able to betray the trust of his friends;
but such a single scoop is worth nothing in comparison with the
continued confidence of one's friends and their later prejudiced
assistance. Personal and professional integrity is a newspaper man's
first principle.

VII. GETTING THE STORY

=60. Starting for a Story.=--In the preceding chapter attention was
directed to news sources, to definite places for obtaining news. The
reporter's situation changes radically, however, when he is sent for a
story and is told merely that somebody at Grove and Spring streets has
been shot. There are four corners at Grove and Spring streets, and the
shooting may have occurred, not on the corner, but at the second or
third house from any one of the four corners, and maybe in a rear
apartment. On such an assignment one should have on hand cards and
plenty of paper and pencils. Every reporter should keep several sharp,
soft lead pencils. Folded copy paper is sufficient for note-taking. The
stage journalist appears always with conspicuous pencil and notebook,
but the practical newspaper man displays these insignia of his
profession as little as possible. A neat, engraved business card is
necessary because often it is the only means of admittance to a house.

=61. Use of the Telephone.=--If the name of the person shot at Spring
and Grove streets has been given him, the reporter may look it up in the
telephone and city directories, in order to get some idea of the man and
his profession. If the house has a telephone, the reporter may sometimes
use this means of getting information, but this step generally is not
advisable, as the telephone cannot be trusted on important stories. A
person can ring off too easily if he prefers not to answer questions,
and his gestures and facial expressions, emphasizing or denying the
statements that his lips make, cannot be seen. The telephone is rather
to be used for running down rumors and tips, for obtaining unimportant
interviews, and for getting stories which the persons concerned wish to
have appear in the paper. If in this case the reporter has doubts about
the shooting, he may telephone to a nearby bakery or meat market to
verify the rumor, but he had better not telephone the house. Let him go
there in person.

=62. City Maps.=--If the reporter does not know the name of the
individual shot or the location of Grove and Spring streets, he should
consult his city map to learn precisely where he is going. If h