desires more facts or later phases, he gives the clipping to a reporter, who, taking the first story as a basis, proceeds to get the desired additions before writing the new story. In either case the first thing to do is to study carefully the first story to see what it contains and what are its possibilities. Every bearing of the piece of news on past, present, and future events must be carefully considered. The importance of every possible relation should be weighed so that the most timely and most interesting feature may be given due prominence.
Because of the rapid judgments on news values and the hurried writing of news stories that newspaper making necessitates, the first story may not bring out at all or may not give prominence to what is in reality the most interesting aspect of the story, and it remains for the man who is rewriting the story to take advantage of this neglected opportunity. In his effort to tell all the details of the event itself, the reporter who wrote the first story may not have considered ulterior causes and motives or he may not have had time to see the event in its relation to other events. With the perspective that a few hours often gives, the rewrite man can judge more accurately of these elements and in the rewritten story can give them the emphasis that they deserve.
In the rewriting of stories where no more facts are available, the possibilities to be considered for the new lead are: (1) some feature entirely overlooked by the writer of the first story, (2) some element not given prominence in the first story, that may be made the feature, (3) the next probable consequence or development, (4) some cause or motive not suggested or emphasized in the first story, and (5) the relation of the piece of news to some previous or coincident one.
