Remember always in writing heads that although a newspaper m_The Style Book of The Detroit News

Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier and the Online

Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

The Style Book of the Detroit News

_For helpful suggestions the editor is beholden to the style books of

the United States Government Printing Office, the Universities of

Missouri, Iowa and Montana, the Indianapolis News, the Chicago Herald,

and the New York Evening Post; to "Newspaper Writing and Editing," by

Willard G. Bleyer; "Newspaper Editing," by Grant M. Hyde; "The Writing

of News," by Charles G. Ross; and to the New York Tribune for permission

to make applicable to Michigan its digest of the libel laws of New

York._

_The inscriptions on the building of The News, reprinted in this book in

boxes, were written by Prof. Fred N. Scott, of the University of

Michigan._

[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE DETROIT NEWS

_Fort Street, Second Avenue and Lafayette Boulevard_]

Founded by James Edmund Scripps August 23, 1873

Absorbed the subscription lists of the

Detroit Daily Union July 27, 1876

Established a Sunday edition Nov. 30, 1884

Sunday News and Sunday Tribune

combined as Sunday News-Tribune October 15, 1893

Daily Tribune merged with The News

and discontinued February 1, 1915

Ground broken for present building November, 1915

Sunday News-Tribune became The

Sunday News October 14, 1917

The News entered new building October 15, 1917

_The_

STYLE BOOK

The Detroit News

Edited by

A. L. WEEKS

Published and Copyrighted 1918 by

The Evening News Association

Detroit

This edition consists of

1,000 copies, of which

this is No. 625

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Aim of The Detroit News 1

Instructions to Reporters 4

Instructions to Copy Readers 6

Preparing Copy 7

Leads 7

Heads 8

Diction 14

A. P. Style 15

Capitalization 17

Punctuation 22

Quotations 23

Nouns 24

Pronouns 27

Conjunctions 28

Verbs 29

Adverbs 33

Adjectives 34

Prepositions 37

Articles 38

Numbers 38

Roman Numerals 39

Weights and Measures 40

Abbreviation 42

Names and Titles 45

Jew and Hebrew 46

Church Titles 48

Compounds 48

Superfluous Words 49

Vital Statistics 50

Spelling 51

Popular Names of Railroads 52

Do and Don't 54

The Cannery 57

Michigan Institutions 59

Army and Navy Organization 60

Dates Often Called For 62

The Law of Libel 64

First Three Years of the War 72

Index 77

THE AIM OF THE DETROIT NEWS

Formation of a newspaper's ideals comes through a process of years. The

best traditions of the past, blending with hopes of the future, should

be the writer's guide for the day. Nov. 1, 1916, the editor-in-chief of

The Detroit News, in a letter to the managing editor, wrote his

interpretation of the principles under which the staff should work, in

striving toward those journalistic ideals to which this paper feels

itself dedicated. His summary of the best practices of the profession

follows:

The Detroit News should be:

Vigorous, but not vicious.

Interesting, but not sensational.

Fearless, but fair.

Accurate as far as human effort can obtain accuracy.

Striving ever to gain and impart information.

As bright as possible, but never sacrificing solid information for

brilliancy.

Looking for the uplifting rather than the depraved things of life.

We should work to have the word RELIABLE stamped on every page of the

paper.

The place to commence this is with the staff members: First, getting men

and women of character to do the writing and editing; and then training

them in our way of thinking and handling news and other reading matter.

If you make an error you have two duties to perform--one to the person

misrepresented and one to your reading public. Never leave the reader of

The News misinformed on any subject. If you wrongfully write that a man

has done something that he did not do, or has said something that he did

not say, you do him an injustice--that's one. But you also do thousands

of readers an injustice, leaving them misinformed as to the character of

the man dealt with. Corrections should never be made grudgingly. Always

make them cheerfully, fully, and in larger type than the error, if there

is any difference.

The American people want to know, to learn, to get information. To quote

a writer: "Your opinion is worth no more than your information." Give

them your information and let them draw their own conclusions. Comment

should enlighten by well marshaled facts, and by telling the readers

what relation an act of today has to an act of yesterday. Let them come

to their own conclusions as far as possible.

No issue is worth advocating that is not strong enough to withstand all

the facts that the opposition to it can throw against it. Our readers

should be well informed on both sides of every issue.

Kindly, helpful suggestions will often direct officials in the right,

when nagging will make them stay stubbornly on the wrong side. That does

not mean that there should be any lack of diligence in watching for, and

opposing, intentional criminals.

