Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125441
A SHORT COURSE IN JOURNALISM By Chuck Clayton If you suspect you have talent for Journalism. now is the time to find out. Cycl e News is growing fast , and we need correspondents all over the West. Writin g for Cycl e News is an important respons ibility. Our weekly publication s chedule requires factual. well-written . complet e reports to be gott en to the newspaper sometimes overnight and rushed int o print with out much time for rewriting. This is not as difficult as it may sound. but it does call for dedicated reporters. Besides the thrill of s eein g th eir work in print. we pay our contributors approximately 1¢ per word and $2.00 per photo. If you could stand to earn s ome ext ra money . reportin g news of interest to western motorcycl e enthus i as ts , read on. WHO , WHAT, WHEN , WHERE Cycl e News is what people are doin g with . or to motorcycl es. A newsworthy motorcycle "doing" may be a race. a trip. a convention of some sort, an unusually good modification to a cycle. or a report any of the events we list in our calendar. Every newspaper story has to answ er the "four W's of J ournalism, " Wh o did Wha When was it done . and Where? Before you write your fi rs t s entence t. ask. "What was the most int erestin g thin g about the e vent ?" This furnis hes your "lead". or opening statement. Yours lead shou ld answer all four W·s. In a conventional story, twelve local riders go on a trip to Yellowstone Park. When they return and someone asks "What happ ened?" Th e first thing e they say will be your lead: " W met a bear." So you sit down and write: Meeting a bear (what) In Yellowstone Natio nal Park (where) was !be highlight of a vac atio n tri p ta ken by twelve City residents (who) las t wee k. (when). After that you're free to elaborate on the trip. telling as much about it as you fe el our read ers would want to know. Typ e your report or print legibly. leaving plenty of space between the lines . and wide margins. If we don't buy it. we' ll at least mark it up for you . Since Cycle News is an illustrated news pape r. we prefe r to us e reports accompanied by photographs . Five- by-seven prints are standard. 8x10 's if the subj ect needs it . W c an process expos ed fil m. but we pay only $1 per e published photo in that case. Pi ctures should be id entified on the backs or on a separate sheet. and for goodness sake. only write on one s ide of the pap er ! Reports of races and other competitions should be accompanied by comple te result s , li sting first and last names . places. and brands. if applicable. When you hav e compiled the report . speed it off via Spec ial Deli very to Cycl e NEWS (we share a pos t office with a magazine hav ing a similar name). If yo u wish to have anything returned. enclose a stamped. addr ess ed envelope. 0 SHOWTIME ALMOST HERE If there is su ch a thin g as a "cycle seas on" in Californ ia (an al legation which this newspaper s till di s pute s) . it offi ci al ly opens around the firs t of May with the annual Cycl e World Motorcycl e Show at the Los Angel es Sport s Arena. Right up until s howti me the leadin g manufactur ers . dis tributors. dealers and publications in the Ameri can motorcycl e busine ss are working lik e elves to make a good show ing before the 100,000 ci tizens expected at the 4-day expos it ion. April 28 through May 1st, 1966. Trad e and enthus ias ts exhibits will be spotlighted on th e mezanine as °in the two shows previously. Many "dream bikes" are alr eady s chedule d to appear. Among the m will be featured the Batbike of TV's Batman serie s . a c uso Western Dis t rib uto r tomized Moto-Gu zzi V-8 (1) . the very latest importe d and domes tic rac ing machiner, and many more. SPECIAL BARGAIN In the is su e datelined Thursday . April 29, CYCLE NEWS will publish a complete guide to the s how with maps. pictur es. schedules of events.lIs ts·of exhibitors . and locati ons and othe r news of inte rest to showgoers , An extra 10.000 copies (more. if necessary) will be printed to . have on sale at the Sports Arena . Also . 'we will print 10,000 extra co pies of th e issue preceeding the s how. (April 22) to give away as s amples to s howgoe rs . Th e combined ci rculation of CYCLE NEWS those two weeks will top 40 ,000 copies . Tr adesmen alert for maximum publicity at minimum cost should note th at the re will be no inc rease in CYCLE NEWS ad rates for the two s how issues . Not for ane other ye ar will such an ad vertisin g program be available. W onl y requ es t that you contac t CYCLE NEWS at leas t one wee k before dat e of publication to reserve s pace in eit her or both of the two s how issues. De adline for the April 22nd " givea way " is su e is April 15th. and for the Speci al Show Guid e issu e. get in touch with CYCLE NEWS by April 22nd. DRAGshouldn't believe everything one reads in the papers, NEWS CHICKENS Apparently one Some papers anyway, particuli.ly a weekly periodical thai calls itself " D rag News", In its issue dated April 29, 1966, Drag News published a story claiming that one of its staff members, ostensibly male, won a trophy in a mini-bike drag race elimination at Irwindale Drag Strip, In closing, Drag News left its readers with the follOWing challenge, ...ote, " '" Anyone for a match race???" Unquote, Being of a somewhat competitive nalDre and ready to go along with a gag, we at Cycle News look up the gauntlet .d flung down our acceptance of the challenge via telephone. But Drag News merely cringed. They tried to deny their own boast, pleading it was all a gag, it never happened, etc, well ok, girls, if that's how it i s. What else is a gag in your paper? Perhaps is it all made up??? According to your dateline, none of it has happened yet, M indful of the lighthearted spirit behind its postdated challenge, C ycle News hereby challenges Drag News to a real , honest-to-goodness 1J4-m drag ile race with mini-bikes ." best 2-out-of-3 eliminations for money, marbles or mailing li sts. Drag News m choose any local strip for the contest. ay Lest we be accused of taking unfair advantage of your sex, Drag News, one of our daintiest female staff members will represent our side if you have to drag out one of the office girls to defend your honor. (To be continued) JOHNSON MOTORS 265 West Co lora do Street, Pasadena .Col iforn io 3