HANDLING THE BIG STORY
The rules that apply to the sending of the early story may be waived when the correspondent has late news of big, vital importance. The main thing then is to get the story into the office, and get it there as quickly as he can. The Cincinnati Enquirer says: “Never postpone sending in a good piece of news. Get it to us somehow, no matter at what hour the event may occur. Remember that a few words of an item to-night are worth more than a column of the same to-morrow night.” That is a good rule for the correspondent. Do not delay sending news in the hope that it will be allowed greater space if you hold it a day.
Assume that you have the story of a railroad wreck in which a dozen passengers were killed. You are sure the story will be wanted. It is 10 o’clock at night. There is not time to query and get instructions. As soon as possible send a brief bulletin, telling what the news is and about how many words you will have. Then begin to send the story at once. Don’t wait until you have completed the story before handing it to the telegraph operator. Give him the lead and write the story as he works. Send the big facts first, then the details. Write simply and naturally, without padding.
If you cannot get to a telegraph wire, do not hesitate to use the long-distance telephone. Have your facts well in mind so that you can tell them without an expensive waste of time. A big story may be rushed into type for the city edition of a morning newspaper as late as 2:30 o’clock or even later. News that is important enough to warrant “making over” the first page or the issuance of an extra edition is available up to 4 or 5 o’clock.
Evening newspapers, as a rule, are essentially local in character, and hence use less special telegraph matter than those published in the morning. But a big story is a big story at any hour of the day or night, and if it develops in time for day publication the correspondent of an evening newspaper should use every effort to get it in. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says: “In the early hours of the morning—say up to 10 or 11 o’clock—a brief bulletin on any important news item will be sufficient; if the telegraph editors want more they will notify you by wire. But after that hour the Post-Dispatch would rather have too much of a good thing than not enough. Remember that the Home Edition—the principal edition of the Post-Dispatch—is practically closed to its correspondents at noon. If anything BIG happens in your locality about that time, rush it to the Post-Dispatch without any preliminary notification. Do not hesitate to ‘take a chance’ at any time if you believe you have something that the Post-Dispatch would like to know about.”