Page:Newspaper writing and editing.djvu/71

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  • graphs at once as much of the story as he can in 150

words. He always puts at the end of the dispatch before his signature the hour at which he files the story at the telegraph office, so that he will not be held responsible for any delay in transmitting or delivering the telegram.

When the correspondent has a number of news stories of interest on which he desires to have instructions, he sends his "queries" in the form of a "schedule" in which each story is numbered. For example:


Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, Pa.

Erie, Pa., March 10.—No. 1. Northern Hospital for Insane burns, all inmates rescued. 800.

2. C. H. Hartman, cashier Miners' Bank, commits suicide. 250.

3. Principal Walters of high school prohibits football. 100.

4. Mayor Altmeyer removes Health Commissioner Murphy for incompetency. 150.

5. Minister delivers strong sermon on "Is There a Devil?" 300.

R. N. Wilson.


The telegraph editor might reply to this schedule with the following instructions, which would indicate how much the correspondent is to send on each of the stories that he has scheduled, as well as the fact that nothing is wanted on story No. 5.


Philadelphia, Mar. 10.—R. N. Wilson, Erie, Pa. Rush one and two; 50 three; 100 four.

Times.


The correspondent is paid a regular salary if the amount of news that he sends daily is considerable, but more often he is paid every month at a regular space rate for the amount printed of the news that he sends during the month. On some papers the correspondents clip out all of their news stories and paste them together in a "string" which they send in once a month,