"As city editor of the New York Herald Tribune, Stanley Walker earned a reputation as one of New York's most astute and resourceful newspaper men. In City Editor, he distills his experiences into a robust insider's account of the journalism of his day, taking on the issue confronting journalists of both his own era and ours: journalistic ethics, the value of journalism schools, freedom of the press, and corporate influence on editorial content.

Walker describes the challenges and pleasures of covering New York City ("it affords the newspaper man an ever-changing spectacle"), balances the threat of libel with the need to get a good story ("A paper which doesn't take chances is a dead paper"), and offers candid advice on good newspaper writing ("Pick adjectives as you would a diamond or a mistress ... too many are dangerous").

More than six decades after its first publication, City Editor remains a lively, entertaining, and valuable record of the golden age of American journalism."--BOOK JACKET.