Daniel Schorr Quotes

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.

Seeking of the truth should be not only part of the Justice Department and part of our judicial system, but also should be... a goal of reporters today.

Nothing is more idealistic than a journalist on the defensive.

But here's my point to the LA Times. If you had a serious story to run, if you thought there was serious misconduct, you don't wait until the Thursday before the Tuesday. You run it early.

I think the media's responsibility is to get to the bottom of things - to get to the truth.

I am a big believer in the power of journalism; it's a heroic pursuit.

Journalism is the protection between people and any sort of totalitarian rule. That's why my hero, admittedly a flawed one, is a journalist.

In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its unique ability to provide a truly adversarial check on those in power.

I think that the press has a duty and an obligation to report on local government, state government, federal government - to be aggressive, to do its job. And its job is to report on whatever it's covering.

A good journalist is not the one that writes what people say, but the one that writes what he is supposed to write.

Using these unnamed sources, if done properly, carefully and fairly, provides more accountability in government.

You hope the American people are fair. We recognize journalists have to kill somebody each week.

Journalists like to give themselves credit for being on the hunt for 'the truth.' But if we embrace this undoubtedly noble but somewhat haughty interpretation of a calling, we inevitably become susceptible to slam dunk answers.

There are certain stories that remind you of the moral purpose that originally drew you to become a reporter.

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.

Pandering to the scandal hungry public is a total lack of responsible journalism.

There is kind of this spirit in journalism to tell both sides of the story and to just let the listeners choose what they want to choose, and I understand that, and there's a place for it, but on some issues, we really do need to take a stand.

The point of journalism is to hold people in positions of power accountable.

Our duty as journalists is to use our clarity - and our imagination - to build hope in the societies in which we work. Our duty is to keep holding power to account, and to fight for press freedom around the world.

I'm not a critic, I'm a journalist. I'm doing my job holding the government to account.

A journalist enjoys a privileged position. In exchange for not being able to participate in the rough-and-tumble issues of a community, we are given license to observe it all, based on the understanding that we'll tell everyone what happens fairly and squarely. That's harder than it sounds.

If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be 'gotcha' journalism, but it's also good journalism.

Journalists aren't supposed to be cheerleaders.

To me, every interview, even if you love the artist, needs to be somewhat adversarial. Which doesn't mean you need to attack the person, but you do need to look at it like you're trying to get information that has not been written about before.

Most reporters who come to me get their stories directly from press releases. Very few do what one would consider to be their professional duty.