In just one year in Bosnia, thirty of my colleagues died. There is a little Somme waiting for all innocent journalists.
Robert FiskRead
The biggest problem I have in journalism is being quoted or misquoted and then being asked to defend something I haven't said.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being quoted inaccurately can lead to misunderstandings that require defense of statements never made.
This quote by Robert Fisk highlights the challenges faced by journalists when their words are misrepresented. It emphasizes the frustration and unfairness of having to justify or clarify statements they did not make, which can damage their credibility and cause public confusion. This underscores the importance of accurate reporting and the responsibility that comes with public discourse.
Themes
JournalismQuotesMisquotedCommunicationDefense
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about media ethics, one might refer to this quote to illustrate the importance of accuracy in journalism.
More from Robert Fisk
All quotes βThe [Israelis] believed - they were possessed of an absolute certainty and conviction - that 'terrorists' were in Chatila. How could I explain to them that the terrorists had left, that the terrorists had worn Israeli uniforms, that the terrorists had been sent into Chatila by Israeli officers, that the victims of the terrorists were not Israelis but Palestinians and Lebanese?
Robert FiskRead
War is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents the total failure of the human spirit.
Robert FiskRead
U.S. journalists I don't think are very courageous. They tend to go along with the government's policy domestically and internationally. To question is seen as being unpatriotic, or potentially subversive.
Robert FiskRead
There is nothing so satisfying as to be shot at without effect.
Robert FiskRead
After the allied victory of 1918, at the end of my father's war, the victors divided up the lands of their former enemies. In the space of just seventeen months, they created the borders of Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and most of the Middle East. And I have spent my entire career β in Belfast and Sarajevo, in Beirut and Baghdad β watching the people within those borders burn.
Robert FiskRead
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We all have our likes and our dislikes. But... when we're doing news - when we're doing the front-page news, not the back page, not the op-ed pages, but when we're doing the daily news, covering politics - it is our duty to be sure that we do not permit our prejudices to show. That is simply basic journalism.
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In campaign reporting more than any other kind of press coverage, reporters aren't just covering a story, they're a part of it - influencing outcomes, setting expectations, framing candidates - and despite what they tell themselves, it's impossible to both be a part of the action and report on it objectively.
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The great concern is that year after year, rising numbers of journalists are being killed in pursuit of their work. They are increasingly seen as not being neutral but rather as combatants by one side or the other.
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