Mark Thompson Quotes

It is the business of the journalist … to stand in permanent Opposition.

Junk journalism is the evidence of a society that has got at least one thing right, that there should be nobody with the power to dictate where responsible journalism begins

The most important responsibility we have as journalists is to question those who are in power. I honestly believe that.

As journalists, we cannot swallow the official line without question. We should challenge almost everything that dictators, presidents and officials say.

Well, thank God for a media that will ask questions.

Freedom of the press is not questioned when investigative journalism unearths scandals, But that does not mean that every classified state document should be made available to journalists.

Journalists follow authority as sharks follow a liner, dining on the scraps that are thrown overboard.

The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.

Yes, Barack Obama had his clashes with the press. I witnessed those first-hand covering the second term of his administration. But we did not have Barack Obama on almost a weekly basis referring to the press as the enemy of the people and accusing reporters of treason and calling legitimate stories fake news.

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

There has always been tension between reporters and the administration, particularly when it comes to war in the modern era. You can go to Kennedy or Johnson and see that they weren't happy with David Halberstam or Morley Safer.

All presidents rail against the press. It goes with the turf.

There's some irony in playing a journalist after some of the stuff that has been written about me, but it's a great profession, particularly investigative journalism.

Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.

Journalists are like dogs, when ever anything moves they begin to bark.

The United States is paradise compared to China, Russia, Ecuador and Cuba, with regard to the press. And with regard to secrecy and transparency.

Some of our best journalists take themselves even more seriously than the politicians they write about.

The press is a watchdog. Not an attack dog. Not a lapdog. A watchdog. Now, a watchdog can't be right all the time. He doesn't bark only when he sees or smells something that's dangerous. A good watchdog barks at things that are suspicious.

You turn on the TV, and you see very bland interviews. Journalists in the United States are very cozy with power, very close to those in power.

When I came to Britain I was in awe of the British press, afraid of them. But they're not as ferocious as people think. In some instances they are, but when it comes to taking on power they're really deferential.

A politician wouldn't dream of being allowed to call a columnist the things a columnist is allowed to call a politician.

It is the role of good journalism to take on powerful abusers, and when powerful abusers are taken on, there's always a bad reaction. So we see that controversy, and we believe that is a good thing to engage in.

Being a reporter is at the very core of a democracy, being a free person in a free society.

The journalist observes the laws of his country, but when the fulfillment of his professional duty is concerned he recognizes the jurisdiction of his colleagues only, and rejects any attempts of pressure and interference from the side of the government or whoever else.

What would this country be like without the press prying to find out what the government is doing?