Ode to the Newspaperman
People lament the quality of "the media" these days -- as if it has gone downhill lately. (Well, it has, certainly! But stay with me here.) Reporters have long been held in disrespect, so much so that this was written by a journalist (or, as he called himself, a "newspaperman") in 1924:
| What makes a good newspaperman? The answer is easy. He knows everything. He is aware not only of what goes on in the world today, but his brain is a repository of the accumulated wisdom of the ages. He is not only handsome, but he has the physical strength which enables him to perform great feats of energy. He can go for nights on end without sleep.
He dresses well and talks with charm. Men admire him; women adore him; tycoons and statesmen are willing to share their secrets with him. He hates lies and meanness and sham, but he keeps his temper. He is loyal to his paper and to what he looks upon as the profession; whether it is a profession, or merely a craft, he resents attempts to debase it. When he dies, a lot of people are sorry, and some of them remember him for several days. —Stanley Walker |
Yep: still true.
Posted November 30, 2011 8:00 AM
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