Chapter XV: Newspaper Bromides

Contrary to the opinions of many, the newspaper has saved its
readers from that modern perversion of our already forcible
English, slang. It has pruned its language of affectation,
fine writing and indiscriminate and excessive use of
adjectives.--From an address by the REV. WILLIAM B. NORTON, of
Evanston, Ill., as reported by the Chicago _Evening Post_.

If a reporter is lazy or inclined to “fine writing” he has only to reach into the grab-box of his memory to draw out a word or phrase, all ready to his hand, that seems to suit the occasion. Was the horse running fast? Then it was going at “breakneck speed.” Did the young woman who was pulled out of the river fall in love with her rescuer? Then “her gratitude melted into love.” It was the “old, old story.” She became his “blushing bride” and the news of the marriage was to the discarded suitor “like a bolt from a clear sky.” “A host of friends” attended the “nuptials” and the “happy couple” were “showered with congratulations.”

Handy, cut-and-dried expressions will creep into copy unless the reporter is always on the alert to find the right word. Many of the figures of speech in this category doubtless possessed charm and piquancy at one time, but through long usage they have sunk to a meaningless level. They have become part of the stock in trade of the “fine writer,” who seeks to confound the reader with large words. Other words and phrases are merely trivial or in poor taste. The news writer should study to fit his words exactly to the meaning he intends to convey, instead of lazily giving way to the temptation to draw on a ready-made stock.

“Bromides” is the name given by the newspaper man to this stock of handy expressions. The term is thus defined in a bulletin issued by a metropolitan newspaper for its copy readers: “A bromide, in a newspaper office, is a word, phrase or expression, or turn of style, that is especially lacking in originality--overworked, hackneyed--a ‘chestnut.’ The daily travail of the editor and the copy reader is in scouting for errors of grammar and skirmishing with inaccuracy and awkwardness. But it is a massacre of libel; a war of extermination against bromides.”

The following list of “bromides” includes both trite and grandiose expressions which the news writer will do well to avoid and the copy reader to eliminate if they are passed on to him. The list is intended to be only suggestive of the evils of “bromidic” writing. It is far from exhaustive. Almost any newspaper man could add similar expressions which have come within his experience:

admiring friends
agent of death
ancestral domain
and many others
angry mob
arch culprit
avenging justice

battle-scarred veteran
beautiful and accomplished
bereaved widow
better half
beyond peradventure of a doubt
big mogul (locomotive)
bleeding, mangled form
blunt instrument
blushing bride
body of the deceased
bolt from a clear sky
bonds of matrimony
bosom of the briny deep
bourne from which no traveler returns
brand from the burning
breakneck speed
break the news gently
breathless silence
burden of bluecoats
burly negro
busy marts of trade

carnival of crime
catch of the season
caught like a rat in a trap
caught red-handed
certain party (for person)
challenge contradiction
checkered career
city bastile
city’s fair escutcheon
clutches of the law
commercial emporium
conspicuous by his absence
contracting parties (in marriage)
conventional black
cool as a cucumber
cowering poltroon
crisp ten-dollar bill
crowded to its utmost capacity
culminated in the nuptials
cynosure of all eyes

Dan Cupid’s dart
dastardly assassin
day of reckoning
delicious refreshments
demure miss
devoted slave
devouring element
diabolical outrage
divine (for preacher)
divine passion
dull, corroding care
dull, sickening thud
durance vile
dusky damsel
downy couch

ebbing life blood
effected an entrance
eked out a bare existence
elegant creation
entered a state of coma
evening repast
exigencies of the occasion
extended heartfelt sympathy

facile pen
failed to materialize
fair sex
fair women and brave men
fateful words
feast of reason
feathered songster
fell design
festive occasion
fever heat
few and far between
fiery steed
first fall of the beautiful
fleeting breath
foeman worthy of his steel
for it was none other than he
formulated a design
fragrant Havana
frenzied finance
furtively secreting

gathered to his fathers
general public
genial boniface
gilded youth
goes without saying
grand old party
gratitude melted into love
great beyond
grewsome spectacle
grim reaper
groaned under the weight of toothsome viands

hairbreadth escape
happy benedict
heartrending screams
hied himself
high dudgeon
high road to recovery
host of friends
human freight
hungry flames
hurled defiance
hymeneal altar

immaculate linen
in a clerical capacity
inclemency of the weather
inner circles of society

jury of his peers

kind and indulgent father
knights of the grip

large and enthusiastic audience
last but not least
late lamented
launched into eternity
leaden missile
light collation
lingering illness
lion of all social gatherings
little blind god
located his whereabouts
lodged in jail
long sleep (death)
lull before the storm
lurid flames

made good his escape
man of parts
maze of mystery
minions of the law
modicum of notoriety
mourned their loss

