Joseph Pulitzer Quotes

The first duty of a newspaper is to be accurate. If it be accurate, it follows that it is fair.

In my experience with print journalists, the distinction between remarks being uttered on- or off-the-record is held sacrosanct, but the distinction between truth and falsity sometimes isn't.

A news-writer is a man without virtue who lies at home for his own profit.

Wouldn't it be great if our national news media had standards as high as the National Football League's?

We need ethical journalism. There is also capacity limitations in journalism.

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

There are some great reporters around. They're talented, they're honest as the day is long. They're great. But there are some terrible, dishonest people, and they do a tremendous disservice to our country and to our people.

Journalism should be more like science. As far as possible, facts should be verifiable. If journalists want long-term credibility for their profession, they have to go in that direction. Have more respect for readers.

Look, everybody in journalism has a reputation of sorts.

The duty of the media is to observe truth and social responsibility.

When we are reporting the news, we make every effort to report it in as factual way as possible.

I would like to know that when I read the paper in the morning, it's telling me something that actually happened, and I think the vast majority of journalists want the same thing.

I do think that there are gray lines of morality in a newsroom, when it comes to some stories. The best-intentioned journalist still has a difficult mission, to try to boil down people.

I tell my students, even if you are an opinion journalist, your opinion should be based on facts.

God, newspapers have been making up stories forever. This kind of trifling and fooling around is not a function of the New Journalism.

We in the media should be breaking the news and not making the news.

The essence of American journalism is vulgarity divested of truth.

I was taught that newspapers were supposed to find out if rumors were true, and if not, not print them.

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 don't want to defend rumors. It's certainly nothing new. The only development in recent years is the [lower] threshold at which news organizations will print rumors.

A journalists's job is not to be balanced. It is to be accurate.

It seems that in the rush to be the first one to the story, the media overstates things. Not maliciously; I don't think they're intentionally misleading. But the credibility gap is already there, and in this rush to get to the story first, a lot of mainstream outlets just erode their credibility further.

More and more, journalism seems to have hopped out of Truth's pocket and crept into another.

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

It's the broadcaster's dilemma. Are we true journalists? I don't know if I am or not.