Hints on news reporting

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Hints on news reporting by Murray Sheehan is a practical journalism guide written in the early 20th century. It concisely teaches how to recognize, gather, and write news for newspapers, focusing on clear structure, engaging presentation, and newsroom craft.

The book opens by defining news as what interests people and explains the straight news lead built on the essentials—who, what, where, when, and, when useful, why/how—delivered first and fast. It surveys what draws readers (personal impact, sports, hobbies, prominence, local ties, the unusual, children, animals) and shows how to feature the most interesting element at the start. Sheehan contrasts straight news with “feature” and human‑interest pieces, then drills style: concrete words, strong verbs, varied sentences, tight paragraphs, and unobtrusive craftsmanship. He details how to organize common assignments—fires, accidents, meetings, sports, trials, crime, interviews, society items, and obituaries—and covers follow‑ups and rewrites. Practical chapters explain preparing copy, house style, gathering scheduled and unexpected news via beats (police, fire, hospitals, courts, clubs), interviewing tactics, telephone use, and the importance of getting names right. He closes with usage tips, pitfalls to avoid, and an overriding mandate: accuracy first.