For budding young journalists, you only need re-read what Lord Beaverbrook told his grandchild, the recently deceased Jeanne Campbell, soon after he sent her to New York to work for the Evening Standard.
She apparently wasn’t doing very well as a reporter and so he gave her this advice: “Emphasise human interest. Put the best strawberry on top of the basket. Write short sentences. Cut, cut, cut. Always interview people face to face. Never rewrite from another newspaper. Keep widening your circle of acquaintances ‒ even if it means accepting the invitations of bores. Use your feet.â€
Let’s hope any young things out there will bear these views in mind ‒ even today!
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