A staff can be good and strong only by having every part of it strong.

The moment it becomes evident that a man, either by force of

circumstance or because of his own character, does not fit into our

organization, you do him a kindness and do justice to the paper by

letting him know, so he can go to a calling in which he can succeed, and

will not be in the way of filling the place with a competent man.

No one on the staff should be asked to do anything that will make him

think less of himself or the paper.

MAKE THE PAPER GOOD ALL THE WAY THROUGH, so there will not be

disappointment on the part of a reporter if his story is not found on

the first page, but so he will feel that 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 dig it out.

If you don't get it, it is because you don't 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 grievance should be given a respectful and kindly

hearing; especial consideration should be given the poor and lowly, who

may be less capable of presenting 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, plain language is strongest and best. A man of little 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. Use 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 in printing of a

story, but let fairness be your measure. If you are fair, you need not

worry about libel laws.

Always give the other fellow a hearing. He may be in the wrong, but even

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 need to advertise his

honesty.

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

words are not necessary. When in doubt, think of a 13-year-old girl

reading what you are writing.

Do not look on newspaper work as a "game," of pitilessly printing that

on which you are only half informed, for the mere sake of beating some

other paper; but take it rather as a serious, constructive work in which

you are to use all your energy and diligence to get all the worth-while

information for your readers at the earliest possible moment.

INSTRUCTIONS TO REPORTERS

When you go after a story, make sure that you get all of it.

Drill yourself into searching for facts; almost anybody can write a

story--it takes real brains and resourcefulness to get one.

You are urged to call the city editor for instructions whenever in

doubt, and it is a good idea to call as often as possible to keep the

office informed and also to get any information on your story that may

have come in from other sources.

Before you write or telephone your story, make sure that you have all

your facts marshaled in your own mind. A good reporter usually plans his

story, lead and details in his head on his way to the office.

NEVER GUESS.

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT.

When you turn in a story KNOW that everything in that story is true--and

if you feel there is a statement you can not prove, call your city

editor's attention to it.

To color or fake a story is not newspaper work--it is prostitution of

the profession of journalism.

Be sure of your sources of information. Never take anything for

granted--find out for yourself. You will discover that many persons talk

convincingly about things although they have no actual knowledge of the

subject under discussion.

Remember always that a newspaper has to prove what it says--and any

decent newspaper is eager to.

If you don't know, tell the city editor you don't know. To guess is

criminal because nobody can guess with any consistent degree of

accuracy. And accuracy should be your guide.

Reporters should study their stories after they are printed, with the

realization that any changes made in them were made to better them. Ask

why your stories have been changed so your next story will be better

through avoidance of the same mistake.

Never be afraid to ask anybody anything.

The mainspring of a good newspaper man is a wholesome curiosity.

The essentials of newspaper writing are accuracy and simplicity. The

newspaper is no place for fine writing. Simplicity means directness and

conciseness in telling the story as well as an avoidance of hifalutin

phrases, obsolete words and involved sentences.

Walt Whitman wrote: "The art of arts, the glory of expression, and the

sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity. Nothing is better than

simplicity--nothing can make up for excess or the lack of definiteness."

Every worker on a newspaper knows the value of accuracy. Accuracy is the

god before whom all newspaper men bow. If one could analyze the effort

put forth in one day in this office, one might discover that perhaps a

third of that effort was in an attempt to obtain accuracy. The city

directory is the newspaper man's Bible because accuracy is his deity.

The hardest lesson the journalist must learn is the development of the

impersonal viewpoint. He must learn to write what he sees and hears,

clearly and accurately, with never a tinge of bias. His own views, his

personal feelings and his friendships should have nothing to do with

what he writes in a story.

The ideal reporter would be a man who could give the public facts about

his bitterest enemy even though such facts would make the man he

personally hated a hero before the public.

In journalism more than in any other profession does the advice hold

good: "Beware of your friends; your enemies will take care of

themselves." By this is meant: Learn well the code of ethics which

governs your profession, and when any man in the guise of friendship

asks you to violate that code, you may say to him, "If you were truly my

friend, you would not ask me to do this any more than you would ask a

physician as a matter of friendship to perform an illegal operation, or

a lawyer to stoop to shyster practices."

Supplying his editors with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but

the truth, is the only mission of the reporter, and any man who asks the

reporter to deviate from that principle asks that which is dishonest.

