[GreenKeys] Historic question for the group- Bell Ringer- second this!

[Doug Alderdice]

 From the UPI 1967 Stylebook:

- - - - - - - - - -
FLASH -- Dateline, dash, no date or logotype, limited to one or two 
lines depending upon whether it appears on a TTY or TTS monitor. 
Originating bureau comes onto wire immediately to send.  Used seldom and 
only on the biggest news.

     DALLAS - PRESIDENT KENNEDY DEAD
                       JT104PCS

The flash must be followed immediately by a publishable bulletin 
expanding the story.
- - - - - - - - - -

Note that a flash is supposed to be one or two *lines* rather than three 
*words*.


73,

Doug, KA2WFT



On 4/10/2017 1:23 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
>     Quite some time ago I read a revue of Merriman Smith's report on
> Kennedy's assassination.  In that it stated that the first report was a
> flash with ten bells (United Press practice). There was a problem
> because someone else began transmitting on the line and had to be shut
> up. So, probably the ten bells were repeated.
>     One version is at:
> http://wgno.com/2013/11/22/kennedy-dead-the-man-who-wrote-the-breaking-news-report/
>
>    This one says the first report was a bulletin with five bells.
>    But, see
> http://www.upi.com/Eyewitness-account-of-John-F-Kennedy-assassination/51291385108100/
>
>    Which shows the actual flash. A flash was supposed to be no more than
> three words.
>    Some discussion of the number of bells is included in
> http://jeff560.tripod.com/upi.html
>
> This states that ten bells were a flash, five for a bulletin, four for
> urgent, three for an advisory.
>     I believe AP practice was to use twelve bells for a flash.
>     Both AP and UP had style books which might have this information. I
> have them but can't find them at the moment.