in journalism

The Washington Post’s new slogan

The Washington Post’s new slogan is “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” It’s fitting, punchy, and alliterative. And it could’ve been so much worse.

In an article in their style section, Paul Farhi reveals some of the rejected options:

The group brainstormed more than 500 would-be slogans. The choices ranged from the heroic (“Dauntless Defenders of the Truth”) to the clunky (“American democracy lives down the street. No one keeps closer watch.”) to the Zen-like (“Yes. Know.”).

The group ultimately ended up where it started — with “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

Note: apparently coming up with a new slogan is now a good way to generate a lot of media coverage (including one’s own).