat
and a pair of shoes from J. W. Morris at a South street rooming
house, said Fred Wilson was resting his tired body within the
confines of the city bastile.
Morris left the reward and a description of the man who, he
said, had taken the articles. Each policeman was given the
description and told to look out for the man. It fell to
Officer John Haden at the Frisco Depot to garner the loose
change by collaring Wilson and taking him to headquarters. He
had the shoes and coat in his possession at the time and told
Haden that he had merely put them on to wear for a little while.
It is believed that he was preparing to leave Smithton for
another haven when arrested.
(The foregoing is a sample of “fine writing.” Why not say $10 or “a
ten-dollar bill” instead of “ten spot”? “Charged with stealing” is
shorter and more to the point than the technical expression, “charged
with the larceny of.” “Within the confines of the city bastile”
evidently means “in the city jail.” Other violations of good news style
will be apparent after a moment’s thought. When in doubt ask yourself:
How would I say this if I were relating the incident in conversation?
Then write it that way. Be natural.)