the paper.
He is responsible for gathering nearly all of the original news that
goes into its columns. To be able to do this he must have a wide and
exact knowledge of the people and the history of the city. He works like
a slave; and the reporters, who are under his direct control, find in
him a stern but appreciative taskmaster.

These reporters, or news-gatherers, lead a strenuous but not unhappy
life. It is somewhat like that of the huntsman, their business being to
stalk news, which is perhaps the biggest and certainly the most elusive
game which the world produces. Their lives are sometimes, their liberty
oftener, and their jobs always, in danger. If one of them permits a
rival paper to get a "scoop," he is apt to find himself in the situation
of the warrior described in Shakespeare's sonnet:

"The painful warrior, famoused for fight,
After a thousand victories once foiled,
Is from the book of honour razed quite,
And all the rest forgot for which he toiled."

Some reporters hunt everywhere; others are assigned to special "beats."
Of the latter the city hall is the most important, but the central
police station yields the largest number of good stories, because it is
there that tales of human folly, crime, and tragedy are most promptly
known. On most papers the law courts, politics, sport, drama, religion,
education, marine affairs, and society provide other "beats."

The organization thus briefly sketched is fairly typical, though by no
means universal. The outline on page 5 may make it a little clearer.

{Liner Department
{Advertising Manager {Street Men
{
{ {Newsboys
{ {Local Dealers
{Business {Circulation Manager {Mailing Department
{ Manager { {Collections
{ {
{ {Auditor {Bookkeeping
{ {Treasury
{Sup't of {Composing Room
{ Mechanical {Stereotyping-Room
{ Dep't {Pressroom
{
General { {Editorial
Manager { { Writers
{ {Cartoonists
{ {Special
{ { Writers
{