BE TRUE

Thomas Carlyle: To every writer we might say: Be true, if you would be

believed. Let a man but speak forth with genuine earnestness the

thought, the emotion, the actual condition of his own heart; and other

men, so strangely are we all knit together by the tie of sympathy, must

and will give heed to him. In culture, in extent of view, we may stand

above the speaker, or below him; but in either case, his words, if they

are earnest and sincere, will find some response within us; for in spite

of all casual varieties in outward rank or inward, as face answers to

face, so does the heart of man to man.

+-------------------------------------------+

| ... VOICE OF THE LOWLY AND OPPRESSED ... |

| ADVOCATE OF THE FRIENDLESS ... RIGHTER OF |

| PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WRONGS. |

+-------------------------------------------+

INSTRUCTIONS TO COPY READERS

The copy reader's position carries with it larger responsibilities than

the position of any other member of the staff. He can mar or ruin a good

story; he can redeem the poor story; he can save the reporter from

errors of commission or omission in the matter of his story or in the

manner of its writing. No matter how accomplished a writer a reporter

may be, the copy reader who handles his story can destroy his product.

Then, too, it is the function of the copy reader, if he believes that a

better story can be written with the same facts as a basis, to suggest

to the city editor that the story be rewritten by the reporter, by

another reporter or by the copy reader himself. Because a man is reading

copy, he should not imagine that he is not to write a story or rewrite

one when occasion demands.

Charles G. Ross writes: "His [the copy reader's] work is critical rather

than creative. It is destructive so far as errors of grammar, violations

of news style and libel are concerned. But if his sense of news is keen,

as that of every copy reader should be, he will find abundant

opportunity for something more than mechanical deletion and

interlineation. He may insert a terse bit of explanation to clear away

obscurity, or may add a piquant touch that will redeem a story from

dullness. To the degree that he edits news with sympathy and

understanding, with a clear perception of news values, his work may be

regarded as creative. If, on the other hand, he conceives it his duty to

reduce all writing to a dead level of mediocrity * * * * he richly

deserves the epithet that is certain to be hurled at the copy reader by

the reporter whose fine phrases have been cut out--he is in truth a

'butcher' of copy."

Dr. Willard G. Bleyer writes: "The reading and editing of copy consists

of (1) correcting all errors whether in expression or in fact; (2)

making the story conform to the style of the newspaper; (3) improving

the story in any respect; (4) eliminating libelous matter; (5) marking

copy for the printer; (6) writing headlines and subheads."

LEARNING THE METIER

Said Robert Louis Stevenson to a painter friend: "You painter chaps make

lots of studies, don't you? And you don't frame them all and send them

to the Salon, do you? You just stick them up on the studio wall for a

bit, and presently you tear them up and make more. And you copy

Velasquez and Rembrandt and Vandyke and Corot; and from each you learn

some little trick of the brush, some obscure little point of technic.

And you know damn well that it is the knowledge thus acquired that will

enable you later on to deliver your own message with a fine and

confident bravado. You are simply learning your metier; and believe me,

mon cher, an artist in any line without the metier is just a blind man

with a stick. Now, in the literary line I am simply doing what you

painter men are doing in the pictorial line--learning the metier."

PREPARING COPY

Use the typewriter. See that the keys are clean. Use triple space. Write

on one side of the paper. Do not paste sheets together. Leave wide

margins on both sides and at the top. Write your name and a brief

description of the story in two or three words at top of first sheet.

Number sheets. Never write perpendicularly in the margin. Never divide a

word from one page to another, and if possible do not divide a word from

one line to the next. Try to make each page end with a completed

paragraph to aid the composing room in setting the story in "takes."

When necessary to write in long hand, underscore _u_ and overscore _n_,

and print proper names and unusual words. Ring periods or write _x_ to

stand for them. When there is a chance that a word intentionally

misspelled will be changed by the printer, write _Follow Copy_ in the

margin. Indent deeply for paragraphs. Use an end-mark to indicate your

story is completed. Avoid interlining by crossing out the sentence you

desire to correct and writing it again.

Save time for your office by care in writing and editing. A little

thought before setting down a sentence will save you the trouble of

rewriting and the copy reader the annoyance of reading untidy copy.

LEADS

There is generally a better way to begin a story than with _A_, _An_,

_The_, _It is_, _There is_, _There are_.

Avoid beginning a story with figures, but when this must be done, then

spell out, as: _Ten thousand men marched away today._

The comprehensive A. P. lead is generally preferable, but in writing

some stories, particularly feature stories, a reporter may find a more

effective lead than the sentence or sentences that summarize the story.

