WHAT NOT TO SEND
Here are some of the things that most newspapers include in their lists of what not to send:
1. Trivial accidents, such as the breaking of an arm or leg by machinery, unless the person hurt is of wide prominence.
2. Insignificant robberies or burglaries.
3. Murders in which the persons concerned are obscure or in which there is no element of mystery.
4. Unmentionable offenses, breach of promise, abandonment and similar cases. If, however, the circumstances are very unusual, send the facts guardedly, but only the facts that can be verified through judicial proceedings. “Such stories,” the Chicago Tribune adds, “should be handled with extreme care. Where lynching or attempts to lynch follow assaults, that fact should be bulletined immediately.”
5. Daily accounts of trials, murder or otherwise, unless specifically ordered.
6. Puffs of individuals, hotels, etc., or any other form of free advertising. No press agent stories are wanted.
7. Obituaries of obscure persons.
8. Marriages, unless the persons are prominent, in which case notice should be sent in advance by mail.
9. Ordinary damage suits.
10. Storm news, unless there is loss of life or great property damage.
11. Condition of crops, except in case of rain, frost or drought at critical times.
12. Ordinary business transactions.
13. Meetings of secret societies, except state or national meetings.
14. Accounts of county fairs or picnics, unless ordered.
15. Abstracts of sermons, unless they contain some striking news feature.
16. Reports of celebrations, unless persons of state or national prominence attend, or of the general observance of Christmas, New Year’s or the Fourth of July.
17. Stories of freaks or monstrosities, such as three-legged chickens.
18. School commencements, meetings of teachers’ institutes, medical societies, farmers’ alliances and the like, in which the interest is purely local.
19. Interviews with “a well-known citizen,” “a prominent official” or any other anonymous individual.
20. Theatrical notices, unless they contain some real news feature.
21. Political speeches or gossip, unless ordered.
22. Fatal accidents to trainmen or obscure persons, except where there are two or more fatalities.
This list, while not exhaustive, gives a general idea of what is to be avoided. No set of rules could be drawn up to cover every case with which the correspondent has to deal. To equip himself to give the best service he should not only learn the general principles of news writing, but should study the columns of the newspaper he represents to find out its particular needs. He should remember, too, that no rule is iron-clad. A story falling under any head of the foregoing classification may possess some extraordinary feature that will make it worth printing. In that case the correspondent should be careful to build his story around the unusual part.
Most newspapers rely on a news gathering organization for stories of railroad wrecks, big fires, floods and the like. The correspondent should never duplicate a story of this kind that he knows will reach the newspaper through another channel in time for publication. If, however, an event is of unusually grave importance, or if it happens at a late hour, the chances are that a special dispatch will be required, and the correspondent should send a bulletin of the facts immediately. Alertness in furnishing bulletins of important news is always appreciated. The correspondent should never under any circumstances duplicate a story to two newspapers in the same city.