The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1922-03-15
PRESIDENT HARDINc's NEWSPAPER CODE.

In his instructions to the editorial staff Of the Marion Star
President Warren G. Harding sets forth the ethical basis on (which
he desires to have the paper conducted. as follows:
Remember there are two sides to every question. Get both.
BE truthful.
Get the facts. Mistakes are inevitable, but strive for ac-
curacy. would rather have one story exactly right than a hun
dred half wrong.
"Be decent. BE fair. Be generous.
"Boost-dont knock. There's good in everybody. Bring ont
the good in everybody, and never needlessy hurt the feelings OF
anybody.
in reporting a political gathering. get the facts; tell the story
as il is. not as you would like to havei it. ia rs
Treat all parties alike. II there's any politics to.be played.
we will play IT III our editorial columns, t44tf rs
Treat all religious matters revereptly. p
III il can possibly be avoided, never bring iguominy to an
innocent woman or child in telling OF the misdeeds or misfortunes
OF a relative. Don't wait to be asked, but do it without asking.
"And, above all, be clean. Never let a dirty word or sugges-
sve story go into type.
a want this paper so conducted that il can go into any home
without destroying The innocence OF any child"
In its own way, s%tubbing its toes and falling far short of its
ideals at times, the Daily Express, for many years, has sought to
put into practice the points which Mr.. Harding sets forth in the
foregoing code. How often we have failed is probably better
known to ourselves than TO our deaders. Editors and reporters,
no matter how conscientious and painstaking they NAV be. are as
prone to err as any other class of human beings. There is no
more difficult job than to get the facts; even in the court room,
for the judge and jurors to determine what the truth is. In the
nature of things, the reporter can be an actual witness to but few
Others tell it to him, and this presents constant possibilities for
error.
"f it can possibly be avoided, never bring ignominv to an
innocent woman or child in telling Of the misdeeds or misfortunes
of a relative" Herein is involved one of the most difficult and
delicate phases OF editorial duty, a point that arises nearly every
o"y' Nv ia" VIII d cdit waits W Dimg suffering o any III
nocent person but it frequently happens that news of vital public
interest cannot be told without having this unfortunate result.
The conscientious editor must decide each case as it arises, balanc-
ing public interests, editorial duty and private interests against
each other the best he can. The rule, IF it can possibly be
avoided" is the one which the Daily Express has always followed,
although it has doubtless erred frequently in its judgment.
above all, be clean" has always been one of the cardinal
points in the policy of this paper. Very often a STORY" which
has some news value and which would make a column or two in a
sheet which panders to depraved tastes is reduced to
a few lines in which the unclean element is reduced to a minimum.
This policy is practiced both in regard to local matters and also
with reference to news coming over the wires. The Express has
pr telegraph tolls on columns of filthy stuff coming over the
wires but never appearing in this paper. 1t was news but it was
not such news as should be told in the family circle and therefore
it was suppressed as far as one paper was concerned.
BE decent, be fair, be generous" we believe to be a sound
policy, which we have always sought to practice both in our news
columns and in our editorial comment. As far is is humanity pos
sbe, we aim to eliminate the element of personal bias or interests
IN both news and editorial matter, giving facts only and drawing
conclusions based upon them. This again, is not an easy task,
and we make no claim to %infallibiity; all we can do is to follow
our own best Judgment, cheerfully according to those who dis
agree with us the same privilege. asr~ I