newspaper's news stories were not based on facts, but "were determined by the hopes of the men who made up the news organisations." The newspaper referred to events that had not taken place, atrocities that did not exist, and reported no fewer than 91 times that the Bolshevik regime was on the verge of collapse. Lippmann's biographer Ronald Steel sums it up: "The news about Russia is an example of what people wanted to see, not what happened," Lippmann and Merz noted critically. "The main censor and the main propagandist was the hope and fear in the minds of reporters and editors." Journalistic standards Lippmann and Merz see the cause of the deficiencies in failing to meet journalistic standards. The analysis shows, according to the authors in the final chapter, how seriously misguided the Times was in relying on official sources of information. It is clear that an independent press cannot treat factual claims by governments and governmental circles, as well as by leaders of political movements, as factual judgements. This points to opinions that are guided by a particular purpose, that they are not reliable news. (...) Measured by high journalistic standards, a minister's statement on a matter of vital importance is a call for independent investigation. It is even more misleading to rely on semi-official anonymous statements instead of official communications. Journalists should not have too close ties to politics. (see p. 41) Not even a newspaper like the Times could meet the need for suitable correspondents. In extraordinary times, one needs extraordinary correspondents. Reporting is one of the most difficult professions, requiring expert knowledge and serious training. (see p. 42) In critical times the separation of editorials and news breaks down. The Russian policy of the editors had influenced the news deeply and in a blatant way. The text design of the news in terms of emphasis and captions was clearly determined by standards other than professional ones. This fact is seen as so obvious by the authors, so striking the influence of the editors' bias, that "serious reform is needed until the code that was violated can be restored". (p. 42) Solutions Lippmann and Merz do not see the solution in a legal regulation of the press, but rather in the orientation towards a professional ethos which is reinforced by readers not by writing letters to the editor, but rather by speaking "through organizations which will