And gobs of poetry, which we disdained even more, although it made our readers think we understood grace and beauty and patriotism. I was a prime mover against these pathetically slender grace notes. Readers adored Guest s sweet, encouraging verses. We filled the Post s columns with whatever interested us, then ranked these stories in the order of their ostensible importance. We called this news judgment.
Modern newsrooms struggle now with heartbreaking sincerity to get in touch with readers.
We poll our readers. We explore credibility restoration, but we fall short of knowing their minds. We have yet to find so small a thing as the moral equivalent of a daily chuckle. You would be correct if you asked me why I had not followed more of my own advice. We are at our worst when we forget, and scoff at our youthful innocence and the young and think that we were silly and naive once to care so much, so bravely and so heedlessly.