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Of course there are boob and bad reporters who bring in boob and bad items which are printed, and which make so many papers what they are. But there are more intelligent men who try to bring in intelligent items, only to see them changed into imbecile items, with the result that they may easily give up trying, and accustom themselves instead to the spirit of the office....

George Seldes#6

JournalismMediaEditingFrustrationQualityWorkplace

About this quote

What does it mean?
Even intelligent reporters often fail because editors change their good stories into bad ones, leading them to give up.
In plain terms
Smart reporters see their work ruined by editors and eventually stop trying to do good journalism.
What can you take from it?
Editorial interference can demoralize reporters and lower overall news quality.

Where it applies

  • working in newsrooms
  • dealing with editorial changes
  • assessing media quality

Putting it to work

  • advocate for editorial independence
  • recognize signs of media decline
  • support quality journalism

Questions to consider

  • Why do good reporters quit?
  • Who decides what news gets published?

Another view

Some reporters may adapt rather than give up entirely.

More from George Seldes

  1. Forbidden to write anything critical of the Fascist regime, they could only report what the hierarchy wanted them to report. The clever and honest American and…

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  2. We scent the air of the office. We realize that certain things are wanted, certain things unwanted. There is an atmosphere favorable to Fascism. We find that o…

    Permalink to quote #7
  3. One of the biggest pieces of bunkum shoved down the American throat was the story of the 1929 Italian election. For this I cannot blame my colleagues.

    Permalink to quote #4

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