CHAPTER IV
STRUCTURE AND STYLE IN NEWS STORIES
Writing the News. After the reporter has found
the news and has collected all the important details
concerning it, he must write it up for publication. To
present the news effectively is as important as to get
it. Many a good piece of news has been spoiled in the
writing. The raw material of fact must be transformed
skillfully into the finished product of the news story.
The reporter is supposed to be able to write an adequate
report. When he does not, the copy-reader or the
"rewrite man" is called upon to make good the reporter's
failure. Ordinarily the copy-reader needs only to polish
off the rough edges. The work of the good reporter
ought to require little or no editing. The careless, slovenly
writer is not a welcome addition to the staff of any
paper. The less editing a reporter's copy requires the
more satisfactory will he be.
Essentials of Good Copy. The first essential of good copy is legibility. Typewritten copy, double or triple spaced, is always preferred. In long-hand writing, likewise, liberal space should be left between the lines and for margins. In such copy the "u's" should be underscored and the "n's" overscored in order to differentiate them. Proper names in long-hand copy should be printed to avoid errors in spelling. If the story is begun halfway down the first page, the copy-reader will have enough space on that sheet to write the headline. Quotation marks, or "quotes" as they are called, should be enclosed in half-circles, thus, ")stunt,(" to indicate
