Hire people smarter than you are and encourage them to bloom.
Ben BradleeRead
As long as a journalist tells the truth, in conscience and fairness, it is not his job to worry about consequences. The truth is never as dangerous as a lie in the long run. I truly believe the truth sets men free.
Interpretation
A journalist's responsibility is to report the truth, regardless of potential fallout, as honesty ultimately liberates individuals.
Ben Bradlee emphasizes the paramount importance of truthfulness in journalism. He argues that while there might be immediate consequences for revealing the truth, in the long term, honesty fosters freedom and is far less detrimental than deception. A journalist should prioritize authenticity and fairness over the fear of repercussions, supporting the idea that truth strengthens society.
In practice
In a speech about media ethics, one could quote this to highlight the importance of truth in journalism.
Hire people smarter than you are and encourage them to bloom.
The really tough thing would have been to decide to take Woodward and Bernstein off the story. They were carrying the coal for us - in that their stories were right.
It changes your life, the pursuit of truth.
Sure, some journalists use anonymous sources just because they’re lazy, and I think editors ought to insist on more precise identification even if they remain anonymous.
Sometimes I am convinced there is nothing wrong with this country that couldn't be cured by the magical implantation of ethical standards on us all - leaders and followers. Until that becomes doable, the Center for Public Integrity is just about the best thing we have going for us.
Nothing's riding on this, except the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys f-k up again, I'm gonna get mad.
What's more condescending and corny than someone telling you how much more money they have than you and telling you basically, 'I don't care about poor people,' which is a large part of what you hear of corporate hip-hop on the radio.
Birth, life, and death― each took place on the hidden side of a leaf.
We do ourselves the most good doing something for others.
it is wrong to chide the novel for being fascinated by mysterious coincidences... but it is right to chide man for being blind to such coincidences in his daily life. For he thereby deprives his life a dimension of beauty.
Peace as a positive condition of society, not merely as an interim between wars, is something so unknown that it casts no images on the mind's screen.
Laurel and Hardy. That's John and Yoko, and we stand a better chance under that guise, because all the serious people, like Martin Luther King, and Kennedy, and Gandhi, got shot.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.