Ben Bradlee, the former Washington Post editor who guided his newspaper through the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers affair, was asked by PBS anchor Jim Lehrer whether papers facing sales decline should re-examine what they're doing.
Bradlee: Boy, that's Topic A. Every paper you go to, they've just had a meeting, and they're discussing what to do about falling circulation. And there's one word that's the answer.
Lehrer: What is it?
Bradlee: Stories.
Lehrer: Stories?
Bradlee: Good stories.
Lehrer: So when you say "stories," what stories are they not doing, kinds of stories...
Bradlee: I mean, they're just well-written stories, some story that makes you, you know, say, "I'll be damned. That's a good story."
Lehrer: Yes, "I didn't know that."
Bradlee: Yes, "I didn't know that," or, "That's beautifully written," or, "I feel really better for having read that," or, "That really piqued my curiosity." (Via NewsHour with Jim Lehrer | Media Coverage | PBS)
