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Another Brick In The Wall

 

Another Brick In The Wall

This week the Washington Post made significant and lamentable cuts to its staff of journalists. The Washington Post, whose byline is “Democracy Dies In Darkness”, had at its foundation seven guiding principles upon which the newspaper’s reporting was based. In his “An Elegy for My Washington Post”, Carlos Lozada (NYT, 260206) referenced these principles, penned by Eugene Meyer in 1935. It’s worth reminding ourselves of what has been lost from these egregious cuts:

The mission of The Washington Post is defined in a set of principles written by Eugene Meyer, who bought the newspaper in 1933. Today, they are displayed in brass linotype letters in an entrance to the newsroom. (His gender references have been supplanted by our policy of inclusion, but the values remain.)

The Seven Principles for the Conduct of a Newspaper

  • The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained.

  • The newspaper shall tell ALL the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world.

  • As a disseminator of the news, the paper shall observe the decencies that are obligatory upon a private gentleman.

  • What it prints shall be fit reading for the young as well as for the old.

  • The newspaper’s duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners.

  • In the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such course be necessary for the public good.

  • The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men.

Eugene Meyer, March 5, 1935

Mr. Bezos it’s high time you sold WAPO and made way for someone who will nurture and grow this vital resource of facts and truths.

Yet another brick in the wall…

“Waiting For The Worms” from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”:

Waiting For The Worms

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