The requirement that news be printed at the earliest possible moment teaches newspaper workers to collect facts and opinions quickly and to write them up rapidly under pressure.  Newspaper work also develops a writer’s appreciation of what constitutes news and what determines news values; that is, it helps him to recognize at once, not only what interests the average reader, but how much it interests him.  Then, too, in the course of his round of news gathering a reporter sees more of human life under a variety of circumstances than do workers in any other occupation.  Such experience not only supplies him with an abundance of material, but gives him a better understanding and a more sympathetic appreciation of the life of all classes.

To get the most out of his reporting, a writer must guard against two dangers.  One is the temptation to be satisfied with superficial work hastily done.  The necessity of writing rapidly under pressure and of constantly handling similar material, encourages neglect of the niceties of structure and of style.  In the rush of rapid writing, the importance of care in the choice of words and in the arrangement of phrases and clauses is easily forgotten.  Even though well-edited newspapers insist on the highest possible degree of accuracy in presenting news, the exigencies of newspaper publishing often make it impossible to verify facts or to attain absolute accuracy.  Consequently a reporter may drop into the habit of being satisfied with less thorough methods of collecting and presenting his material than are demanded by the higher standards of magazine writing.

The second danger is that he may unconsciously permit a more or less cynical attitude to replace the healthy, optimistic outlook with which he began his work.  With the seamy side of life constantly before him, he may find that his faith in human nature is being undermined.  If, however, he loses his idealism, he cannot hope to give his articles that sincerity, hopefulness, and constructive spirit demanded by the average reader, who, on the whole, retains his belief that truth and righteousness prevail.

Of the relation of newspaper reporting to the writing of magazine articles and to magazine editing, Mr. Howard Wheeler, editor of Everybody’s Magazine, has said: 

It is the trained newspaper men that the big periodical publishers are reaching out for.  The man who has been through the newspaper mill seems to have a distinct edge on the man who enters the field without any newspaper training.

    The nose for news, the ability to select and play up leads, the feel
    of what is of immediate public interest is just as important in
    magazine work as in newspaper work.

    Fundamentally the purpose of a magazine article is the same as the
    purpose of a newspaper story—­to tell a tale, to tell it directly,
    convincingly, and interestingly.

Practical experience in the field of his specialty is of advantage in familiarizing a writer with the actual conditions about which he is preparing himself to write.  To engage for some time in farming, railroading, household management, or any other occupation, equips a person to write more intelligently about it.  Such practical experience either supplements college training in a special field, or serves as the best substitute for such specialized education.