Toe Tag Diary
An old reporter's lament...
When Bylines Were Bestowed
It was considered very bad form for a reporter to put his own byline atop his copy before handing it to an editor half century ago.
Or at least that’s how it was back when I broke into the newspaper game in 1960.
Bylines, I was told, were “earned” -- as recognition of a writer’s exceptional work.
Period!
But all that began to change with the advent of Watergate—when yesterday’s reporter was somehow transubstantiated into today’s professional journalist.
Anyhow…
Now it’s common to see a journalist’s byline atop three mundane inches of re-written type.
Sic transit meritocracy!
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