integrity in reporting Quotes

People always go on about sleaze, but I think it's only a small part of what I write about.

A lot more than objectivity has gone missing in our reporting; intelligence has gone missing. The people in charge of the nation’s newsrooms, I continue to believe, are not as deeply, profoundly stupid as so much of what they put on their homepages, increasingly in positions calculated to attract clicks. Then I realize: The internet waits for no man. Neither does happy hour. Thinking and writing carefully require time and effort. The press hasn’t so much abandoned standards of objectivity; it has abandoned standards of effort under a digital imperative that not only favors low-intelligence “hot takes,” but makes them the calling card of what used to be a “news” industry.

It's weird doing a show on a Saturday, because we get the news after everybody had their way with it. We still have to find a way to get something fresh out of the story, but also keep the integrity of it. A lot of times the obvious take is so obvious it's already been on Twitter, so we gotta find a new thing.

I have become increasingly unnerved by the depth of corruption that exists at many different levels. I'm less upset with politicians than [with] the media.

I regard sports first and foremost as entertainment, so dry documentary narration is not for me. I like the 'let's forget our troubles and have some excitement' approach. I'm convinced you can combine this with reporting integrity and accuracy.

The editors are committed to nothing save this: to keep common sense as fast as they can, to belabor sham as agreeably as possible, to give civilized entertainment.

Folks, Brian Williams isn't the exception. He's exactly what they've taught us to expect from them all. It's not journalism any more - it's entertainment, it's celebrity, it's agendas and it's money. All too often, a lie is now an acceptable way of communicating. To the media, a lie has as much value as the truth.

It was long ago in my life as a simple reporter that I decided that facts must never get in the way of truth.