NEWSPAPER BROMIDES
Contrary to the opinions of many, the newspaper has saved its
readers from that modern perversion of our already forcible
English, slang. It has pruned its language of affectation,
fine writing and indiscriminate and excessive use of
adjectives.--From an address by the REV. WILLIAM B. NORTON, of
Evanston, Ill., as reported by the Chicago _Evening Post_.
If a reporter is lazy or inclined to “fine writing” he has only to
reach into the grab-box of his memory to draw out a word or phrase,
all ready to his hand, that seems to suit the occasion. Was the horse
running fast? Then it was going at “breakneck speed.” Did the young
woman who was pulled out of the river fall in love with her rescuer?
Then “her gratitude melted into love.” It was the “old, old story.” She
became his “blushing bride” and the news of the marriage was to the
discarded suitor “like a bolt from a clear sky.” “A host of friends”
attended the “nuptials” and the “happy couple” were “showered with
congratulations.”
Handy, cut-and-dried expressions will creep into copy unless the
reporter is always on the alert to find the right word. Many of
the figures of speech in this category doubtless possessed charm
and piquancy at one time, but through long usage they have sunk to
a meaningless level. They have become part of the stock in trade of
the “fine writer,” who seeks to confound the reader with large words.
Other words and phrases are merely trivial or in poor taste. The news
writer should study to fit his words exactly to the meaning he intends
to convey, instead of lazily giving way to the temptation to draw on a
ready-made stock.
“Bromides” is the name given by the newspaper man to this stock of
handy expressions. The term is thus defined in a bulletin issued by a
metropolitan newspaper for its copy readers: “A bromide, in a newspaper
office, is a word, phrase or expression, or turn of style, that is
especially lacking in originality--overworked, hackneyed--a ‘chestnut.’
The daily travail of the editor and the copy reader is in scouting for
errors of grammar and skirmishing with inaccuracy and awkwardness. But
it is a massacre of libel; a war of extermination against bromides.”
The following list of “bromides” includes both trite and grandiose
expressions which the news writer will do well to avoid and the copy
reader to eliminate if they are passed on to him. The list is intended
to be only suggestive of the evils of “bromidic” writing. It is far
from exhaustive. Almost any newspaper man could add similar expressions
which have come within his experience:
admiring friends
agent of death
ancestral domain
and many others
angry mob
arch culprit
avenging justice
battle-scarred veteran
beautiful and accomplished
bereaved widow
better half
beyond peradventure of a doubt
big mogul (locomotive)
bleeding, mangled form
blunt instrument
blushing bride
body of the deceased
bolt from a clear sky
bonds of matrimony
bosom of the briny deep
bourne from which no traveler returns
brand from the burning
breakneck speed
break the news gently
breathless silence
burden of bluecoats
burly negro
busy marts of trade
carnival of crime
catch of the season
caught like a rat in a trap
caught red-handed
certain party (for person)
challenge contradiction
checkered career
city bastile
city’s fair escutcheon
clutches of the law
commercial emporium
conspicuous by his absence
contracting parties (in marriage)
conventional black
cool as a cucumber
cowering poltroon
crisp ten-dollar bill
crowded to its utmost capacity
culminated in the nuptials
cynosure of all eyes
Dan Cupid’s dart
dastardly assassin
day of reckoning
delicious refreshments
demure miss
devoted slave
devouring element
diabolical outrage
divine (for preacher)
divine passion
dull, corroding care
dull, sickening thud
durance vile
dusky damsel
downy couch
ebbing life blood
effected an entrance
eked out a bare existence
elegant creation
entered a state of coma
evening repast
exigencies of the occasion
extended heartfelt sympathy
facile pen
failed to materialize
fair sex
fair women and brave men
fateful words
feast of reason
feathered songster
fell design
festive occasion
fever heat
few and far between
fiery steed
first fall of the beautiful
fleeting breath
foeman worthy of his steel
for it was none other than he
formulated a design
fragrant Havana
frenzied finance
furtively secreting
gathered to his fathers
general public
genial boniface
gilded youth
goes without saying
grand old party
gratitude melted into love
great beyond
grewsome spectacle
grim reaper
groaned under the weight of toothsome viands
hairbreadth escape
happy benedict
heartrending screams
hied himself
high dudgeon
high road to recovery
host of friends
human freight
hungry flames
hurled defiance
hymeneal altar
immaculate linen
in a clerical capacity
inclemency of the weather
inner circles of society
jury of his peers
