To the Editor:
As a historian of revolutionary France with a background in journalism, I appreciated reading “Townhouse Notes: Editorial Oversight” (April 2023). I also have worked as an editor for many years, and I share your concern about the lack of “critical oversight” in many of today’s publications. Editors may indeed be “invisible,” but the lack of their oversight remains only too obvious.
Edward Muir’s timely article “Journalists and Historians” also called attention to the problems faced in both professions today. Personally, I found that my earlier training in journalism, especially concerning the necessity of checking one’s sources and writing clearly, proved beneficial when I began my doctoral studies in history.
Thank you for the timely treatment of two of the most important professions in our nation today.
Bette W. Oliver
Independent Scholar
Tags: Letters to the Editor
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