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Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy

Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy noun: an epigram or bon mot: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for that rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge.".

Noun

Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy

  1. An epigram or bon mot: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for that rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge."
    • "I can personally attest," Mr. Smith said, "to the accuracy of what is called Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy: 'Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge.'"1982 January 25, Stuart Taylor Jr., quoting William French Smith, “Bar Urged to Join Fight on Politics in the Courts”, in The New York Times, volume CXXXI, number 45205, New York, N.Y.: The New York...

Origin of Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy

Coined by Attorney General of the United States William French Smith in 1982 (see quotation below), named after American journalist Erwin Knoll.

Questions about Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy

What does Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy mean?
Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy means an epigram or bon mot: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for that rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge.".
What part of speech is Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy?
Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy is a noun.

Words near Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy in the dictionary

  1. knolege
  2. knoleige
  3. Knoles
  4. Knoleses
  5. knoll
  6. Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy
  7. knolled
  8. knollenorgan
  9. knollenorgans
  10. knoller
  11. knollers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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