erty that such an editor gives himself is of course
impossible in a larger paper.

On the other hand, a daily in a city of average size would reduce such a
story to a stickful and a metropolitan daily would run only a one-line
announcement in the "List of marriages," unless the story was especially
interesting. The same thing applies to all social stories. Some
metropolitan newspapers do not run social news at all.

All of this is true because social news is governed by the same
principles that regulate all news values. Unless a society event has
some feature that is interesting impersonally--that is, of interest to
readers who do not know the principals of the event--it is of value only
as a larger or smaller number of the paper's readers are personally
connected with the event. Hence in a small town where every one knows
every one else, society news is of great value. In a large city a very
small proportion of the readers are connected with the social items that
the paper has to print and are therefore not interested in
them--accordingly the newspaper either cuts them down to a minimum of
space or does not run them at all.

Therefore in our study society news falls into two classes: social items
that are of interest only in themselves to persons connected with the
events; and big society stories or unusual social events that are of
interest to readers who are not acquainted with the principals.

=1. Weddings.=--The wedding story reduced to its lowest terms in a
metropolitan paper consists of a one-line announcement in the list of
"Marriages" or "Marriage Licenses"; thus:

| SMITH-JONES--Feb. 14, Katherine Jones |
|to Charles C. Smith.--_New York Times._ |

If the paper runs a few columns of social news and the persons concerned
in the wedding are of any importance socially, the wedding may be given
a stickful. Such an account would confine itself entirely to names and
facts and would be characterized by very decided simplicity and brevity.
Usually nothing more would be given than the names and address of the
bride's parents, the bride's first name, the groom's name, the place,
and the name of the minister who officiated. Occasionally the name of
the best man and a few other details are added, but never does the story
become personal. It is interesting only to those who know or know of the
persons concerned.

For example:

| SMITH-JONES