Keep it easy. No one likes to be confused.
Keep everything short, sweet, and to the point. Don’t make it pretty. Everything doesn’t always need an explanation. On the first page it says: “News writing should be clear, concise, accurate, and interesting.” I learned a lot from this reading and was reminded of a lot of things I had forgotten as well. “Writing is the art of second thought.” You put everything down, but it isn’t perfect. So then you go through it again to make it perfect. Editing the piece by finding the perfect balance of words, going big and fancy isn’t always necessary. Everything doesn’t need to be decorated; things can stay as they are.
“Simplify. Avoid clutter. Prune. Think twice.”
Most people consider news writing to be dry and boring, and they’re right. But it doesn’t have to be. Cappon borrows heavily from Strunk & White and their advice for lively writing. I like the word elegant. To be elegant doesn’t mean to be fancy; it means to be lean and simple. Clear and direct. Functional.