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Everyday Ethics: The Short Story ‘The Idiot’s Journalism Scheme’

John Kendrick Bangs’ story from the turn of the 20th century examines what matters more in the news: sensational tales or stories of real virtue.
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Everyday Ethics: The Short Story ‘The Idiot’s Journalism Scheme’
Newspapers are displayed at a newsstand in San Francisco on Oct. 26, 2009. Whatever the paper, readers can be sure that juicy stories abound. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Kate Vidimos
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Published as Chapter 6 in his book “The Idiot” (1895), John Kendrick Bangs’ short story “The Idiot’s Journalism Scheme,” shows how simple-minded people (as sometimes perceived by others) more aptly recognize the truth than others. For, in their simple thoughts, they grasp truth more readily than their critics.
A 1922 photograph of John Kendrick Bangs, writer and satirist. (Public Domain)
A 1922 photograph of John Kendrick Bangs, writer and satirist. Public Domain
Kate Vidimos
Kate Vidimos
Author
Kate Vidimos holds a bachelor's in English from the liberal arts college at the University of Dallas and is currently working on finishing and illustrating a children’s book.