natty suit
neatly engraved invitations
neat sum
never in the history of
news leaked out
nice manners
nick of time
nipped in the bud
notorious crook and police character

old, old story (love)
oldest inhabitant
one fell swoop
one fine day
own inimitable way

pale as death
pangs of poverty
phials of his scorn
piercing shriek of anguish
pillar of the church
police dragnet
populace was up in arms
portals of his living tomb
portent of evil
prepossessing appearance
present incumbent
presided at the piano
prominent (of persons)
public prints
put in an appearance

quiet home wedding

raging torrent
rash act
recipient of handsome and costly presents
remains (for body)
rendered a widow
ripe old age
rising young barrister
rooted to the spot
rumors are rife
rushed post haste

sacred edifice
sad rites
sad tidings
scene beggared description
seemed to spring from thin air
serious but not necessarily fatal
set the town agog
shook like a leaf
shorn of his accustomed affability
shrouded in mystery
silver-tongued orator
sixteen summers (in giving age)
smoking revolver
snorting iron horse (locomotive)
snug income
sole topic of conversation
spread like wildfire
stepped into the breach
sterling worth and high promise
still evening air
stood aghast
storm king
stung with remorse
succulent bivalve
suicide (as a verb)
summoned medical aid
sustained an injury
swathed in bandages
sweet slumber

thickest of the fray
this mortal coil
tidy sum
tiny tots
tireless vigil
tonsorial parlor
took into custody
took the bit in his teeth
totally destroyed
to the bitter end
tried and true official
tripped the light fantastic

ubiquitous reporter
unbiased probe
under cover of the darkness
unfortunate victim
unique in the city’s annals
united in the bonds of matrimony
upholders of law and order

vale of tears
vanished as if the earth had swallowed him up
vengeance his portion
viewed the remains
vouches for the authenticity of

war to the knife
waxed eloquent
weaker sex
wedded bliss
wee sma’ hours
weird scene
well-known club man
white as a sheet
wildest excitement
with becoming grace
without fear of successful contradiction
witnesses duly sworn

INDEX

A

Abbreviation, marks used in, 6, 186;
care necessary in, 221

Accuracy, importance of, 30;
in observation, 31;
in names, 33, 35, 179;
in street addresses, 34;
in spelling, 34;
effort to obtain, 36, 225;
in interview, 121;
in business stories, 133;
in correspondence, 151;
essential in copy reading, 175

Active voice, 13, 204

Add, how marked, 188

Advance copy, 123;
notices by mail, 161;
held for release, 168

Advertisement, head compared to, 194

Ages, style in giving, 217

Alliteration, in headlines, 202

Anglo-Saxon, words preferred, 13, 103;
in heads, 196

Asquith, the Right Honorable H. H., on prolixity, 211

Assignment, defined, 2

Associated Press, dispatch from, 70

B

Bad taste, example, 27

Baltimore _Sun_, story from the, 142

Banner, in head writing, 209

Beat, defined, 2;
measured by minutes, 134

Bible, as model for news writer, 9, 61

“Bohemians,” no longer tolerated, 191

Boston _Transcript_, head from the, 197

Box head, defined, 209

Brisbane, Arthur, on newspaper work, 17

Bromides in writing, 224;
list of, 226

Bulletins, when to send, 157, 159, 166

Business stories, care necessary in covering, 133

C

Capital letters, how indicated, 186;
in heads, 206, 210

Cheap slang, example, 39

Chicago _Evening Post_, stories from the, 126, 139

Chicago _Inter-Ocean_, editorial on news, 41

Chicago _Record-Herald_, stories from the, 72, 76;
instructions to correspondents, 154, 220;
style, 177;
head from the, 199

Chicago _Tribune_, order to correspondents, 157;
news specialties, 160

_Christian Science Monitor_, editorial on news writing, 79

Cincinnati _Enquirer_, sporting news, 160;
on promptness, 166;
style of heads, 202

City editor, has “nose for news,” 43;
judge of story, 81;
valuing news, 103

Classified, see Department

Clearness, necessity of, 9;
in heads, 196

Climax, first in news story, 57, 79

Collective nouns, 218

Compression, in news writing, 80

Conciseness, why desirable, 11;
in telegraph stories, 152

Copy, defined, 1;
how to prepare, 4;
reading copy, 171;
specimen page of, 185;
“A Copy,” 189;
schedule, 192

Copy readers, duties of, 3, 171;
qualifications of, 172;
organization of, 174;
must be vigilant, 178;
work under stress, 190

Corrections, care necessary in making, 5

Correspondents, functions of, 150;
pitfalls for, 154;
alertness appreciated, 159;
instructions to, 169;
how paid, 170

