t about their immediate social affairs and are glad to give
pretty society editors advance tips of coming events. But the best
sources are the caterers, the florists, and the hair-dressing parlors.
The caterers are engaged weeks in advance. The florists provide the
decorations. And the hair-dressing parlors are hotbeds of gossip. By
visiting or calling regularly at these places one generally can keep
abreast of all the society news in town. But always when getting news
from such sources--or from any other for that matter--one must be sure
of the absolute accuracy of all addresses, names, and initials. If one
is not careful,--well, only one who has seen an irate mother talk to the
city editor before the ink on the home edition is dry can appreciate the
trouble that will probably result.

XVIII. FOLLOW-UPS, REWRITES

=260. "Follow-ups."=--"Rewrites" and "follow-up" stories are news
stories which have appeared in print. The distinction between the two is
that "follow-ups" contain news in addition to that of the story first
printed, while "rewrites" are only revisions. Few news stories are
complete on their first appearance. New features develop; motives,
causes, and unlooked-for results come to light in a way that is
oftentimes amazing. Sometimes these facts appear within a few hours;
again they are days in developing; and occasionally, after they have
developed, the story will "follow" for weeks, months, and even years
without losing its interest. The Thaw, Becker, and Charlton stories ran
for years. The first item about the _Titanic_ disaster was a bulletin of
less than half a stick; yet the story ran for months.

=261. Constructive Side of "Follow-ups."=--A reporter, therefore, must
not consider a story ended until he has run to ground all the
possibilities or until the new facts have ceased to be of interest to a
large body of readers. Indeed, it is in the "follow-up" that the
reporter has one of his greatest opportunities to prove himself a
constructive journalist. There is every reason, too, for believing it
will be in the "follow-up" that the big newspaper of the future will
find its greatest development. At present, stories often are dropped too
quickly, so quickly that the really constructive news is lost. A great
epidemic sweeps a city, taking an unprecedented toll of life and
entailing expenditures of hundreds of thousands of dollars. All the
reporters grind out pages and pages of copy about the plague, but