The 121-year-old motto, which appears on the upper left corner of the New York Times masthead, is in fact a world journalism standard. It is not always clear, however, exactly what the phrase “that’s fit print” means, nor whether the New York Times always practises what it preaches. SENSATIONAL COMPETITORSThe New York Times first used the slogan “All the news that’s fit to print” on August 18, 1896, to differentiate the newspaper from its more sensational competitors. He warned against the use of unnamed sources by the NMG, citing a story, “Nasa gives in to pressure over election petition case” (August 18). An unnamed ‘source’ is, however, cloaked behind anonymity, and this leaves the casual reader without a default assessment of the credibility to attach to the statements,” he said.

Source: Daily Nation August 24, 2017 19:41 UTC