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Joseph Pulitzer's instructions on how to best edit a newspaper, as delivered to a new managing editor circa 1910, according to W.A. Swanberg's biography, "Pulitzer."
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1st. What is original, distinctive, dramatic, romantic, thrilling, | |
unique, curious, quaint, humorous, odd, apt to be talked about, without | |
shocking good taste or lowering the general tone, good tone, and above | |
all without impairing the confidence of the people in the truth of the | |
stories or the character of the paper for reliability and scrupulous cleanness. | |
2nd. What is the one distinctive feature, fight, crusade, public service | |
or big exclusive? No paper can be great, in my opinion, if it depends simply | |
upon the hand-to-mouth idea, news coming anyhow. One big distinctive feature | |
every day at least. One striking feature each issue should contain, prepared | |
before, not left to chance. | |
3rd. Generally speaking, always remember the difference between a paper made | |
for the million, for the masses, and a paper made for the classes. In using | |
the word masses I do not exclude anybody. I should make a paper that the judges | |
of the Supreme Court of the United States would read with enjoyment, but I | |
would not make a paper that only the judges of the Supreme Court and their | |
class would read. I would make this paper without lowering the tone in | |
the slightest degree. | |
4th. Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Also terseness, intelligent, not | |
stupid, condensation. No picture or illustration unless it is first | |
class both in idea and execution ... |
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