"The difference between burlesque and the newspapers is that the former never pretended to be performing a public service by exposure"

I. F. Stone draws a sharp contrast between burlesque and newspapers, engaging the reader with irony and social critique. Burlesque, in its historical context, is a form of entertainment known for parody, satire, and often risqué performance. Its intent is transparent: to amuse, to entertain, and occasionally to lampoon social norms without any claims to higher civic purpose. Its participants and audience both enter into an unspoken agreement about what is on offer, performance for pleasure and laughter, not for enlightenment or social improvement.

On the other hand, newspapers, the traditional bastions of information and societal oversight, habitually claim a loftier motivation. Their role, ostensibly, is to inform the public, expose wrongdoing, and act as a check on power, tasks that are often described in the language of duty: “the public has a right to know,” “speaking truth to power,” and so on. Journalism holds itself, and is held by others, to ethical and social standards grounded in the promise of public service.

Stone’s observation is pointed: while burlesque is honest about its aims, newspapers may obscure theirs. The suggestion is that much journalistic “exposure” is not immune to sensationalism, commercial interests, or the pursuit of spectacle under the guise of civic responsibility. Stone implies that newspapers, by claiming public-spirited motives, might sometimes use exposure as a pretense to attract readership rather than out of a principled desire to enlighten or serve society.

The remark carries an ethical provocation. If burlesque is ethically cleaner for its candor, what does it say about media institutions that frame their commercial enterprises as noble endeavors? It prompts readers to question the motives behind media narratives and draws attention to the importance of self-awareness and honesty in any profession, especially those purporting to act in the public good.