A. Banner

     Oswald Garrison Villard, 1872–1949, was the editor-owner of The Nation, an outstanding liberal political weekly, until 1932. In a commentary on journalism, he wrote:

     It must ask last of all what were the returns of the counting room but must first inquire what ideals a given journal upheld, what moral aims it pursued, what national and international policies it championed, what was the spirit of fair play and justice which activated it, and above all on whose side and under whose banner it fought.

     Select a newspaper or magazine you read regularly and use Villard's tests. What do you conclude?

B. Murders

     Here are the five states with the highest and lowest murder rates of a recent year. Your editor wants you to write a feature article explaining the reasons for the differences.

High
Louisiana	12.7
Maryland	9.4
New Mexico	8.9
Mississippi	7.8
Nevada	7.4
Low
North Dakota	1.4
New Hampshire	1.4
Maine	1.4
Iowa	1.6
Utah	1.9

     The highest rate is nine times the lowest rate. Generally, the differences between the highest and lowest rates are four and five times greater. How would you go about gathering material for your feature?