The art of the item 1

In the old days, newspapers were made of items, short pieces — 30 to 100 words.

Later, editors decided that newspapers should be made of stories, which were longer. Now some newspapers seem to be made of pieces labeled analysis that are, despite appearances, shorter than the Iliad.

In my years as an editor, it was obvious to me that most readers liked items while most editors liked analysis pieces. Some of the editors who were most enthusiastic about long pieces were baffled by the decline of newspaper readership. (I thought that a newspaper should contain short and long pieces.)

Items are now mainly of historical interest, like linotypes and California job trays.

Items came in different kinds.

A straight item was a brief report, with the five Ws covered: who, what, when, where, why. 

An item with a twist offered two things: the objective report, one we could all see and agree upon, and a review of the same incident featuring another aspect, examining the story from another point of view. It was the contrast — the personal view set against what we could all see — that was interesting. They appeared on the editorial page.