NEWSPAPERS AND WRITERS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18668, 17 April 1926, Page 13

NEWSPAPERS AND WRITERS.

DOES JOURNALISM KILL' STYLE? ' (Eeprinted from the N.Y. ''BookmaaJ**) Borne American magazine, devoted to the craft of writing and marketing stories, recently sent out a questionnaire on the subject of whether or not a story teller was harmed, by; working tot the daily newspapers. The question is perennial, and seems to spring from the wide belief that an author mars his style by writing for the news columns.. Setting down the facta that Samuel Entwhistle, 45, 1926. Calamity street, died Thursday at Victim's Hospital after having been struck'hy a speeding automobile at Danger avenue and Unlucky street, Wednesday,, v is supposed to be bad l {or the writer's style; or saying, "Snow, which lasted three hours Tuesday night,, left a white covering two inches thick here Wednesday," is reputed to spoil,the literary person's career. It is a very pleasant and convenient excuse for those who have no style to begin with, and also for those reviewers who, finding that the author of a book has worked on paper and not liking the book, describe his manner of writing as deplorably "journalese." But except in those two cases, the matter of whether a .writer has been trained on a newspaper is of little importance so far as his' style is concerned. • ■• ■ ' Perhaps it was Matthew Arnold who said that getting his feet wet spoiled his style for days. It may have done so. Small thingß often have large consequences. And how- much more than writing news stories ; or getting your feet wet is. continuous,reading of the newspapers likely to spoil the writer's style! Tor in the newspapers, as in the most-popular magazines, all facts are thrown out of proportion, and the prose is either hackneyed to death in copybook manner, or else florid and slovenly. Newspapers would appear to be stifling the creative spirit. The throbbing question becomes, not whether'the creativo artist can function in America, but whether the creative artist can survive the newspapers. For those of tmr literary gentlemen and ladies who do not write for the newspapers read them. Yet' the editorial executive of one of America,'s large publishing houses said a short while ago that a friend of his began writing by the imaginative elaboration or stories in the newspapers. And that he made quite a, success of itl For that matter, the daily press supplies plenty of plots for. all kinds of writers. Many times has the "Saturday Evening Post" prematurely printed the romance of W.'"L. (Young) Stribling, lightweight contender for the world's boxing championship, and Clara Virginia Kuniey of a fairly prominent Macon Then remember' also the possibilities in the recent news story of the marriage of Irving Berlin with Ellin , Mackav. Either Sherwood Anderson or Edna Ferber could write that one—but how different would be their versions! From Shakespeare to Hardy geniuses have never worried over the. origination of plots. Nor will geniuses, nor even men of superior talent, ever worry over whether or not writing for a newspaper is going to spoil the writer's style.