A few weeks ago, I wrote a column that drew on a Mark Twain short story about journalism turning observations into slanderous diatribes. Now, with spring in the air, I return to the peerless American humorist for another yarn, "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper." It's a superb instance of 19th century media criticism that remains as contemporary as the tendency of numerous well-paid journalists to talk through their hat at the drop of one.

"I did not take temporary edit ...

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