Journalism is not a precise science, it's a crude art
Very big business is in bed with very big government in Washington, and has more to do with what the average person sees, hears and reads than most people know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the close relationship between large businesses and government, influencing public perception and information.
Dan Rather's quote draws attention to the deep-seated connections between large corporations and government entities in Washington, suggesting that their interactions significantly shape the information and experiences of the average citizen. This connection often results in the manipulation of media narratives and public discourse, underscoring the importance of awareness regarding the sources and influences of the information disseminated to the public.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, this quote can illustrate the dynamics between corporations and government policies.
More from Dan Rather
All quotes βOnly votes talk, everything else walks.
From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan, social media was not only sharing the news but driving it.
A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.
Covering the civil-rights movement was a mind- and eye-opener for me. Houston was a segregated society, as was Texas as a whole - some of it by law, a lot of it by fear and tradition. But there was no violence where I lived, and if there was hate, it was either concealed from me or I just didn't recognize it.
Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.
Similar quotes
Socialism in Russia has not brought about an improvement in the conditions of the average man which can be compared with the improvement of conditions, during the same period, in the United States.
No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her hands. Nor does any American President have power approaching this
The irony of the political rise of the plutocrats is that, like Venice's oligarchs, they threaten the system that created them.
We have been taught to regard a representative of the people as a sentinel on the watch-tower of liberty.
When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.
The passions, therefore, not the reason, of the public would sit in judgment. But it is the reason, alone, of the public, that ought to control and regulate the government. The passions ought to be controlled and regulated by the government.