Charles Francis Richter Quotes

There is another common misapprehension that the magnitude scale is itself some kind of instrument or apparatus. Visitors will frequently ask to 'see the scale.'

I suggested that we might compare earthquakes in terms of the measured amplitudes recorded at these stations, with an appropriate correction for distance.

What emerged, of course, was that the magnitude scale presupposed that all earthquakes were alike except for a constant scaling factor. And this proved to be closer to the truth than we expected.

Incidentally, the usual designation of the magnitude scale to my name does less than justice to the great part that Dr. Gutenberg played in extending the scale to apply to earthquakes in all parts of the world.

I repeatedly have to correct this belief. In a sense, magnitude involves steps of 10 because every increase of one magnitude represents a tenfold amplification of the ground motion. But there is no 'scale of 10' in the sense of an upper limit.

As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. In fact, a full frequency of vibrations occurs.

If one introduces the concept of energy of an earthquake then that is a theoretically derived quantity.

My mother-in-law had to stop skipping for exercise. It registered seven on the Richter scale.

Some of the finest speeches in the Senate Record have been delivered to a scattering half-dozen of listeners. Nine-tenths of the verbal proceedings are "for the record" rather than with any expectation of changing votes. Yet the most important of the speeches "for the record" have their effect on public opinion, when reported in the press ... or when distributed as reprints.

I am being portrayed as some kind of a medieval monster ... a megalomaniac. If the people were to really believe all that the press has written about me then I must be the most evil person in the country today.

I enjoy seeing the press. I learn much from reporters. In the White House press corps alone there are at least half a dozen experts already on animal husbandry.

The real problem ... is to get to this unfair [press] coverage.... Use the anti-trust division [of the Justice Department] to investigate various media relating to anti-trust violations. Even the threat of anti-trust action I think would be effective in changing their views ...

If the press doesn’t get the proper care and feeding, you don’t get the proper spin on your story.

I am reading it [his press coverage] more and enjoying it less.

Past occurrences have generally shown that there hasn’t been satisfaction from politicians in the manner they were covered [by the press.]

Take press coverage seriously but not personally

In politics, you don’t have to love the press; you don’t even have to like the press, but you sure as hell have to feed the press.

Without television, Richard Nixon would not have a chance. He would not have a prayer of being elected because the press would not let him get through to the people.

You have a tendency to mix show with justice....You give a theater show to the press all over the world.

You never want to inhale your press clippings.

It was my job to get the skeletons out of the closet and into the press—which I did.

If the press knows about a problem, big or small, that problem is far more likely to receive the personal attention of senior policy makers, then if it remains a well-kept secret.

Theodore Roosevelt owes more to newspapers than any other man of his time, or possibly of any other time.

I don't call up the press and say, 'Look at me!'

When I was young, I was the sweetheart of the press. They loved me but were kind of waiting for me to mess up. I had no skeletons in my closet, no major past to talk about.