The correspondent, after writing his story, mails it, files it at the telegraph office, or telephones it to the newspaper office. He, too, may telephone the bare facts to have them written in news-story form by a rewrite man in the newspaper office. The correspondent of a general news-gathering agency handles his news in the same way except that he sends it by mail, telegraph, or telephone to the district office of the association or agency that he represents. At this district office it is edited and sent out to those papers in various parts of the country that use the association’s service.
As news stories, whether local or telegraph, are edited before they are printed, practically all stories as they appear in the newspaper are the work not only of the reporter or correspondent who gathered the news, but of one or more editors and copy-readers. Well-written stories of reporters and correspondents usually undergo little change when edited. A poorly written story, on the other hand, may be made over into a very effective one by a rewrite man, an editor, or a copy-reader.
=Conditions affecting news writing.= The structure and the style of news stories are determined (1) by the conditions under which they are written, (2) by the character of the readers, (3) by the conditions under which newspapers are read, (4) by the typographical form of newspapers, and (5) by the popular taste.
Newspaper writing must be done rapidly under considerable pressure and generally without opportunity for careful revision. Although this haste does not excuse incorrect and slovenly English, it does result in looser, less finished writing than might be produced under more favorable circumstances. In rapid writing, and particularly in handling similar material from day to day, the writer, unless he is on his guard, is likely to fall into the habit of using stock phrases, trite and colorless.
The large amount of available news that must be crowded daily into limited space makes it essential to present the news in compact form and concise style. “Boil it down” and “Cut it to the bone” are constant admonitions in every newspaper office. Conciseness is a necessary quality of newspaper style.
The average newspaper, in order to succeed, must appeal to all classes of readers in the community. It must present its contents in a way that will attract and interest the so-called masses as well as the business and the professional classes. The style of writing is generally adapted to readers of limited education no less than to the well educated. Comparative simplicity of expression, accordingly, is the rule in newspaper writing.