minence.
It is of even greater value to find out by careful reading of the entire
contents of several numbers of a periodical, the exact point of view
from which the material is treated. Every editor aims to present the
contents of his publication in the way that will make the strongest
appeal to his readers. This point of view it is the writer's business to
discover and adopt.
ANALYSIS OF SPECIAL ARTICLES. An inexperienced writer who desires to
submit special feature stories to newspapers should begin by analyzing
thoroughly the stories of this type in the daily papers published in his
own section of the country. Usually in the Saturday or Sunday issues he
will find typical articles on topics connected with the city and with
the state or states in which the paper circulates. The advantage of
beginning his study of newspaper stories with those published in papers
near his home lies in the fact that he is familiar with the interests of
the readers of these papers and can readily understand their point of
view. By noting the subjects, the point of view, the form, the style,
the length, and the illustrations, he will soon discover what these
papers want, or rather, what the readers of these papers want. The
"Outline for the Analysis of Special Articles" in Part II will indicate
the points to keep in mind in studying these articles.
In order to get a broader knowledge of the scope and character of
special feature stories, a writer may well extend his studies to the
magazine sections of the leading papers of the country. From the work of
the most experienced and original of the feature writers, which is
generally to be found in these metropolitan papers, the novice will
derive no little inspiration as well as a valuable knowledge of
technique.
The methods suggested for analyzing special feature stories in
newspapers are applicable also to the study of magazine articles.
Magazines afford a better opportunity than do newspapers for an analysis
of the different types of articles discussed in Chapter V. Since
magazine articles are usually signed, it is possible to seek out and
study the work of various successful authors in order to determine
wherein lies the effectiveness of their writing. Beginning with the
popular weekly and monthly magazines, a writer may well extend his study
to those periodicals that appeal to particular classes, such as women's
magazines, agricultural journals, and trade publications.
IDEALS IN
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