Let that motto be branded in your memory the deepest of all. Interest
was the key to all news-writing, we found at the beginning, and
certainly its importance cannot be over-stated. But in the name of
interest the matter of ACCURACY FIRST should never be lost sight of.
A reporter whose work cannot be trusted in this matter will lose out
sooner or later, just as a newspaper itself which cannot be trusted
will lose caste. It may seem innocent enough here and there to touch
up a story just a little bit to enhance its interest. Some editors,
even, may insist upon your injecting a little of this venial spice.
But the feeling is growing more and more strong that a reporter should
be exactly what his name implies, one that reports. After all, the
people are trusting him as the basis on which will be built that thing
most important to a democracy, public opinion. If public information
is polluted here at its very source, there is danger of contagion and
disease throughout the nation. The finest newspaper men of this and
other lands are striving to make imperative throughout their sheets the
motto
_ACCURACY FIRST_.
Transcriber’s Note:
Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
this_. Obsolete spelling was not changed. Obvious printing errors,
such as missing letters or letters printed in the wrong order, were
corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences were added.