CHAPTER VII
SPECIAL KINDS OF NEWS
Special News Fields. Although practically all
kinds of news stories conform to the general principles
explained and illustrated in preceding chapters, the
application of these principles to particular kinds of
news may be considered in detail. On all but small
papers the gathering and the writing of news in such
special fields as sports, society, and markets are regarded
as sufficiently different in character from general
reporting to warrant having special editors for
these departments. Each of a number of special kinds
of reporting requires more or less expert knowledge,
which a reporter who specializes in that field acquires
as a result of training and experience. Sometimes, however,
a general reporter may be sent out to cover an
athletic contest or a society event, and he should be
prepared to do either successfully. Every reporter
should familiarize himself with the best methods of
handling all kinds of news.
Sporting News Stories. The constantly increasing importance attached by newspapers to news of sports, particularly to that of baseball, makes it important for reporters to know the peculiarities of sporting news stories. The reporting of athletic contests is not always an easy task even when the reporter is familiar with all the details of the sport. In a football game, for example, it is difficult to determine which of the players carries the ball or makes a tackle in a given play unless the reporter knows each player and can recognize him
