1960: Asking Rude Questions
By
Harry S. Ashmore
[This article originally appeared in the September 1960 issue of Nieman Reports.]
…I remember going over to the President’s house.… And he said, “You know it’s only three years—you’re the third class [of Niemans]. But I think maybe you people are doing a great service to Harvard.” This shocked us because we didn’t think we were. I said “Well Mr. President, what are we doing?” “Well,” he said, “you are running around this campus asking rude questions. Many members of this faculty haven’t had a rude question asked in 25 years, and I think it’s very good for Harvard University.”…
