Avoid the hackneyed phrase, a miraculous escape.
It is almost an unbreakable rule that reporters and copy readers shall verify all quotations. Many of the most familiar phrases are popularly misquoted.
Don't write the above statement or the statement given above. It may not be above when it gets into the paper. Write the foregoing statement.
Don't use about meaning approximately except with round numbers. Do not write about 27 cents or about 12 minutes after 8 o'clock, but write about $10 or about 10,000 persons.
Don't confuse O and Oh. The former is the formal spelling of the interjection and is used usually in poetry, as, Sail on, O Ship of State! It is used in supplication, as, O God, hear our prayer! The Oh spelling is that commonly used, as, Oh, dear; Oh, what shall I do? It is usually written with a comma.
DANA'S EIGHT RULES
Charles A. Dana's eight rules for the guidance of a newspaper man are:
1. Get the news, all the news, and nothing but the news.
2. Copy nothing from another publication without giving perfect credit.