Teacher's Pet Page #3

telling them how to be journalists.|Stealing their money.

Amateurs teaching amateurs|how to be amateurs.

Mr. Gannon?

Later.

And another thing...

I don't want to look at that...

Phi Beta Kappa's puss|around here any longer.

- Put him on the night side.|- Okay, Jim.

One of these days, somebody ought to|go down there and show them up.

Let those poor jokers see what|a phoney-baloney the whole thing is.

Walk right in that classroom and...

And then, of course, in this sentence|whom do you mean by "he"?

The grocer.

That's not clear, Mr. Appino.|It could mean the boy.

When writing news articles,|you must be careful about pronouns...

so as not to confuse the reader.

Would someone|turn the lights on please?

I'll do it.|Thank you.

We'll haVe a little breather|while Miss Fuller gets us ready...

for the second feature.

Is anyone absent tonight?|No.

Just that fellow|with the moustache.

I wonder what-

We don't haVe an enrolment card|for him.

We don't? That's odd.

He must haVe been|in the wrong classroom.

May I haVe|your attention, please?

Before we go on, I just|want to say that for a first try...

your pieces aren't bad at all.

As a matter of fact,|I'm proud of you.

Certainly, they're not as bad|as I make them seem...

standing up here|taking potshots at them.

HoweVer, on the other hand, you're not|quite ready for The New York Times.

Now, if I seem to be...

Sorry I'm late, Professor.

That's all right.

If you don't make a habit of it.

If I seem to be rushing things a bit...

it's only because|I belieVe in learning by doing.

You see, by writing and studying|your news stories...

you'll see the importance|of some fundamental rules.

The first one being...

Well, Kipling said|it quite well in a poem that he wrote:

"I keep six honest serving men,|they taught me all I knew

"Their names are: What and Why and|When and How and Where and Who"

- That's right.|- But it wasn't Kipling. It was Emerson.

- No, Kipling, I belieVe-|- Want me to look it up?

WhoeVer it was,|the thought is what's important.

And the thought to always remember|is that eVery news article should...

I'm sorry, I didn't mean|to sound so curt, Mister...

What is your name?

Gallagher.

Mr. Gallagher, it's just that|our time is so limited here and...

That's all right. I only thought...|NeVer mind.

No, please. Say it.

I don't know much about newspapers,|but I always had the idea...

that getting the right name on a quote|was considered kind of important.

By all means.

And shouldn't this class|be run like a real newspaper?

You're quite right.|You see, in a class of journalism...

accuracy is equally as important|as punctuality.

It was the cross-town traffic.

And the point that we're making|in passing is well worth emphasising.

A prominent editor was once asked...

what were the three|most important things...

to remember about newspaper work.

And he said...

"Accuracy, accuracy, and accuracy. "

It was Joseph Pulitzer.

Mr. Gallagher,|are you enrolled in this class?

Enrolled?|We couldn't find a card for you.

- No, I didn't know.|- Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Gallagher...

but you see, this class is restricted|to enrolled students.

Of course, if you care to register...

you can always make arrangements|at the office.

Excuse me.

Good night, Mr. Gallagher.

In paragraph fiVe she says:|"Many of the customers. "

Shouldn't she identify them?

You mean here?|Yes.

Yes, that's right.|As I mentioned before, Miss Gross...

wheneVer possible, giVe the names.

All right. Lights, please.

My card.

Yes, well...

What do I do now?

Yes, well, I'm not quite sure|what to do with you.

You see, eVeryone's written|a news article.

Maybe you could listen to the criticisms.

Couldn't I try writing one?

Well, no, that wouldn't be fair.

You haVen't had|the benefit of any discussions-

I read papers all the time.|It doesn't look so hard.

You're mistaken, Mr. Gallagher.

Good newspaper writing|is a highly specialised technique.

Let me take a whack at it.|You can't kill a fellow for trying.

All right.

Here are the salient facts|about a recent piece of news.

I would like you to write|250 words or so.

You can use that desk in the rear,|if you will.

- By the way, do you type?|- You know...

Well, there's no rush.

If you don't finish tonight, you can|always work on it oVer the weekend.

Fair enough.

I don't mean|to criticise because...

his story|was so much better than mine...

but don't you think the first part|is too long getting to the point?

Yes, that's right, Mr. Appino.

Do you understand, Mr. Cory?|Yes, I do.

Well, let's just sum it up by saying...

that the reader's interest|must always be captured...

as soon as possible in the lead.

Mr. Gallagher, I'm afraid you|misunderstood me. I said 250 words.

I said it all in 150. Is that bad?

- No, but-|- You know what they say:

"News writing is a literature in a hurry. "

- FiVe minutes?|- I'm not used to the machine.

Mr. Gallagher, you're not|taking this work Very seriously.

- You can't haVe giVen it much thought.|- Well, I did the best I could.

- Sit down, please.|- Yes, ma'am.

I think we'll read|Mr. Gallagher's article next.

I'm not sure I can read it|as fast as he wrote it, but...

"A trigger-happy teenager|bent on robbery...

"shot Jerome Heffner, 62,|at 5:30 p. m. yesterday...

"and left him bleeding to death|on the sidewalk...

"in front of his grocery store|at 286 East 110 Street.

"Within minutes after the shooting,|Rosario Salas, 17, was captured...

"in an alley behind the store|and brought to Heffner's side.

"'That's the one,' cried Heffner,|pointing at Salas.

"Heffner had been robbed twice before|in the past 18 months.

"'I just couldn't take it no more... '

"the dying grocer|told Sgt. Dan O'Rourke...

"of the Homicide Squad.

"'When this crazy kid waVes his gun|at me and says to giVe him my money...

"'I just threw the dollar bills|right in his face. '

"The young assailant|is the oldest of nine children...

"of widowed Mrs. Hermonita Salas,|623 Cerdo Street.

"He was held|for inVestigation of murder.

"'I didn't mean to hurt nobody,'|Salas told Sgt. O'Rourke...

"'but when he threw the money at me,|I don't know...

"'people been throwing things|in my face all my life.

"'I guess I couldn't take it no more. "'

I think Mr. Gallagher|deserves an apology.

I accused him of not being serious,|and I was wrong.

This is a remarkable first effort. In fact...

Mr. Gallagher has written|one of the best news articles...

I'Ve eVer had in my class.

This piece covers everything|that I've been talking about.

Not only does Mr. Gallagher answer|the what, when, where...

who, why, and how,|he puts them in such a sequence...

that a routine news item takes on|all of the impact...

of a short short story.

Now, let us look for a moment at how|Mr. Gallagher constructed his story.

In journalism,|there are two basic patterns...

I wish I could|write like that.

It had impact.|Excellent.

Without labelling it, you pointed up|the entire minority problem.

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