newspapers had a morbid dread of being readable. They have lost that dread
now, and those which have lost it most completely, most completely
succeed. As with the dailies, so with every other sort of paper. The aim
is to be inclusive, satisfying the public curiosity and at the same time
whetting it; for the more the public knows, the more it wants to know. And
it refuses any longer to make a task of newspaper-reading. It demands that
it shall be amused while it is instructed, like a child at a kindergarten.

To make sure that you are availing yourself of the immense possibilities
for copy which this extraordinary inquisitiveness on the part of the
public has fortunately created, you must cultivate an attitude of mind
which is constantly asking the question:--

"Is there copy here?"

This attitude may and must be cultivated to such an extent that instead of
vainly searching for subjects, you are at a loss to choose among the
multitude of ideas for articles which suggest themselves at every turn of
existence.

I will illustrate what I mean.

In the first place, it is necessary to remember that articles are divided
into two classes--those which are not topical and those which are. Daily
papers subsist almost exclusively upon the latter; other papers require
both.

We will take the non-topical articles first. These, since they do not
spring naturally from passing events, must be suggested by the occurrences
of one's everyday life. Thus:--