Something
definite must occur that has unmistakable form. It may be the act of
going into bankruptcy, it may be a fire, a collision, an assault, a
riot, an arrest, a denunciation, the introduction of a bill, a speech,
a vote, a meeting, the expressed opinion of a well known citizen, an
editorial in a newspaper, a sale, a wage-schedule, a price change, the
proposal to build a bridge.... There must be a manifestation. The
course of events must assume a certain definable shape, and until it
is in a phase where some aspect is an accomplished fact, news does not
separate itself from the ocean of possible truth.
2
Naturally there is room for wide difference of opinion as to when
events have a shape that can be reported. A good journalist will find
news oftener than a hack. If he sees a building with a dangerous list,
he does not have to wait until it falls into the street in order to
recognize news. It was a great reporter who guessed the name of the
next Indian Viceroy when he heard that Lord So-and-So was inquiring
about climates. There are lucky shots but the number of men who can
make them is small. Usually it is the stereotyped shape assumed by an
event at an obvious place that uncovers the run of the news. The most
obvious place is where people's affairs touch public authority. De
minimis non curat lex. It is at these places that marriages, births,
deaths, contracts, failures, arrivals, departures, lawsuits,
disorders, epidemics and calamities are made known.
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