Remember that your reader's time may be limited and that if your story

begins with a striking sentence, arresting either because of what it

says or the manner in which it says it, your story will be read.

THE CUTTLEFISH

He that uses many words for the explaining of any subject doth, like the

cuttlefish, hide himself in his own ink.--Anon.

+---------------------------------------------+

| BEARER OF INTELLIGENCE ... DISPELLER OF |

| IGNORANCE AND PREJUDICE ... A LIGHT SHINING |

| INTO ALL DARK PLACES. |

+---------------------------------------------+

HEADS

"The head," says Ross, "is an advertisement, and like all good

advertisements it should be honest, holding out no promise that the

story does not fulfill. It should be based on the facts as set forth in

the story and nothing else."

The head should be a bulletin or summary of the important facts, not a

mere label.

It is usually best to base the head on the lead of the story. The first

deck should tell the most important feature. Every succeeding deck

should contribute new information, not merely explain previous

statements or repeat them in different language.

The function of the head is to tell the facts, not to give the writer's

comment on the facts.

The head for the feature story, the special department, the editorial or

the illustration may properly be a title that suggests the material it

advertises instead of summarizing it. Indeed, the success of a feature

story often depends on its having a head that directs the reader to the

story and arouses his curiosity in it without disclosing the most

interesting content. Head writers should beware of revealing in the head

the surprise of a story, if it has one.

Never turn in a head that you _guess_ will fit. Make sure. Heads that

are too long cause delay and confusion.

As a general rule write heads in the present tense.

Principal words should not be repeated. Do not, however, use impossible

synonyms, as _canine_ for _dog_ or _inn_ for _hotel_.

Make every deck complete in itself.

Use articles sparingly. Occasionally they are needed. Observe the

difference in meaning between _King George Takes Little Liquor_ and

_King George Takes a Little Liquor_.

Avoid such overworked and awkward words as _probe_, _rap_, _quiz_,

_Russ_.

Never abbreviate _President_ to _Pres._

Avoid ending a line with a preposition, an article or a conjunction, as,

TO MAKE PLANS FOR

AMERICAN DEFENSE

Do not divide phrases, as,

CUT IN SCHEDULE

"K" IS PROBABLE

CAMP PICKS ALL-

AMERICAN TEAM

Try to make each line of the first deck a unit, as,

POSTOFFICE ROBBED

BY BAND OF TRAMPS

TARIFF BOARD REPORTS

ON ALL WOOL SCHEDULES

STORY OF DYING MAN

REOPENS GRAFT CASE

Observe that in reading these heads there is a natural pause that comes

at the end of the line. The same principle may govern the writing of

three-line heads, as,

ONE GIRL'S ACT

PREVENTS 60,000

FROM WORKING

WAYNE MEN WANT

CANAL TO CONNECT

CITY WITH DETROIT

In the head just written observe that the first line has fewer letters

because it contains two W's and an M. Either an M or a W is equal to a

letter and a half, and an I and a space are each equal to half a letter.

The first line contains 14-1/2 units; the second line contains 15 units;

the third line contains 15 units. And yet the first line contains 14

letters and spaces, the second 16, and the third 17.

Every deck should contain a verb, expressed or implied. In this head,

THIEVES BUSY

IN NORTH END

the verb _are_ is understood.

If the subject of the verb in the first deck is not written, it should

be the first word of the second deck, as,

INVESTIGATE

WET VICTORY

Texas Senators All Agreed

to Inquire Into Late

Election.

Omit all forms of the verb _to be_ whenever possible. This head,

ASKED HOW HE GOT

STOLEN AUTOMOBILE

is more effective than this,

IS ASKED HOW HE GOT

THE STOLEN AUTOMOBILE

Avoid expressions that are awkward because of omission of some form of

the verb _to be_ such as this:

U. S. WEATHER MAN

SAYS SUMMER HERE

Negatives should be avoided. The head should as a rule tell what

happened, not what did not happen.

Avoid the word _may_. The head should as a rule tell what happened, not

what is going to take place, perhaps.

Beware of heads that contain words of double meaning, as,

NURSES HOPE

TO WIN GAME

The word _nurses_ may be taken as a noun or a verb.

In this head the first word might be read as a noun or as a verb:

SCOUTS CLAIM KAISER

IS TO BLAME FOR WAR

Use as little punctuation as possible in the first deck.

Avoid alliteration.

Use few abbreviations.

Use figures sparingly.

Insert subheads in long stories at intervals of 150 to 200 words. Use at

least two subheads or none.

