Journalism Motto: A dog bites a man - that's a story; A man bites a dog - that's a good story (1899)

[Garson O'Toole]

Barry Popik's invaluable website has an entry from 2005 for a famous
saying about journalism. He found a great 1902 citation.

28 December 1902, Decatur (IL) Daily Review, pg. 7, col. 4:
In the city editor's instructions to the news reporter he said: "If a
man bites a dog it's news, if a dog bites a man it isn't."

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/man_bites_dog/

The Yale Book of Quotations has this 1902 citation and also includes a
1917 attribution for Charles A. Dana.

The OED has an entry for man-bites-dog that lists a 1918 attribution
of a version of the saying to newspaper editor John Bogart.

Oxford Dictionary of Quotations provides a 1917 attribution for
Charles A. Dana, and states "earlier sources do not attribute to a
specific individual."

The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations lists a 1918 attribution
for John Bogart.

Here is a citation in 1899 that uses different phrasing. The "dog
bites a man" tale is not dismissed as non-news. Indeed, "a dog bites
man" is "a story." But it is clearly inferior to "a man bites a dog"
which is labeled a "good story."

(Charles Doyle may have already found this when he was searching for
the upcoming Yale Book of Modern Proverbs; unless the 1899 date knocks
it out of the book.)

Cite: 1899, The Stolen Story and Other Newspaper Stories by Jesse
Lynch Williams, The Old Reporter, Start Page 215, Quote Page 223,
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. (Google Books full view)

"No wonder he can make anybody talk about everything," thought the new
reporters, while the old one went on in his rapid style, "You'll soon
assimilate the idea. Now, for instance, 'A dog bites a man' - that's a
story; 'A man bites a dog' - that's a good story," etc., ...


Here is a bonus citation: In 1852 a text called "The Popular Educator"
contained a section under the category "Lessons in Latin." Sentences
were analyzed into the parts: SUBJECT and PREDICATE. The PREDICATE was
further split into COPULA and OBJECT. Two sentences in English were
examined in succession:

Cite: 1852, The Popular Educator: Volume The First, Page 55, John
Cassell, London. (Google Books full view)

Revert now to the simple sentence,
  The dog bit a man
and turn the sentence, thus:
  The man bit a dog

http://books.google.com/books?id=JjACAAAAQAAJ&q=%22man+bit%22#v=snippet&

Garson

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