Court reports, to be watched carefully, 179

Crime news, question of ethics, 131

D

Damaging statements, 19, 133, 155

Death stories, choice of words in, 38;
examples, 38, 141, 142, 143;
points to cover in, 130

Deck of head, defined, 201

Definiteness, in news writing, 22;
examples, 94, 147;
in heads, 197

Department stories, 48;
“slugs” given to, 182

Dialect, use of, 23, 88, 219

Don’ts for news writer, list of, 211

Drop line in head, 207

E

Editing, marks used in, 184;
page of edited copy, 185

Editorial comment, not permitted in news, 20;
weakens story, 25

End-mark, use of, 5, 187

Expansion, in news writing, 80

_Ex parte_ statements, danger in, 156, 180

F

Fairness, essential in story, 18

Faking, not tolerated, 82, 153

Feature stories, defined, 3;
examples, 29, 106, 108, 124, 127;
treatment of, 47, 98;
for entertainment, 101;
suggestions for, 111;
may be interview, 120;
sending by mail, 168

Fictional method, in news writing, 71, 99

Fine writing, not wanted, 10, 103, 224;
examples, 16, 38, 226

Fire stories, general plan of, 79;
examples, 72, 77, 89, 95, 139, 142;
analysis of a story, 92;
points to cover in, 129

Flippancy, to be avoided, 23, 88, 103

Follow copy, 6, 176

Follow stories, 183

Force in writing, how obtained, 12

Foreign words, 215

Freak head, example, 209

Fulton (Mo.) _Gazette_, editorial on country journalism, 17

G

Generalities, to be avoided, 21

Good taste, essential in news writing, 22;
illustrated, 109

Gossip, beware of unfounded, 154

Greeley, Horace, view of reporting, 23

Guide line, in reading copy, 181

H

Headlines (heads), defined, 3;
old style, 62;
written by copy readers, 175;
danger of libel in, 179, 194;
how designated, 183;
newspapers judged by, 193;
reproductions of, 195, 197, 199, 201, 204, 207, 209;
not mere labels, 196;
tense in, 198;
local in application, 202;
trite phrasing in, 204;
various styles of, 208

Hope, Anthony, on style, 113

Horrible details, to be shunned, 23

Human-interest stories, defined, 47;
examples, 50, 72, 95, 109;
value of, 102;
prescription for, 103;
uncovering facts of, 104;
divergence in treatment of, 132;
in demand, 161

Humor, example of, 49;
examples of unconscious, 191, 192

I

Imperative form, in heads, 203

Impersonality, in news writing, 20

Inserts, in copy, 5, 187, 189

Interview, defined, 113;
when incidental, 114;
as the story itself, 118;
first steps in getting, 118;
examples, 119, 120, 124-128

Irwin, Will, on reporting, 1

J

Journalism, personal era gone, 21;
daily problem of, 132;
sensational, 193

Jump head, defined, 209

K

Kansas City _Star_, departure from custom in the, 62, 71;
stories from the, 71, 72, 75, 76, 108;
style, 178;
heads, 200

Knapp, George L., on newspaper English, 30

L

Lead, introduction of story, 2;
method of writing, 57;
what it contains, 59;
styles vary, 62;
kinds to be avoided, 63;
police data in, 64;
names in, 65;
general rule for, 67;
examples, 70-78, 147, 148

Lecky, W. E. H., on style, 79

Legibility, how obtained, 5

Libel, danger of, 20;
possible in names, 155, 179;
rules about, 178;
in headlines, 179, 194

Lower case, defined, 210

Lyman, Hart, on art of compression, 171

M

Mail, how to send stories by, 168

Make-up, defined, 4;
methods of, 84

Mechanics, of story, 84, 123;
of head, 201

Metaphor, use of, 15

N

Names, must be watched, 6;
misspelling resented, 33;
in beginning story, 65;
in business stories, 133;
danger of libel in, 155, 179;
style in giving, 221

News, often pruned, 23;
basic themes unchanging, 25;
values, 41;
how judged, 43;
sensational, 45;
plain, 46;
feature, 47, 98;
human-interest, 47, 102;
department, 48;
crime news, 131;
ages quickly, 134;
from out of town, 150;
sporting, 162;
told in heads, 194

Newspaper, English often criticized, 8;
fascination of work, 20;
workshop unique, 25;
safeguards against error, 36;
its problem, 44;
women readers of, 46;
source of entertainment, 100;
handling crime news, 131;
telegraph service, 150;
wants facts only, 154;
variations in style, 176;
headlines important, 193

New York _Evening Post_, editorial on style, 7

New York _Herald_, instruction, 84

New York _Mail_, story from the, 127

New York _Sun_, style a model, 50;
stories from the, 50, 73, 99;
head from the, 204

