Gwen Ifill Quotes

Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves - and be free.

Advice to intellectuals: let no-one represent you.

There are two kinds of people: the ones who need to be told, and the ones who figure it out all by themselves.

I really enjoy researching, and for almost every piece, I research enough to write a book.

The advice I would give to someone is to not take anyone's advice.

In Ministry, we've only had one message: Think for yourself.

I try to read all news sources - not just CNN or FOX, but worldwide papers and journals, to get opinions from every end of the spectrum - and then I like to try to find out the cut and dried facts - and go from there.

The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.

The most important thing I think teachers can do for young people is to make them inquiring, is to ensure that they know how to gather information, that they check information and they take their information from a multiplicity of sources.

The first essence of journalism is to know what you want to know, the second, is to find out who will tell you.

I don't believe in other people's ideas. I have my own ideas.

I don't read all the newspapers.

My favorite puzzle is trying to work out the parts myself, after all it is a solo effort.

I have found people don't want to be told. That they can figure it out.

I do a lot of reading of news so I can be smarter, and I do a lot of watching TV news so I can know why Americans aren't very smart. Then I can point out the hypocrisy of politicians or the media.

A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.

Most people don't read editorial pages. I think I must have been 40 before I even looked at an editorial page.

Get advice, then make your own decision.

A laboring man now hardly goes to work until he has read the news.

[He is] too used to borrowing brains instead of using his own.

One of the things I try to do - and I always regret when I'm not doing it - is I try to read as much as possible as I'm consuming news.

The most important thing today is for young people to take responsibility, to actually know how to formulate an idea and how to work on it. Not to buy into the so-called apprenticeship.

People who watch news are pretty smart. Most of them don't just go to one channel for all their news anyway.

I'd like 'Rookie' to be a helpful resource, but I never want it to be too prescriptive. Hopefully, it also makes the reader feel encouraged to think for herself.

The heart and soul of good writing is research; you should write not what you know but what you can find out about.