James McGrath Morris

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James McGrath Morris reviews a chronicle of Jacob Riis's rise from poor immigrant to famous muckraker.

Poverty of the Imagination

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Today, as newspapers are shuttered and reporters panhandle for work, it's worth remembering Joseph Pulitzer, whose taste for sensationalism and sense of public service midwifed American journalism into the modern era. 

Pulitzer's World

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The trick is to know which novelty to embrace because it’s genuinely useful, and which to consign to a dust heap of wan or dangerous diversions.