Ted Koppel Quotes

It's about being right and trying to get the facts and get the story right, and inform, you know, the readership or the viewership. And there are some reporters that do that.

It's all storytelling, you know. That's what journalism is all about.

Journalism is not an exact science. At best it i a crude art.

Journalism is not writing.

I used to be a journalist.

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.

News is the first rough draft of history.

I don't think much of the journalism that I see.

I have nothing to do with the selection of stories. I'm the reporter.

See, I have no journalism in my background, so I wasn't practised at research or writing non-fiction, nor at handling the truth in a journalistic way. Journalists know when to call a halt and write something, but I kept on looking for answers.

In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right.

I was once a journalist. And I think of myself as a journalist, and that's it. You tell the truth. I even wrote a book called 'The Truth'.

You have to go where the story is to report on it. As a journalist, you're essentially running to things that other people are running away from.

Everything is a narrative in life. I learned that early on as a reporter at the 'Washington Post.'

It's a journalist's job to be a witness to history. We're not there to worry about ourselves. We're there to try and get as near as we can, in an imperfect world, to the truth and get the truth out.

As a reporter you tend to seek coherence from your subject or your source - it all needs to add up and make sense. In truth, in reality, there's often a great deal of murkiness and muddiness, confusion and contradiction.

In America journalism is apt to be regarded as an extension of history: in Britain, as an extension of conversation.

A good newspaper is never nearly good enough but a lousy newspaper is a joy forever.

'Reality' is a notion that journalists take for granted.

Profiles aren't journalism.

In this Day the secrets of the earth are laid bare before the eyes of men. The pages of swiftly-appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world. They reflect the deeds and the pursuits of diverse peoples and kindreds. They both reflect them and make them known. They are a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech. This is an amazing and potent phenomenon. However, it behooveth the writers thereof to be purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity. They should enquire into situations as much as possible and ascertain the facts, then set them down in writing.

I love journalism.

I think of myself as a journalist first and foremost.

I'm a journalist. I've been a journalist ever since I was 18.

I think that my main business is as a news person.