Jann Wenner Quotes

The job of the press is to encourage debate, not to supply the public with information.

I have always been of the opinion that the right kind of journalism is a critical part of our democracy.

The democratic approach to news is a very valuable thing. We're always going to be dependent on the quality of reporting of mainstream media.

Journalism: A profession whose business is to explain to others what it personally does not understand.

America is strong because its journalism is strong. That's how democracies work. They're only as good as the quality of the information that the public possesses. And that is where we come in.

The media does play a vital role in our democracy, and if we cannot depend on journalistic ethics, the nation's in trouble.

A common criticism of establishment journalists entails comparing them to stenographers, on the ground that most of them do little more than mindlessly write down and uncritically repeat what government officials say.

I think people should be consumers of journalism.

All in all, I just don't trust journalists - and I don't think it's a good practice for me to trust journalists.

We don't go into journalism to be popular. It is our job to seek the truth and put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers.

As Americans, we rightfully place tremendous value on having a free and independent press. Our role as journalists is to give voice to the voiceless, and hold our leaders and institutions accountable. But the circle is only completed when that information is consumed by a free-thinking and engaged audience.

You can criticize any news staff in some ways, but the one thing that you couldn't call the Village Voice staff was a staff of stenographers, taking notes from public figures and just passing them on.

Once we thought, journalists and readers alike, that if we put together enough 'facts' and gave them a fast stir, we would come up with something that, at least by the standards of short-order cooks, could be called the truth.

Journalists are supposed to be skeptical, that's what keeps them digging rather than simply accepting the official line, whether it comes from government or corporate bureaucrats.

The quality of life in America is dependent on the quality of the journalism. Most people don't realize that, but if you think about it, journalism is one of the pillars on which our society is perched.

I think journalism gets measured by the quality of information it presents, not the drama or the pyrotechnics associated with us.

Journalist, in my opinion, are mediators between the Information Age and our democracy.

There is a bias in the press for facts over fiction.

I reject the idea that journalists are messengers of the truth. It’s arrogant. I think journalism is a search for the little relative truths that at best keep us relatively sane.

Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.

The media has not done a great job in fulfilling their role - journalism's role in a democracy is to provide information on profoundly important subjects so we're an informed citizenry.

I don't want to paint everybody with the same broad brush. But I do think that the majority of folks now in the briefing room, that are going into journalism - they're not there for the facts and the pursuit of the truth.

No one needs to tell me about the importance of the free press in a democratic society or about the essential role a newspaper can play in its community.

The people, as much as it's fun to hate us, they need us. They need good, strong, skeptical journalists to be covering whoever it is - whether it's Barack Obama or President Donald Trump.

There is nothing more important to a democracy than an active and engaged press.