y are reasonably sure that
they have secured the whole story. The result may not be worth writing,
or it may be worth a place on the front page, but the reporter must get
to the bottom of it. Whether on a beat or on an assignment every
reporter must have his ears open for a tip of some unexpected story and
must secure the facts or inform the editor at once. It is in this way
that a paper gets a scoop, or beat, on its rivals by printing a story
before the other papers have heard of it.

=5. Interviews for Facts.=--To cover an assignment and secure the facts
of a story is not at all easy. If the reporter could be a personal
witness of the happening which he is to report, the task would be
simpler. But, outside the case of expected events, he rarely hears of
the occurrence until after it is past and the excitement has subsided.
Then he must find the persons who witnessed the occurrence or who know
the facts, and get the story from them. Perhaps he has to see a dozen
people to get the information he wants. Getting facts from people in
this way is called interviewing--interviewing for facts, as
distinguished from formal interviewing for the purpose of securing a
statement or an opinion that is to be printed with the name of the man
who utters it. Although a dozen interviews may be necessary for a
single story, not one of them is mentioned in the story, for they are of
no importance except in the facts that they supply.

For example, suppose a reporter is sent out to get the story of a fire
that has started an hour or two before he goes on duty. All that his
editor gives him is the tip from the fire department, or from some other
source, of a fire at such-and-such an address. When he arrives at the
scene there is nothing left but smoldering ruins with perhaps an engine
throwing a stream on the smoking debris and a few by-standers still
loitering about. He can see with his own eyes what kind of building has
burned, and how completely it has been destroyed. A by-stander may be
able to tell him who occupied the building or what it was used for, but
he must hunt for some one else who can give him the exact facts that his
paper wants. Perhaps he can find the tenant and learn from him what his
loss has been. The tenant can give him the name of the owner and may be
able to tell him something about the origin of the fire. He must find
the owner to get the value of the building and the amount of insurance
carried. Perhaps he cannot