Daily Quote Archives

“A profound transformation is happening here. The framers of our nation never envisioned these huge media giants; never imagined what could happen if big government, big publishing and big broadcasters ever saw eye to eye in putting the public’s need for news second to their own interests…

I approach the end of my own long run believing more strongly than ever that the quality of
journalism and the quality of democracy are inextricably joined...”

“These days there's all too much coverage of pseudo-events about extraordinarily inauthentic people doing inauthentic things.”

“Well done is better than well said.”

“On behalf of the newspaper industry (new, cost-cutting motto: 'All the News That') I wish to announce some changes we're making to serve you better. When I say 'serve you better,' I
mean 'increase our profits.' We newspapers are very big on profits these days. We're a
business, just like any other business, except that we employ English majors.”

“The road to success is always under construction.”

“Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.”

“Why can’t you hire people that care about the truth? You know them, I know them, they’re good. You got people on blogs that are fact-checking as things happen. Some of those people are conspiracy theorists, some of them are really smart - have somebody at the center of it, who can be an arbiter of what’s real and what’s not. And make that ... reactive to the devastating game of strategy that’s being played in Washington.”

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

“Even in a new era, journalism has one responsibility other forms of communication and
entertainment do not: to provide citizens with the information they need to navigate the society. That does not preclude being entertaining or profitable -- or publishing something merely because it's interesting.

But it does imply a commitment to comprehensiveness, to offering certain information about democratic institutions, and to ordering information in some relationship to its significance so that people can use it as a map to travel through the culture.”

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”

“Worry more about your character than your reputation. Character is what you are, reputation merely what others think you are.”

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

“When you are born, you are crying and everyone around you is smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and everyone around you is crying.”

“No, and it ain't in the rumors people're tellin' you
And it ain't in the pimple-lotion people are sellin' you
And it ain't in no cardboard-box house
Or down any movie star's blouse
...
And it ain't in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies
Who'd turn yuh in for a tenth of a penny
Who breathe and burp and bend and crack
And before you can count from one to ten
Do it all over again but this time behind yer back”

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

“Oh press - must you spread hate? Can’t you just stick to being wrong.”

“I think the newspeople no longer have any idea of what covering the news is.”

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

“And you need something special
Yeah, you need something special all right
You need a fast flyin' train on a tornado track
To shoot you someplace and shoot you back...
You need a Greyhound bus that don't bar no race
That won't laugh at yer looks
Your voice or your face...
You need something to open up a new door
To show you something you seen before
But overlooked a hundred times or more”

“New Rule: News organizations have to stop using the phrase: 'We go beyond the headlines.' That’s your job, dummy. You don’t see American Airlines saying, 'We land our jets on the runway!'”

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”

“When you are born, you are crying and everyone around you is smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and everyone around you is crying.”

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”