Th e Blue Riband of Fleet Street „I learn with rapture
that there exist in the world of ifu_urnalisin two well-tested and widely recognised " readability ,-'11nulas,', the product of many years of research. The Fleisch 1."..1?I'llaula evaluates the word-load by methods which differ sblightly from those on which the Gunning Index relies, but ?!.11 yard-sticks, when applied by Mr. Raymond Palmer, :Yritihm i.1 i the World's Press News, to seven national news- rvurrs, produced closely similar results'. Under the Gunning thee's, .1he palms for readability went to the Daily Express, with tvir tiorror orde second and the Sketch third; Fleisch altered this last (1) Mirror, (2) Sketch, (3) Express. Both put The Times Saving a:Position which it can, I feel, take a certain pride in s,,„leg retained throughout all the tests except " Number of its ables per 100 words "; here, challenging strongly, it got nose ahead of the Daily Telegraph, to which remnants of Victorian vogue for orotundity still sometimes seem to cling. CUM i--Nn
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