America 1929: John F. Kennedy, the Great Writer

On the morning of November 1, The New York Daily News published a special statement on its front page.

The title, in the largest font size, reads: "Who is the Real Honest Person?"

The subheading reads: "Exclusive Investigation: Revealing the True Face of the 'Brooklyn Honest Man'"

The statement occupied two-thirds of the entire front page.

Recently, a columnist who calls himself "the honest man of Brooklyn" appeared in a tabloid called The New York Herald.

This person imitates the pen name and style of our newspaper's "Honest Man on Wall Street" in an attempt to confuse the public and deceive readers.

According to an in-depth investigation by our reporter, the so-called "Brooklyn Honest Man" is actually Arthur Kennedy, an assistant editor who once worked for our newspaper.

This person was dismissed by the newspaper last month due to their poor work attitude and repeated violations of newspaper regulations.

Even more shockingly, according to reliable sources, Kennedy had improper ties with gangs on the Brooklyn docks.

He frequented the dock area and maintained close ties with local gang members. Witnesses reported seeing Kennedy drinking with several notorious gang members in a dockside bar.

In addition, Kennedy also had an affair with Isabella Harrison, a daughter of the Harrison family. The New York Herald is owned by the Harrison family.

It is despicable for a penniless and despicable writer to gain the opportunity to publish his articles by attaching himself to women.

During his time working for this newspaper, Kennedy was warned for making false reports and fabricating news. His articles were filled with inflammatory remarks and baseless accusations.

Isn't it the biggest irony of the word "honesty" that such a person of questionable character and background dares to call himself an "honest man"?

This newspaper hereby solemnly declares: there is only one true "honest person," and that is our "honest person on Wall Street."

This person is a highly respected and experienced commentator with a prestigious reputation in the industry. His articles are objective, fair, and well-reasoned, earning the trust of readers.

We urge our readers to be discerning and not be deceived by imposters. Truly honest people do not hide behind false pseudonyms, do not collude with gangs, and certainly do not seek status by currying favor with women.

The New York Daily News will continue to uphold the principles of journalistic truthfulness, objectivity, and fairness, providing readers with the most reliable information.

We will continue to monitor this matter and will promptly release any further investigation results to our readers.

Below the statement was a blurry photo. The photo showed the back of a young man standing on the dock, seemingly talking to someone.

The photo caption reads: "A scene captured by our reporter of Arthur Kennedy meeting with dock gang members."

……

A restaurant in Manhattan was packed with people during lunchtime.

"Did you see today's *New York Daily News*?" a businessman in a suit asked. "That honest Brooklyn guy turns out to be a gangster!"

Another businessman chimed in, "I've had a feeling something was off for a while. How could an ordinary editor write such a sharp article? Someone must be behind it."

The third businessman said, "And have you noticed that all the articles he writes attack the city government? He never attacks the gangs, and he never mentions the docks. Isn't that suspicious?"

"That's right!" the first merchant exclaimed in realization.

"The gangs at the docks have been smuggling alcohol, and the city government wants to crack down on them. So they hired a writer to write articles specifically to smear the city government."

"That's a cunning move. But it's also quite clever."

"Will we still read his articles in the future?"

"Of course I'm not watching it. What's so interesting about gang propaganda?"

But a young man sitting in the corner heard the conversation and frowned.

He was a student at Columbia University, majoring in journalism.

He stood up and said, "Gentlemen, with all due respect, do you really believe what the New York Daily News is saying?"

Several businessmen turned to look at him: "Young man, what do you mean?"

"I mean, what evidence did the New York Daily News provide? They said Kennedy had ties to the mob, where's the evidence? Just a blurry photo?"

"You can't even see the face clearly in that photo, how can you prove that person is Kennedy?"

"Besides, even if Kennedy went to the docks, so what? The docks are public places, anyone can go there. Does going to the docks mean you're associated with the mob? There are also legitimate workers on the docks, just working for two or three dollars a day."

The businessmen looked at each other in bewilderment.

"But the New York Times is a big newspaper; they won't write nonsense," a businessman said.

"Don't big newspapers write nonsense?" the young man retorted.

"Have you forgotten? Just recently, many major newspapers were saying that the stock market would continue to rise, telling everyone to invest with confidence. And what happened? The stock market crashed."

That's because...

"That's because even big newspapers make mistakes and can be swayed by interests," the young man interrupted him.

"Think about it, the New York Daily News and City Hall have a very good relationship, that's an open secret. Now that honest people in Brooklyn are attacking City Hall, the New York Daily News is bound to retaliate. So they fabricated this gang story to smear Kennedy."

The businessmen fell silent.

The third businessman said, "Young man, you have a point. But how can you prove that the New York Daily News is lying?"

The young man said excitedly:

"I don't need to prove they're lying. The burden of proof is on them."

"If they're accusing Kennedy of having ties to gangsters, they should provide solid evidence. What kind of evidence is a blurry photo and a few 'reliable sources'?"

"And did you notice that the New York Daily's statement made very vague accusations against Kennedy?"

"He frequented the dock area," "had close ties with gang members," and "was said by witnesses." These are all vague statements, without specific times, places, or people involved.

"In journalism, this kind of writing is called 'suggestive defamation.' It doesn't directly say what you did, but uses hints to let the reader imagine it for themselves."

"And what's most ridiculous is that they say Kennedy had an 'inappropriate relationship with Miss Harrison.' What kind of logic is that? Just because a man and a woman have an affair, does that mean they had an inappropriate relationship? That he gained status by clinging to women?"

"This is not an insult to Kennedy, it is an insult to Miss Harrison, an insult to all women."

The businessmen were rendered speechless by his words and could only admit that their comments were incorrect.