30 cranky bits of wisdom on craft of journalism

Twenty years ago, Poynter published a series of booklets on the mission and craft of journalism. One, a little red book titled “The Sayings of Chairman Mel,” honored the journalism aphorisms of Melvin Mencher, a legendary journalism professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. (If you don’t know why the book was red and its relationship to the title, please drop some acid and travel back to the 1960s.)
In his foreword to the original booklet, Poynter’s Christopher Scanlan wrote:
“Long after the last class, the best teachers continue to instruct. So it is with Melvin Mencher.
“I first heard many of the lessons set forth in this little book when Mr. Mencher was my teacher at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Twenty-three years later [make that 41 now], his words still echo in my head.”
And by osmosis, they echo in my head, too.
In a note to me, Mel recounted that he was asked what journalists need to do to prosper in the digital age. He quoted the great A.J. Liebling: “Climb the stairs. Knock on doors.”
Enjoy “The Sayings of Chairman Mel.”
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