New York _World_, stories from the, 95, 109, 124, 146;
head from the, 209

Norton, the Rev. William B., on slang, 224

O

Observation, accuracy essential in, 31

O’Malley, Frank Ward, story by, 50

Originality, one secret of, 24;
story lacking in, 28;
example of, 106

_Outlook_, comment by the, 55

Overline, defined, 209

P

Paragraphs, indentation of, 5;
length of, 184;
when run together, 186

Pictures, with feature stories, 29;
in Sunday magazine, 105;
by mail, 162

Pitfalls, for reporter, 154

Place, as feature of story, 76

Plain news story, 46

Police stations, how named, 28

Pronouns, care necessary in use of, 88

Proofreading, not copy reading, 3

Puns, on names, 23

Pyramid, form of head, 208

Q

Query, defined, 163;
blind, 165.

Questions-and-answers method, example, 127

Questions, in heads, 203

Quotation, as lead of story, examples, 73, 74;
preceding story, example, 75;
when undesirable, 116;
in beginning interview, examples, 119, 124, 126;
should not be slavish, 121;
indirect, 126;
in telegraphing, 170;
may be libelous, 180

R

Reporter, his run or beat, 2;
viewpoint of, 17;
responsibility of, 19;
must observe keenly, 31;
place on newspaper, 42;
must not “editorialize,” 89;
idea of big story, 114;
power to do harm, 133;
seeking the right word, 224

“Report of a Suicide,” 99

Rewriting, 136;
examples, 138, 139

Running head, 202

Run-over head, 209

S

St. Louis _Post-Dispatch_, editorial on newspaper “endowment,” 30;
story from the, 106;
instructions to correspondents, 167

St. Louis _Republic_, editorial on reporting, 17;
on news values, 129;
rules about libel, 178

St. Louis _Star_, on revolting stories, 213

Scandal, perverted idea about, 161

Schedule, kept by copy reader, 192

Scoop, see Beat

Second-day stories, 134

Sentences, preference given short, 14, 88;
in lead of story, 65;
avoid monotony in, 65, 220

Signed story, exceptional, 20;
example, 127

Simplicity, keynote of news writing, 9;
in writing of death, 39;
in lead, 61;
in head, 196;
Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_ on, 214

Slang, in news story, 10;
two kinds of, 22;
in head, 202

Slug, name given story, 3, 181

Space rates, for correspondents, 170

Special correspondent, see Correspondent

Speeches, how covered, 122

Sporting news, instructions regarding, 162

Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_, on paragraphs, 184;
on short words, 214

Story, defined, 1;
qualities of ideal, 18;
short feature, example, 29;
kinds of, 46;
plain, 46;
feature, 47, 98;
human-interest, 47, 102;
lead of, 57;
data from 100 typical stories, 68;
body of, 79;
mechanics of, 84, 123;
often pruned, 85, 164;
unlike novel, 87;
for entertainment, 101;
special types of, 129;
telegraph, 150;
marks in editing, 184;
adds and inserts, 188

Street addresses, must be closely watched, 34

Style, three qualities of, 9;
special rules of, 62, 175;
variations in, 177

Sub-head, defined, 210

Suicide stories, examples, 71, 72, 146;
motive a feature, 131;
often ignored, 132

Sunday magazine stories, 48, 105

Superlatives, use sparingly, 219

Swiftness, essential in copy reading, 173, 177

Symmetry, desired in heads, 205

Symposium, defined, 124

T

Technical terms, to be avoided, 10

Telegraph news, boiled down, 141;
how gathered, 150;
skeletonizing, 152;
estimating value of, 153;
what not to send, 156;
what to send, 160;
sporting news, 162;
how to send, 163;
handling big story, 165;
instructions regarding, 169

Telephone, used by correspondents, 163, 166

Thoroughness, in covering story, 82

Time, styles in giving, 39, 139, 217, 219;
as feature of story, 75;
“to-day” preferred, 134;
in heads, 202

Trite expressions, in heads, 204;
list of, 226

Trivialities, to be avoided, 26, 83, 153, 156

Type, counting units in head, 206;
illustration of Gothic, 207;
upper and lower case, 210

Typewriter, preferred for news writing, 4

U

Upper case, defined, 210

V

Verbosity, not permitted, 11, 185

Viewpoint, must be unprejudiced, 17

W

Washington _Herald_, editorial on newspaper English, 57

Washington _Times_, editorial on news, 150

Wedding stories, points to be covered in, 131

Well-known, overworked, 217

Whiteing, Richard, on daily journalism, 98

Whitman, Walt, on simplicity of style, 193

Transcriber’s Note:

Words appearing in small capitals in the original publication have been rendered as uppercase; italics denoted with underscores. No known textual or punctuation changes have been made.