kind and indulgent father
knights of the grip
large and enthusiastic audience
last but not least
late lamented
launched into eternity
leaden missile
light collation
lingering illness
lion of all social gatherings
little blind god
located his whereabouts
lodged in jail
long sleep (death)
lull before the storm
lurid flames
made good his escape
man of parts
maze of mystery
minions of the law
modicum of notoriety
mourned their loss
natty suit
neatly engraved invitations
neat sum
never in the history of
news leaked out
nice manners
nick of time
nipped in the bud
notorious crook and police character
old, old story (love)
oldest inhabitant
one fell swoop
one fine day
own inimitable way
pale as death
pangs of poverty
phials of his scorn
piercing shriek of anguish
pillar of the church
police dragnet
populace was up in arms
portals of his living tomb
portent of evil
prepossessing appearance
present incumbent
presided at the piano
prominent (of persons)
public prints
put in an appearance
quiet home wedding
raging torrent
rash act
recipient of handsome and costly presents
remains (for body)
rendered a widow
ripe old age
rising young barrister
rooted to the spot
rumors are rife
rushed post haste
sacred edifice
sad rites
sad tidings
scene beggared description
seemed to spring from thin air
serious but not necessarily fatal
set the town agog
shook like a leaf
shorn of his accustomed affability
shrouded in mystery
silver-tongued orator
sixteen summers (in giving age)
smoking revolver
snorting iron horse (locomotive)
snug income
sole topic of conversation
spread like wildfire
stepped into the breach
sterling worth and high promise
still evening air
stood aghast
storm king
stung with remorse
succulent bivalve
suicide (as a verb)
summoned medical aid
sustained an injury
swathed in bandages
sweet slumber
thickest of the fray
this mortal coil
tidy sum
tiny tots
tireless vigil
tonsorial parlor
took into custody
took the bit in his teeth
totally destroyed
to the bitter end
tried and true official
tripped the light fantastic
ubiquitous reporter
unbiased probe
under cover of the darkness
unfortunate victim
unique in the city’s annals
united in the bonds of matrimony
upholders of law and order
vale of tears
vanished as if the earth had swallowed him up
vengeance his portion
viewed the remains
vouches for the authenticity of
war to the knife
waxed eloquent
weaker sex
wedded bliss
wee sma’ hours
weird scene
well-known club man
white as a sheet
wildest excitement
with becoming grace
without fear of successful contradiction
witnesses duly sworn
INDEX
A
Abbreviation, marks used in, 6, 186;
care necessary in, 221
Accuracy, importance of, 30;
in observation, 31;
in names, 33, 35, 179;
in street addresses, 34;
in spelling, 34;
effort to obtain, 36, 225;
in interview, 121;
in business stories, 133;
in correspondence, 151;
essential in copy reading, 175
Active voice, 13, 204
Add, how marked, 188
Advance copy, 123;
notices by mail, 161;
held for release, 168
Advertisement, head compared to, 194
Ages, style in giving, 217
Alliteration, in headlines, 202
Anglo-Saxon, words preferred, 13, 103;
in heads, 196
Asquith, the Right Honorable H. H., on prolixity, 211
Assignment, defined, 2
Associated Press, dispatch from, 70
B
Bad taste, example, 27
Baltimore _Sun_, story from the, 142
Banner, in head writing, 209
Beat, defined, 2;
measured by minutes, 134
Bible, as model for news writer, 9, 61
“Bohemians,” no longer tolerated, 191
Boston _Transcript_, head from the, 197
Box head, defined, 209
Brisbane, Arthur, on newspaper work, 17
Bromides in writing, 224;
list of, 226
Bulletins, when to send, 157, 159, 166
Business stories, care necessary in covering, 133
C
Capital letters, how indicated, 186;
in heads, 206, 210
Cheap slang, example, 39
Chicago _Evening Post_, stories from the, 126, 139
Chicago _Inter-Ocean_, editorial on news, 41
Chicago _Record-Herald_, stories from the, 72, 76;
instructions to correspondents, 154, 220;
style, 177;
head from the, 199
Chicago _Tribune_, order to correspondents, 157;
news specialties, 160
_Christian Science Monitor_, editorial on news writing, 79
Cincinnati _Enquirer_, sporting news, 160;
on promptness, 166;
style of heads, 202
City editor, has “nose for news,” 43;
judge of story, 81;
valuing news, 103
Classified, see Department
Clearness, necessity of, 9;
in heads, 196
Climax, first in news story, 57, 79
Collective nouns, 218
Compression, in news writing, 80
Conciseness, why desirable, 11;
in telegraph stories, 152
Copy, defined, 1;
how to prepare, 4;
reading copy, 171;
specimen page of, 185;
“A Copy,” 189;
schedule, 192
Copy readers, duties of, 3, 171;
qualifications of, 172;
organization of, 174;
must be vigilant, 178;
work under stress, 190
Corrections, care necessary in making, 5
Correspondents, functions of, 150;
pitfalls for, 154;
alertness appreciated, 159;
instructions to, 169;
how paid, 170
