In this era where millennials think everything they do needs to be captured for posterity, where the proliferation of fake news seems to crowd out legitimate reporting, we need to celebrate those people and organizations that systemically, diligently, studiously (there are probably 20 more “ly” relevant adverbs) apply themselves to their profession and turn out world-class content. In the world of academic editing, I can think of no  other organization than the Mark Twain Project Online (www.marktwainproject.org). Led for years by Robert Hirst, they are singularly focused on the writings, letters, and life of Mark Twain (IMHO America’s greatest writer).

Their most recent accomplishment was the publishing of Twain’s autobiography. This 3 volume work could keep a Twain-fan happy for years. The life, the content, the scholarship – all our worth our time, deserve our time….probably a bit more than your 3rd cousin’s Facebook page.

The challenge for many of us going forward is to find ways to weed out so much of the nonsense and dubious information that’s out on the web so we can get to the legitimate and vetted truth. This means supporting news organizations and entities that employ people with the appropriate backgrounds who spend their days working to get things right, not working to get things done quickly at the expense of the truth. The Mark Twain Project Online has such people. It deserves to be recognized and supported.