When there is a paragraph ending, _The President spoke as follows:_,

place the subhead before this paragraph and not between it and the

quoted matter.

Avoid such makeshift constructions as

M A Y O R WILL

RESIGN, SAID

WILSON WON'T

REPLY, RUMOR

Avoid beginning a head with quotation marks because the white space

destroys the balance of the head. When it is unavoidable, use single

quotation marks.

Avoid heads in which a dash takes the place of _says_, as,

SHIPPING BOARD

MUST GO--WILSON

When this style is necessary, use quotation marks.

It is permissible to make the first deck of a head a quotation without

quotation marks, writing the name of the person quoted in full-face caps

immediately below the deck. One need seldom resort to this expedient.

Be careful of the present tense in writing of historical events. The

head on a story about the legality of Christ's trial should not read,

JESUS CHRIST IS

ILLEGALLY SLAIN

nor should it read

JESUS CHRIST WAS

ILLEGALLY SLAIN

but it should read

SAYS CHRIST WAS

ILLEGALLY SLAIN

Remember always in writing heads that although a newspaper man seldom

reads more than the first deck, deciding by that whether to read the

story, many readers of the paper read no more than the head, and for

them it should summarize the story, embodying all its salient features.

GRAMMAR

The most common errors in grammar to be found in copy are in:

The agreement of a verb with its subject.

The relation of pronouns to their antecedents.

The position of participles in relation to the words they modify.

The use of co-ordinate conjunctions to connect elements of the same

kind.

The position of correlative conjunctions with relation to the elements

they connect.

To gain grace in writing one must either be born with a natural aptitude

in the use of words--and such men: Stevenson, Poe, Walter Pater and

others, are geniuses--or one must study the writings of these masters of

prose and attempt to discover the secret of their success. It is not

necessary that a good writer should know rules of grammar, but he must

know enough to observe them. A writer may be unable to tell why a

dangling participle is faulty English by testing it with a rule, but he

may nevertheless avoid such a construction because his ear tells him it

is not the best style.

Copies of the best grammars may be found in the office library and

should be consulted when reporters and copy readers are in doubt.

SIMPLICITY

In character, in manners, in style and in all things the supreme

excellence is simplicity.--Longfellow.

NOTES

DICTION

The newspaper writer must beware of two pitfalls in writing: Fine

writing and dialect. Stilted English, pompous and high-sounding, is in

just as bad taste as garish clothing or pungent perfume. Reporters often

give to their stories a wordy and turgid flavor by their refusal to

repeat a word, preferring a synonym. One often sees such sentences as

this: "The policeman took his pistol away as he was about to shoot at

the bluecoat's partner, another officer of the law." This is a quite

unnecessary avoidance of the repetition of the word policeman.

Fine writing is quite out of place at all times in a newspaper and

is particularly obnoxious when a reporter quotes a person of

inferior mentality in polished--or what the reporter thinks are

polished--phrases. Things like this shouldn't get into the paper:

_"It is with poignant grief that I gaze on the torn frame of my dear

spouse," said Mrs. Sowikicki, as she stood beside a slab in the morgue._

On the other hand reporters should not try to be funny at the expense of

someone inexpert in the use of the language. If a person interviewed

uses bad grammar, correct him when you write the story. To make a person

say _Hadn't ought to of_ or _Hain't got no_ is not only insulting to

that person and to your readers, but is poor comedy.

Dialect must be absolutely accurate if it is used. Finley Peter Dunne

can write Irish dialect and not many other persons in America can write

as good. Probably no reporter on The News can write it. Dialect that

might hurt the feelings of others who speak the same way should not be

used. In fact as a general rule: DON'T WRITE DIALECT. The greatest

masters of humor, such as Moliere, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Mark Twain,

have obtained their best effects by writing their language

straightforwardly.

THE GRIT OF COMPACT, CLEAR TRUTH

I began to compose by imitating other authors. I admired, and I worked

hard to get, a smooth, rich, classic style. The passion I afterwards

formed for Heine's prose forced me from this slavery, and taught me to

aim at naturalness. I seek now to get back to the utmost simplicity of

expression, to disuse the verbosity I tried so hard to acquire, to get

the grit of compact, clear truth, if possible, informal and direct. It

is very difficult. I should advise any beginner to study the raciest,

strongest, best spoken speech and let the printed speech alone; that is

to say, to write straight from the thought without bothering about the

manner, except to conform to the spirit or genius of the language. I

once thought Latinized diction was to be invited; I now think Latinized

expression is to be guarded against.--W. D. Howells.

