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

[Richard Knoppow]

     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.
-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL