NOTE: Writer, poet and alert WORDster Andrew Merton reports from New Hampshire, where he’s been reading Jill Lepore’s “These Truths: A History of the United States.” He writes, “Time Magazine was founded in 1923. Shortly thereafter, the editors invented the profession of fact-checking, for which they hired, mostly, young women just out of college. They published a fact-checker’s manual, which advised:”
“The most important thing to remember in checking is that the writer is your natural enemy. He is trying to see how much he can get away with. Remember that when people write letters about mistakes, it is you who will be screeched at. So protect yourself.”
—TIME magazine manual for fact-checkers, ~1923, in Jill Lepore, These Truths: A History of the United States, 2018 (p. 413) Image: Desk Set, 1957. (Thanks to alert WORDster Andrew Merton)
• Editorial Comment: Can’t be too careful. The writer's natural enemy, the editor, must’ve written that.
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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
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