Mrs. James Harris Jones gave a reception yesterday at her home, 136 Fifth street, for her daughter, Miss Dorothy Jones. In the receiving line were Miss Marjorie Smith, Miss, etc. * * The reception was followed by an informal dance.
If the event is held especially for débutantes, the fact is noted at the very start. "A number of débutantes assisted in receiving at a tea given by, etc."; "The débutantes of the winter were out in force, etc."
Such a story is usually followed by a list of guests, a list of out-of-town guests, a list of subscribers, or something of the sort. Ordinarily the list is not tabulated but is run in solid, thus:
The guests were: Miss Kathleen Smith, Miss Georgia Brown, etc.
Very often the names are grouped together, thus:
The guests were: The Misses Kathleen Smith, Georgia Brown; Mesdames Robert R. Green, John R. Jones; and the Messrs. George Hamilton, Francis Bragg, etc.
The number of variations in such stories is limited only by the ingenuity of the people who are giving such entertainments. But in each case the reporter learns to give the same facts in much the same order. And he gives them in an uncolored, impersonal way that makes the items interesting only to those who are directly connected with them. The story may vary from a single sentence to half a column, but it always begins in the same way and elaborates only the same details. Before trying to write up social entertainments, a reporter should always be sure of the use of the various words he employs—"chaperon," "patroness," etc. For instance, can we say that "Mr. and Mrs. Smith acted as chaperons"?
5. Social Announcements.—Social announcements of any kind are usually, like the wedding and engagement announcements, confined to a single sentence. They tell only the name of the host and hostess, the name of the guest of honor or the occasion for the event, the time, and the place. Thus:
Mrs. Charles P. Jones will give a dance this evening at her home, 181 Nineteenth street, to introduce her sister, Miss Elsie Holt.
A study of the foregoing sections on society stories shows how definitely a reporter is restricted in the facts that he may include in his social items—how conventional social stories have become. This very restraint in the matter of facts makes it the more necessary for a reporter to exercise his originality in the diction of social items. He must guard against the use of certain set expressions, like "officiating," "performed the ceremony," and "solemnized." While restricted in the facts that he may give, he must try to present the same old facts in new and interesting ways—he may even resort to a moderate use of "fine writing," if he does not become florid or frivolous.