In a delightful piece for Slate magazine, Jack Shafer delves into the history of that enduring description of journalism as ‘the first draft of history’. Perhaps surprisingly, his search only takes him as far back as the 1940s, to an editorial in the Washington Post – and even later for the inclusion of the the word ‘rough’. He also wonders why the phrase has such power. ‘What makes “first rough draft of history” so tuneful, at least to the ears of journalists? Well, it flatters them. Journalists hope that one day a historian will uncover their dusty work and celebrate their genius. But that almost never happens.’