A. P. STYLE

What M. E. Stone says to his correspondents on story writing may be read

with profit by any newspaper man. The following is clipped from the

monthly bulletin issued by the Associated Press to its correspondents:

A plain statement of fact is the best introduction to a news story. A

simple, direct style--which does not mean a wooden style--is always

desirable. In the opening sentence it is of particular value.

The news which a story contains is the one thing which entitles it to

place in the Associated Press report. It is the news, not the manner of

telling the news, on which the story must stand. It is therefore

essential to present the vital point at the outset, in such form as will

enable the reader to grasp it quickly, clearly and easily. For this

purpose there is no acceptable substitute for plain English.

In an effort to make the most vivid and emphatic impression at the

opening, objectionable forms of construction often are employed. A

highly-colored or strained introduction almost always fails of its

purpose of enlisting interest at once, since it tends to divert the

attention of the reader from the subject-matter of the story to the

writer's manner of telling it. This renders the introduction cloudy and

lessens interest instead of stimulating it. Once the main point is

established, the well known rules of news writing should be observed.

To say that "'William Brown may obtain a fair trial in Greene County,'

Judge Smith so ruled today," is to misstate the facts. It places the

Associated Press on record as making a statement made by the court. Use

of this and similar introductory sentences which require subsequent

qualification is objectionable.

Opening sentences frequently lose directness and clearness because of

the effort to crowd too much into them. All that is essential is to

cover the vital point, leaving details for subsequent narration.

Introductions must be impartial. It is possible to take almost any given

set of statements and present them in such a way as to convey any one of

several shades of meaning. This may depend merely on the order of

presentation. Associated Press stories must be accurate and accuracy

involves not only the truthfulness of individual statements but the

co-relation of these statements in such a way as to convey to the reader

a fair and unbiased impression of the story as a whole. An account of a

court proceeding, a political debate, or any other event which involves

conflicting claims or interests, should not be introduced by singling

out a particular phase of the story which is limited to one side of the

controversy, simply because that is the most striking feature. Such a

form of introduction tends to place the emphasis on one side of the

case, giving bias to the entire story.

Stereotyped introductions should be avoided. One of the most common is

the "When" introduction, as: "Two men were killed when a train struck

..." etc. "If" and "After" often are used similarly. Inverted sentences

are also frequent; as "That the prisoner was guilty was the opinion

expressed by ..." etc. Constant employment of these fixed styles becomes

monotonous. Moreover, it is possible to state the facts more simply,

directly and effectively without them.

BROADEN THE VOCABULARY

Edward Harlan Webster gives this excellent advice on how to broaden the

vocabulary:

Practice is the first aid. Actually get hold of new words and then use

them. You will perceive that you will not startle others so much as

yourself. Gradually the words will begin to assume a standing in your

vocabulary, and before long, they will seem like old friends.

To obtain these words, various practical methods are possible. Here are

a few:

1. Find synonyms for words which you have a tendency to overuse.

2. Record words with which you are familiar but you never use--and then

"work" them.

3. Make a list of important, unfamiliar words which you hear, or

discover in your reading.

4. Listen carefully to the conversations or addresses of educated

people.

5. If possible, try to translate from a foreign language. In this way a

fine perception of shades of meaning, almost unattainable by any other

method, is acquired.

6. Get interested in the dictionary, where you can trace the life

history of words.

THE PICTORIAL POWER OF WORDS

"Words have a considerable share in exciting ideas of beauty--they

affect the mind by raising in it ideas of those things for which custom

has appointed them to stand. Words, by their original and pictorial

power have great influence over the passions; if we combine them

properly, we may give new life and beauty to the simplest object. In

painting, we may represent any fine figure we please, but we never can

give it those enlivening touches which it may receive from words. For

example, we can represent an angel in a picture by drawing a young man

winged: but what painting can furnish out anything so grand as the

addition of one word--'the angel of the Lord'? Is there any painting

more grand and beautiful?"--Edmund Burke.

CAPITALIZATION

Capitalize titles preceding names, as, Chief of Detectives Fox, Gen.

Bell. Lower-case titles following names, as John Downey, superintendent

of police, except these which are capitalized always:

President }

Vice-President }

Cabinet } of the United States.

Government }

Administration }

Supreme Court }

Governor (of Michigan).

Lieutenant-Governor (of Michigan).

Mayor (of Detroit).

Supreme Court (of Michigan).

Judges and Justices of all courts of record.

The names of all courts of record.