Court reports, to be watched carefully, 179
Crime news, question of ethics, 131
D
Damaging statements, 19, 133, 155
Death stories, choice of words in, 38;
examples, 38, 141, 142, 143;
points to cover in, 130
Deck of head, defined, 201
Definiteness, in news writing, 22;
examples, 94, 147;
in heads, 197
Department stories, 48;
“slugs” given to, 182
Dialect, use of, 23, 88, 219
Don’ts for news writer, list of, 211
Drop line in head, 207
E
Editing, marks used in, 184;
page of edited copy, 185
Editorial comment, not permitted in news, 20;
weakens story, 25
End-mark, use of, 5, 187
Expansion, in news writing, 80
_Ex parte_ statements, danger in, 156, 180
F
Fairness, essential in story, 18
Faking, not tolerated, 82, 153
Feature stories, defined, 3;
examples, 29, 106, 108, 124, 127;
treatment of, 47, 98;
for entertainment, 101;
suggestions for, 111;
may be interview, 120;
sending by mail, 168
Fictional method, in news writing, 71, 99
Fine writing, not wanted, 10, 103, 224;
examples, 16, 38, 226
Fire stories, general plan of, 79;
examples, 72, 77, 89, 95, 139, 142;
analysis of a story, 92;
points to cover in, 129
Flippancy, to be avoided, 23, 88, 103
Follow copy, 6, 176
Follow stories, 183
Force in writing, how obtained, 12
Foreign words, 215
Freak head, example, 209
Fulton (Mo.) _Gazette_, editorial on country journalism, 17
G
Generalities, to be avoided, 21
Good taste, essential in news writing, 22;
illustrated, 109
Gossip, beware of unfounded, 154
Greeley, Horace, view of reporting, 23
Guide line, in reading copy, 181
H
Headlines (heads), defined, 3;
old style, 62;
written by copy readers, 175;
danger of libel in, 179, 194;
how designated, 183;
newspapers judged by, 193;
reproductions of, 195, 197, 199, 201, 204, 207, 209;
not mere labels, 196;
tense in, 198;
local in application, 202;
trite phrasing in, 204;
various styles of, 208
Hope, Anthony, on style, 113
Horrible details, to be shunned, 23
Human-interest stories, defined, 47;
examples, 50, 72, 95, 109;
value of, 102;
prescription for, 103;
uncovering facts of, 104;
divergence in treatment of, 132;
in demand, 161
Humor, example of, 49;
examples of unconscious, 191, 192
I
Imperative form, in heads, 203
Impersonality, in news writing, 20
Inserts, in copy, 5, 187, 189
Interview, defined, 113;
when incidental, 114;
as the story itself, 118;
first steps in getting, 118;
examples, 119, 120, 124-128
Irwin, Will, on reporting, 1
J
Journalism, personal era gone, 21;
daily problem of, 132;
sensational, 193
Jump head, defined, 209
K
Kansas City _Star_, departure from custom in the, 62, 71;
stories from the, 71, 72, 75, 76, 108;
style, 178;
heads, 200
Knapp, George L., on newspaper English, 30
L
Lead, introduction of story, 2;
method of writing, 57;
what it contains, 59;
styles vary, 62;
kinds to be avoided, 63;
police data in, 64;
names in, 65;
general rule for, 67;
examples, 70-78, 147, 148
Lecky, W. E. H., on style, 79
Legibility, how obtained, 5
Libel, danger of, 20;
possible in names, 155, 179;
rules about, 178;
in headlines, 179, 194
Lower case, defined, 210
Lyman, Hart, on art of compression, 171
M
Mail, how to send stories by, 168
Make-up, defined, 4;
methods of, 84
Mechanics, of story, 84, 123;
of head, 201
Metaphor, use of, 15
N
Names, must be watched, 6;
misspelling resented, 33;
in beginning story, 65;
in business stories, 133;
danger of libel in, 155, 179;
style in giving, 221
News, often pruned, 23;
basic themes unchanging, 25;
values, 41;
how judged, 43;
sensational, 45;
plain, 46;
feature, 47, 98;
human-interest, 47, 102;
department, 48;
crime news, 131;
ages quickly, 134;
from out of town, 150;
sporting, 162;
told in heads, 194
Newspaper, English often criticized, 8;
fascination of work, 20;
workshop unique, 25;
safeguards against error, 36;
its problem, 44;
women readers of, 46;
source of entertainment, 100;
handling crime news, 131;
telegraph service, 150;
wants facts only, 154;
variations in style, 176;
headlines important, 193
New York _Evening Post_, editorial on style, 7
New York _Herald_, instruction, 84
New York _Mail_, story from the, 127
New York _Sun_, style a model, 50;
stories from the, 50, 73, 99;
head from the, 204
New York _World_, stories from the, 95, 109, 124, 146;
head from the, 209
Norton, the Rev. William B., on slang, 224
O
Observation, accuracy essential in, 31
O’Malley, Frank Ward, story by, 50
Originality, one secret of, 24;
story lacking in, 28;
example of, 106
_Outlook_, comment by the, 55
Overline, defined, 209
P
Paragraphs, indentation of, 5;
length of, 184;
when run together, 186
Pictures, with feature stories, 29;
in Sunday magazine, 105;
by mail, 162
Pitfalls, for reporter, 154
Place, as feature of story, 76
Plain news story, 46
Police stations, how named, 28
Pronouns, care necessary in use of, 88
Proofreading, not copy reading, 3
Puns, on names, 23
Pyramid, form of head, 208
Q
Query, defined, 163;
blind, 165.
