losion of powder in
his shop, causing a loss of a hundred dollars, with no insurance. One
should ask oneself if this story would be worth while to readers who
know nothing of Andrew Jones or the town where the accident has
occurred. Manifestly not; and the story should not be sent. But if one
learns that the accident was caused by the premature explosion of a bomb
Jones was making for the destruction of a bridge on the Great Southern
and Northern Railway, then the information is of more than local
interest and should immediately be telegraphed with full details. Every
correspondent should recognize such differences in news values, for
papers pay, not according to the amount of copy they receive, but
according to the amount they publish. And on the other hand, when
correspondents telegraph too many useless items, editors sometimes
reverse charges on the unwise writers.

=287. What Not to Send.=--The first thing to know in correspondence
work, therefore, is what not to send. Never report merely local news,
such as minor accidents, burglaries, and robberies; obituaries,
marriages, entertainments, and court trials of little known personages;
murders of obscure persons, unless unusual in some way or involved in
mystery; county fairs, fraternal meetings, high-school commencements,
local picnics and celebrations; crop and weather conditions, unless
markedly abnormal, as frost in June; praise of individuals, hotels,
amusement gardens, business enterprises generally; in fact, any press
agent stories. Stories trespassing the limits of good taste or decency
should of course be suppressed. Local gossip affecting the reputations
of women, preachers, doctors, and professional men generally should be
held until it can be verified. Any sensational news, indeed, should be
carefully investigated before being put on the wires. But as the
Associated Press says in a pamphlet of instructions to its employees:

A rumor of sensational news should not be held too
long for verification. If the rumor is not libelous
it should be sent immediately as a rumor, with the
addition that "the story is being investigated."
Should the news, however, involve persons or firms
in a charge that might be libelous, a note to the
editors, marked "Private, not for publication,"
should be bulletined that "such and such a story has
come to our attention and is being investigated."

While accuracy in The Associated Press de