Through a series of fortunate hyperlinks, I recently stumbled across aphorisms on journalism by John Bennet, former New Yorker editor and professor in magazine writing at Columbia Journalism School. In a brief 2022 obit on the Columbia j-school site, Betsy Morais, editor in chief of the Columbia Journalism Review, wrote that Bennet “often spoke in aphorisms.” Those aphorisms are funny, wise, and profane — just like the best newsrooms.

Put the best shit at the end, the second-best shit at the beginning, and all the other shit in between.

The best journalists always overreport.

Don’t rob the reader of feeling emotions by reacting for them (“I started to cry”).

A writer is a guy in the hospital wearing one of those gowns that’s open in the back. An editor is walking behind, making sure that nobody can see his ass.