short stories and novels realistic and attractive may be applied to the writing of news. Concise descriptive touches that suggest the picture rather than portray it by detailed description, are always effective. Accounts of eye-witnesses, exclamations and remarks made by the bystanders, comments by those concerned, dialogue between persons involved, when given in the form of direct quotations, all add to the life and interest of the story. Every legitimate literary device can be used to advantage in the writing of the day's news, provided that it does not require too much space, for above everything else the news story must be concise.
Good emphasis at the beginning of each paragraph should always be sought, because in rapid reading, as has already been pointed out, the eye catches first the initial group of words at each indention. Unimportant connective phrases and clauses should seldom be given this position of prominence, but should be buried in the sentence. The emphasis at the end of each paragraph in the news story is not great and can therefore be disregarded. Although each paragraph need not end emphatically, it should be rounded out to give the effect of completeness.
The organization of details in the body of a story is shown in the account of a train robbery given below:
Spokane, Wash., March 15—In the
guise of a postoffice inspector, a
bandit obtained admittance to the
postal car on the Great Northern
Oriental Limited at Bonners Ferry,
Idaho, early this morning, and after
overpowering the two clerks, calmly
rifled the through registered mail
pouches while the train was proceeding
to Spokane.
During the run of over 100 miles to Spokane, the robber received the mail at three stations where the train
