| Show UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION President James Madison said To the press alone checkered as it is with abuses the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been obtained by reason and humanity over error and oppression Asserted still another president Franklin Roosevelt 1933-1945 Freedom of conscience of education of speech of assembly are among the very foundations of democracy and all of them would be nullified should freedom of the press ever be successfully challenged Abraham Lincoln our nationpresident from 1861 to 1865 put it in these terms Let the people know the facts and the country will be safe It wastypically brief statement byman known for not wasting words Not for its own sake alone but for the sake of society and good government the press should be free Publicity is the strong bond which unites the people and their government Authority should do no act that will not bear the light So spoke James Garfield whose presidential term was ended by assassination in 1881 after only six months in office In another era the designation -30would almost always be placed at the conclusion ofparticular news report It seldom if ever used in journalism today but intime gone by signified the end of the story to which it was appended Interestingly no one knows with certainty where -30originated Which may begood reason for offeringchoice of no less than 18 different versions of its roots In the days before typewriters XXX Roman numerals for 30 on manuscript copy indicated the end of the story Thirty pica ems was the maximum length line used in early typesetting machines Thus 30 was the end ofline Eighty means farewell in Bengali An English officer used the figures at the end ofletter to the East India Company in 1785 Adopting the figures for brevity in dealing the company mistakenly made them 30 rather than 80 The first message sent to the central press office during the Civil War totalled 30 words The thirty together with the words good night were placed at the bottom of the sheet by the telegrapher 414 Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