King, Emperor, Czar, Kaiser, Sultan, Viceroy, etc.

The Crown Prince.

The Duke of Blank.

The Prince of Dash.

Do not capitalize _former_ preceding a title, as _former Senator

Wilson_. _Former_ is preferred to _ex-_.

Capitalize the full names of associations, clubs, societies, companies,

etc., as Michigan Equal Suffrage Association, Detroit Club, Society for

the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Star Publishing Company. _The_

preceding such a name is not to be capitalized. Do not capitalize

_association_, _club_, etc., when not attached to a specific name.

Capitalize _university_, _college_, _academy_, etc., when part of a

title, as University of Detroit, Olivet College. But do not capitalize

when the plural is used, as the state universities of Michigan, Kansas

and Ohio.

Capitalize the first word after a colon in giving a list, as, _The

following were elected: President, William Jones; vice-president, Sam

Smith_, etc. _Try this menu: Rice, milk and fruit._ When the colon is

used merely to indicate a longer pause than a semicolon, it is not

followed by a capital, as, _A tire blew out: the car skidded: we were in

the ditch_.

Capitalize _building_, _hall_, _house_, _hotel_, _theater_, _hospital_,

etc., when used with a distinguishing name, as Book Building, Hull

House, Cadillac Hotel, Garrick Theater, Harper Hospital.

Capitalize the names of federal and state departments and bureaus, as

Department of Agriculture, State Insurance Department, Bureau of Vital

Statistics. But lower-case municipal departments, as fire department,

water and light department, street department.

Capitalize the names of national legislative bodies, as Congress, House

of Representatives or House, Senate, Parliament, Reichstag, Duma,

Chamber (France).

Capitalize _state legislature_ and synonymous terms (_legislature_,

_assembly_, _general assembly_) only when the Michigan Legislature is

meant.

Capitalize the names of all political parties, in this and other

countries, as Democratic, Republican, Progressive, Socialist, Liberal,

Tory, Union. But do not capitalize these or similar words, or their

derivatives, when used in a general sense, as republican form of

government, democratic tendencies, socialistic views.

Capitalize _pole_, _island_, _isthmus_, _cape_, _ocean_, _bay_, _river_,

and in general all such geographical terms when used in specific names,

as North Pole, South Sea Islands, Cape Hatteras, Hudson Bay, Pacific

Ocean, Mississippi River, Isthmus of Panama.

Capitalize _county_ when used in a specific name, as Wayne County.

Capitalize the _East_, the _West_, the _Middle West_, the _Orient_ and

other terms used for definite regions; but do not capitalize _east_,

_west_, etc., when used merely to designate direction or point of

compass, as "west of here." Do not capitalize _westerner_, _southerner_,

_western states_ and other such derivatives.

Capitalize sections of a state, as Upper Peninsula, Western Michigan,

etc., but not the _northern part of Michigan_, etc.

Capitalize, when used with a distinguishing name, _ward_, _precinct_,

_square_, _garden_, _park_, etc., as First Ward, Eighth Precinct,

Cadillac Square, Madison Square Garden, Palmer Park.

Capitalize _Jr._ and _Sr._ after a name.

Capitalize _room_, etc., when followed by a number or letter, as Room

18, Dime Bank Building; Parlor C, Normandie Hotel.

Capitalize distinctive names of localities in cities, as North End, Nob

Hill, Back Bay, Happy Hollow.

Capitalize the names of holidays and days observed as holidays by

churches, as Fourth of July, Dominion Day, Good Friday, Yom Kippur,

Columbus Day, Washington's Birthday.

Capitalize the names of notable events and things, as the Declaration of

Independence, the War of 1812, the Revolution, the Reformation, the

Civil War, the Battle of the Marne.

Capitalize _church_ when used as a specific name, as North Woodward

Methodist Church, First Christian Church. But write: a Methodist church,

a Christian church.

Capitalize the names of all religious denominations, as Baptist, Quaker,

Mormon, Methodist.

Capitalize names for the Bible, as the Holy Scriptures, the Book of

Books. But do not capitalize adjectives derived from such names, as

biblical, scriptural.

Capitalize all names and pronouns used for the Deity.

Capitalize the Last Supper, Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, Book of

Ruth, etc.

Capitalize the names of races and nationalities, as Italian, American,

Indian, Gypsy, Caucasian and Negro.

Capitalize titles of specific treaties, laws, bills, etc., as Treaty of

Ghent, Eleventh Amendment, Workmen's Compensation Act, Good Roads Bill.

