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-30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, via telegraphy, teletype, electronic transmission, or paper copy, as a necessary way to indicate the end of the article. It is also found at the end of press releases. There are many theories as to how the usage came into being, and why it is found in North America but not in other Anglophone nations. One theory is that the journalistic employment of -30- originated from the number's use during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 â€“ May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
era in the
92 Code A wire signal is a brevity code used by telegraphers to save time and cost when sending long messages. The most well-known of these was the 92 Code adopted by Western Union in 1859. The reason for this adoption was to reduce bandwidth (signal proce ...
of telegraphic shorthand, where it signified the end of a transmission and that it found further favor when it was included in the Phillips Code of abbreviations and short markings for common use that was developed by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
wire service. Telegraph operators familiar with numeric
wire signal A wire signal is a brevity code used by telegraphers to save time and cost when sending long messages. The most well-known of these was the 92 Code adopted by Western Union in 1859. The reason for this adoption was to reduce bandwidth usage over th ...
s such as the 92 Code used these
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
codes to provide
logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
instructions and train orders, and they adapted them to notate an article's priority or confirm its transmission and receipt. This
metadata Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
would occasionally appear in print when typesetters included the codes in newspapers, especially the code for "No morethe end", which was presented as "- 30 -" on a
typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...
. A poignant example appeared in a sketch by famed
WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
cartoonist
Bill Mauldin William Henry Mauldin (; October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the ...
who, in paying tribute to equally famed WWII battle correspondent Ernie Pyle just killed in action in the Pacific War by a Japanese machine gunner, simply drew an old-style correspondent's typewriter with a half-rolled sheet of paper that showed simply "Ernie Pyle -30- ". This raises the question of why the number 30 was chosen by 19th century telegraphers to represent "the end". Folk etymology has it that it may have been a joking reference to the Biblical Book of John 19:30, which, in the popular
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
, appears as: "30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."


In popular culture

* The 1952 film '' Park Row'', about the birth of the ''
New York Globe ''The New York Globe'', also called ''The New York Evening Globe'', was a daily New York City newspaper published from 1904 to 1923, when it was bought and merged into ''The New York Sun''. It is not related to a New York City-based Saturday fami ...
'' in 1886, ends with the word "THIRTY" displayed instead of "THE END". * ''
-30- -30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, v ...
'' is a 1959 motion picture about work in a Los Angeles newspaper directed by, produced by, and starring
Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 â€“ December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...
. * In several ''Superman'' stories from various titles, failure by a '' Daily Planet'' employee to use this signature proved to be a plot point revealing a character's impersonation, mind control, etc. * " 30" is an episode of the television series ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 20 ...
'' about a poisoned reporter. * "
-30- -30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, v ...
" is the series finale of the television series '' The Wire'' (2002–2008), capping a season concerning the media and ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
''. * In
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, a journalism magazine published by the is called , the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
word for thirty. *The Fourth Estate, a journalism cooperative. uses "-30-" to indicate the end of the terms of service and other policies on the organization's newshub.


See also

* Tombstone (typography) * End-of-file * End-of-transmission character * ###


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:-30- Typesetting Journalism terminology