Journalism is not a precise science, it's a crude art
Dan RatherRead
This much we know: Journalism is not a precise science. It's, on its best day, is a crude art. We make mistakes; I make mistakes. With more than 50 years as a journalist, I have at least had the opportunity to blow more stories, make more mistakes than maybe anybody in television.
Interpretation
Journalism blends creativity and imperfection, acknowledging human error in storytelling.
Dan Rather's quote reflects the nature of journalism as an art form rather than a strict science, highlighting the inevitability of mistakes in the pursuit of truth. With decades of experience, he admits to the errors made over the years, underlining that the journalist's journey is fraught with challenges, creativity, and a need for humility in the profession.
In practice
During a lecture about the challenges of journalism, I quoted Dan Rather to emphasize the art involved in reporting.
Journalism is not a precise science, it's a crude art
Only votes talk, everything else walks.
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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.
My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people.
I don't know what the hell I'm doing up there half the time. These performers that go on about their technique and craft - oh, puleeze! How boring! I don't know what technique means. But I do know what experience is. I know in my gut when I've done a scene right.
Kid ... Comics will break your heart.
I think that the point of being an architect is to help raise the experience of everyday living, even a little. Putting a window where people would really like one. Making sure a shaving mirror in a hotel bathroom is at the right angle. Making bureaucratic buildings that are somehow cheerful.
I feel that if I can show my demise artistically to the public, I can somehow cure my own legend.
Before I compose a piece, I walk round it several times, accompanied by myself.
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