Letters from the Editor

by Woo, William F.; Meyer, Philip

• ISBN13: 9780826217509
• ISBN10: 0826217508
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-17
• Publisher: Univ of Missouri Pr

Summary

Woo was the first person outside the Pulitzer family to edit theSt. Louis Post-Dispatchand the first Asian American to edit a major American newspaper. After forty years in the newsroom, Woo embarked on a second career teaching journalism at Stanford. This volume collects some of the best informal weekly essays he wrote to his students on their craftrs"s high purpose. Among the wide-ranging topics are reflections on journalism as a public trust and print journalism conducted in the face of broadcast and online competition. Also included are personal reflections on the Pulitzer familyrs"s impact on journalism, the tensions between a journalistrs"s personal and professional life, and the conflicts posed by political advocacy vs. free speech or a reporterrs"s expertise vs. a newspaperrs"s credibility. Woors"s essays come straight from a newsmanrs"s heart and soul to remind new students of journalism of values worth preserving.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
What Business Are We In?
Never Be Satisfied with Merely Printing the News	p. 7
My Old Secondhand Sweater	p. 14
A Personal Life and an Occupation	p. 18
A Journalist's Thanksgiving	p. 22
Our Journalism and Our Humanity	p. 26
The Great Purpose	p. 30
Who Owns a Newspaper?	p. 34
The Craft of Journalism
Stacking the Deck	p. 41
Writing for the Humble Heart	p. 44
Knowing Enough	p. 46
The People Watching in the Distance	p. 50
Simple Writing Is Not Easy Writing	p. 53
Choosing the Right Words	p. 57
The Use of Advance Copy: An Example	p. 61
Stay with Your Story	p. 67
We Dissect a Column	p. 71
Keeping Control	p. 75
The Importance of a Second Look	p. 79
Our Changing Popular Culture	p. 83
Attention to Detail	p. 86
The Uses of Introspection	p. 89
A Column Writer's Freedom	p. 93
The Parable of the Unhappy People	p. 97
Be Aware of Style	p. 102
Writing for the Ages	p. 106
Artists of Small Perfection	p. 110
The Obligation of Journalism
The Three Pulitzers and Their Ideals	p. 117
A Failure to Verify	p. 121
Read, Read, Read	p. 125
The Importance of Character	p. 129
Children and War	p. 132
A Case of Libel	p. 136
Independence from Government	p. 140
Serving the Public Trust	p. 144
To Travel Far, You Must Choose a Direction	p. 148
The Sin of Pride	p. 151
The Limits of Free Expression	p. 155
Ethical Journalism versus Journalism Ethics	p. 160
Avoiding Stereotypes	p. 164
Narrative Journalism and Its Risks	p. 168
Beware the Master Narrative	p. 172
Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy	p. 176
Reconciling Journalism and Humanity	p. 180
The Time Has Come	p. 184
Index	p. 189
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