Wise Man's Words

In this morning's editorial in the Times: "Newspapering is not a philosophy, it is a way of spending a lifetime," Abe Rosenthal concluded when his time running this newspaper ended. He added, "If you don't have a sensation of apprehension when you set out to find a story and a swagger when you to sit down to write it, you are in the wrong business."

And, from the New York Sun: He once addressed a group of us summer interns about his journalism. There was nary a reference to his Pulitzer Prize, nor to the many dozens of exotic places with mellifluous names whence he'd filed prose that usually read like poetry.

Instead, Abe spoke to us about technical stuff - the importance of taking detailed notes, of noting the local flora and fauna, of jotting down people's appearances, what they wore and how they wore it. He spoke to us about the craft of journalism, about accuracy and fairness and scrupulousness. He spoke to us about being always truthful.