Questions-and-answers method, example, 127
Questions, in heads, 203
Quotation, as lead of story, examples, 73, 74;
preceding story, example, 75;
when undesirable, 116;
in beginning interview, examples, 119, 124, 126;
should not be slavish, 121;
indirect, 126;
in telegraphing, 170;
may be libelous, 180
R
Reporter, his run or beat, 2;
viewpoint of, 17;
responsibility of, 19;
must observe keenly, 31;
place on newspaper, 42;
must not “editorialize,” 89;
idea of big story, 114;
power to do harm, 133;
seeking the right word, 224
“Report of a Suicide,” 99
Rewriting, 136;
examples, 138, 139
Running head, 202
Run-over head, 209
S
St. Louis _Post-Dispatch_, editorial on newspaper “endowment,” 30;
story from the, 106;
instructions to correspondents, 167
St. Louis _Republic_, editorial on reporting, 17;
on news values, 129;
rules about libel, 178
St. Louis _Star_, on revolting stories, 213
Scandal, perverted idea about, 161
Schedule, kept by copy reader, 192
Scoop, see Beat
Second-day stories, 134
Sentences, preference given short, 14, 88;
in lead of story, 65;
avoid monotony in, 65, 220
Signed story, exceptional, 20;
example, 127
Simplicity, keynote of news writing, 9;
in writing of death, 39;
in lead, 61;
in head, 196;
Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_ on, 214
Slang, in news story, 10;
two kinds of, 22;
in head, 202
Slug, name given story, 3, 181
Space rates, for correspondents, 170
Special correspondent, see Correspondent
Speeches, how covered, 122
Sporting news, instructions regarding, 162
Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_, on paragraphs, 184;
on short words, 214
Story, defined, 1;
qualities of ideal, 18;
short feature, example, 29;
kinds of, 46;
plain, 46;
feature, 47, 98;
human-interest, 47, 102;
lead of, 57;
data from 100 typical stories, 68;
body of, 79;
mechanics of, 84, 123;
often pruned, 85, 164;
unlike novel, 87;
for entertainment, 101;
special types of, 129;
telegraph, 150;
marks in editing, 184;
adds and inserts, 188
Street addresses, must be closely watched, 34
Style, three qualities of, 9;
special rules of, 62, 175;
variations in, 177
Sub-head, defined, 210
Suicide stories, examples, 71, 72, 146;
motive a feature, 131;
often ignored, 132
Sunday magazine stories, 48, 105
Superlatives, use sparingly, 219
Swiftness, essential in copy reading, 173, 177
Symmetry, desired in heads, 205
Symposium, defined, 124
T
Technical terms, to be avoided, 10
Telegraph news, boiled down, 141;
how gathered, 150;
skeletonizing, 152;
estimating value of, 153;
what not to send, 156;
what to send, 160;
sporting news, 162;
how to send, 163;
handling big story, 165;
instructions regarding, 169
Telephone, used by correspondents, 163, 166
Thoroughness, in covering story, 82
Time, styles in giving, 39, 139, 217, 219;
as feature of story, 75;
“to-day” preferred, 134;
in heads, 202
Trite expressions, in heads, 204;
list of, 226
Trivialities, to be avoided, 26, 83, 153, 156
Type, counting units in head, 206;
illustration of Gothic, 207;
upper and lower case, 210
Typewriter, preferred for news writing, 4
U
Upper case, defined, 210
V
Verbosity, not permitted, 11, 185
Viewpoint, must be unprejudiced, 17
W
Washington _Herald_, editorial on newspaper English, 57
Washington _Times_, editorial on news, 150
Wedding stories, points to be covered in, 131
Well-known, overworked, 217
Whiteing, Richard, on daily journalism, 98
Whitman, Walt, on simplicity of style, 193
Transcriber’s Note:
Words appearing in small capitals in the original publication have
been rendered as uppercase; italics denoted with underscores. No
known textual or punctuation changes have been made.