Dan Jenkins Quotes

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.

I've been in journalism my entire adult life and have often defended it against fellow conservatives who claim the news business is fundamentally corrupt.

I'm not seeing tough questions asked on American television. I'm not seeing those correspondents that would question those in power. It's like a club. We are not asking the tough questions.

Why does it appear that interested readers so often attribute flaws to 'the press' rather than taking particular issue with particular reports?

I do think the biggest problem newspapers have is loss of trust, and I feel that's a result of failure to speak truth to power.

Media bias has been a favorite theme of the Right for decades, of course.

I deplore with you, the putrid state into which our newspapers have passed, and the malignity, the vulgarity, and mendacious spirit of those who write for them.... As vehicles of information, and a curb on our functionaries, they have rendered themselves useless, by forfeiting all title to belief.

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.

Journalists always explain that people are mad at them because they tell the truth, which is often unpleasant or uncomfortable to hear. However, they fail in situations where there is more than one truth.

I know Fox News is the target of criticism but we take it in stride. Our No. 1 goal is to be accurate.

Unless you're really interested in sleaze, you should not buy 'Newsweek.'

When you are a journalist, you have a big responsibility towards your audience and it is important to respect that responsibility.

Media doesn't like when other media gets their credentials pulled - that's not OK.

Journalists aren't supposed to be cheerleaders.

I know there are reporters who ridicule pundits.

The media's job is to question a premise.

Where are reliable journalism and reliable investigative voices going to come from? I love the days of old - the Walter Cronkites, the Dan Rathers.

People think I've got a problem with the press. Actually I have no problem with the press, but just like in football there are a handful who cause problems because they're disrespectful, they're lazy, and above all - and this is what really gets to me - they haven't worked hard to get there.

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

Having been a journalist for thirty-nine years, I've developed a pretty thick skin.

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.

The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quantity substitute for thoroughness and quality, for accuracy and context.

There's no worse crime in journalism these days than simply deciding something's a story because Drudge links to it.

All of journalism is a shrinking art. So much of it is hype. The O.J. Simpson story is a landmark in the decline of journalism.

There aren't enough good journalists. There are too many who really weren't groomed to be reporters and, as a result, some of the reporting is shallow.