But when the reference is general use lower-case, as the good roads

legislation of the last congress.

Capitalize such terms as Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, Union Jack, Stars

and Bars, etc.

Capitalize U. S. Army and Navy.

Capitalize names of military organizations, as First Regiment, B Company

(do not quote letter), National Guard, Grand Army of the Republic,

Michigan State Militia, University Cadet Corps (but University cadets).

Capitalize such names as Triple Alliance, Triple Entente, Quadruple

Entente, Allies (in the European war).

Capitalize the fanciful titles of cities and states, as the City of the

Straits, the Buckeye State.

Capitalize the nicknames of base ball, foot ball and other athletic

teams, as Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, Tigers.

Capitalize epithets affixed to or standing for proper names, as

Alexander the Great, the Pretender.

Capitalize the names of stocks in money markets, as Federal Steel, City

Railway.

Capitalize college degrees, whether written in full or abbreviated, as

Bachelor of Arts, Doctor of Laws, Bachelor of Science in Education:

A.B., LL.D., B.S. in Ed.

Capitalize _high school_ when used thus: Central High School (but the

high school at Port Huron).

Capitalize, but do not quote, the titles of newspapers and other

periodicals, the New York World, the Outlook, the Saturday Evening Post.

Do not capitalize _the_, except The Detroit News.

Capitalize and quote the titles of books, plays, poems, songs, speeches,

etc., as "The Scarlet Letter," "Within the Law," "The Man With the Hoe."

_The_ beginning a title must be capitalized and included in the

quotation. All the principal words--that is, nouns, pronouns, verbs,

adjectives, adverbs and interjections--are to be capitalized, no matter

how short; thus: "The Man Who Would Be King." Other parts of

speech--that is, prepositions, conjunctions and articles--are to be

capitalized only when they contain four or more letters; thus: at, in,

a, for, Between, Through, Into. The same rules apply to capitalization

in headlines.

Capitalize adjectives derived from proper nouns, as English,

Elizabethan, Germanic, Teutonic. But do not capitalize proper names and

derivatives whose original significance has been obscured by long and

common usage. Under this head fall such words as india rubber, oriental

colors, street arab, pasteurize, macadam, axminster, gatling, paris

green, plaster of paris, philippic, socratic, herculean, guillotine,

utopia, bohemian, philistine, platonic. When, however, a name is

comparatively recent, use capitals, as in Alice blue, Taft roses,

Burbank cactus.

Capitalize the particles in French names, as _le_, _la_, _de_, _du_,

when used without a Christian name or title preceding, as Du Maurier.

But lower-case when preceded by a name or title, as George du Maurier.

The same rule applies to the German _von_: Field Marshal von Mackensen,

but, without Christian name or title, Von Mackensen. Always capitalize

_Van_ in Dutch names unless personal preference dictates an exception,

as Henry van Dyke.

Capitalize the names of French streets and places, as Rue de la Paix,

Place de la Concorde.

Do not capitalize _street_, _avenue_, _boulevard_, _place_, _lane_,

_terrace_, _way_, _road_, _highway_, etc., as Ninth street, Boston

boulevard, Maryland place, Rosemary lane, Seven Mile road.

Do not capitalize _addition_, _depot_, _elevator_, _mine_, _station_,

_stockyards_, etc., as Wabash freight depot, Yellow Dog mine, Union

station, Chicago stockyards.

Do not capitalize _postoffice_, _courthouse_, _poorhouse_, _council

chamber_, _armory_, _cadets_, _police court_, _women's parlors_.

White House, referring to President's residence, should be capitalized.

Capitalize only the distinguishing words if two or more names are

connected, as the Wabash and Missouri Pacific railroad companies. (In

singular form, Wabash Railroad Co.)

Do not capitalize the seasons of the year unless they are personified.

Do not capitalize _a. m._ and _p. m._ except in headlines.

Capitalize O. K., write it with periods, and form present tense, O. K.'s

and past tense, O. K.'d.

Capitalize _Boy Scouts_ (referring to organization). Make _Campfire_

(referring to the girls' organization) one word, capitalized.

Capitalize _Constitution_ referring to that of the United States. But

state constitution (lower-case).

NOTES

PUNCTUATION

A series of three or more words takes commas except before conjunctions,

as: _There were boxes of guns, bayonets, cartridges and bandages_.

Separate members of the series with semicolons if there are commas

within the phrase, as: __There were boxes of guns, bayonets and

cartridges; casks of powder, high explosives and chemicals; and many